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| Marion Ross, Tom Bosley, Lyle Waggoner, and Erin Moran on Happy Days. |
Over its eleven seasons and 255 episodes, Happy Days had plenty of guest performers. I'd put them in two distinct categories: (1) character actors who were hired to play specific roles and (2) celebrities with whom the audience would already be familiar. Into that first category, I'd place actors like Warren Berlinger, Ken Lerner, and Arthur Batanides, all of whom played multiple characters on the series. In that second category, we have a host of well-known names, including Danny Thomas, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Bob & Ray, Lorne Greene, Frankie Avalon, and Phil Silvers. These folks either played themselves (e.g. Avalon) or slight variations on themselves (e.g. Silvers).
But then, we have the unique case of Lyle Waggoner. Lyle appeared twice on Happy Days, once in Season 8 and then again in Season 11. By the time of these episodes, Lyle's name and face were well-known to the public due to his film and TV work, especially on the series Wonder Woman and The Carol Burnett Show. People definitely knew who this guy was. Nevertheless, in rather short succession, Happy Days had Lyle playing two different characters: a game show host and a millionaire playboy. I can't remember the show doing this with any other celebrity guest.
This week on These Days Are Ours: A Happy Days Podcast, we review Lyle's second appearance on the show, a Joanie-centric episode called "Like Mother, Like Daughter." Was it worth it bringing back Lyle Waggoner a second time? Join us as we find out!