Ron Howard threatened to quit Happy Days over title change
The actor-turned-moviemaker played Richie Cunningham in the hit TV show with Henry Winkler as best friend Arthur 'Fonzie Fonzarelli and he's revealed he almost walked away from the popular series when his bosses floated the idea of changing the name to Fonzie's Happy Days because of the popularity of Winkler's character.
He told Vulture: "I never, ever challenged what they were doing creatively. It made perfect sense that you'd build this Fonzie character and maximize that.
"But the optics of now being in a show called Fonzie's Happy Days, my ego wouldn't allow for that. I wasn't bluffing. I would've left.
"And my contract, I'm sure, had no clause connected to titles."
However, the idea was eventually ditched and Ron credits the show's creator Garry Marshall with keeping him onbaord.
He said: "They could have said: 'F*** you. We changed the title, and we expect you to show up Monday morning.' But thank God for great bosses. Garry Marshall said, 'If you're not cool with it [we won't do it] …'"
Ron went on to reveal he later found out his co-star Winkler wasn't happy with the title change either, adding: "I later found out Henry himself thought it was a terrible idea.
"I think the position I took made it easy for both Garry and Henry to also say: 'No, let's not do that.'
"Years later, Henry said they were ready to do a spinoff and other things for Fonzie and he just said: 'Why fix it if it's not broken? My success depends on the ensemble I'm in'."
Ron appeared in Happy Days between 1974–1980 and he went on to leave the show behind to focus on carving out a new career behind the camera as a director.
His daughter Bryce Dallas Howard eventually followed him into the movie business, but she recently admitted she's never seen the TV show that made her dad a household name.
During an appearance on Busy This Week, Bryce said: "I'm going to admit something, which is that I've never watched an episode of Happy Days."
She has ties to the show because Winkler is her Godfather but she has no idea why she hasn't actually watching a single episode.
Bryce went on to say: "I love him [Winkler] so much, and I love my dad so much, and I love all the Happy Days folks, and it would be so easy just to watch it, and I don't know why."
Asked if Ron and Henry were aware that she hasn't watched the show, Bryce said: "Yeah, kind of."
The movie star even suggested that her siblings - Paige, Jocelyn and Reed - haven't watched the hit sitcom, either. She said: "I kind of don't think they have. I don't think they have."
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Ron Howard threatened to quit Happy Days over title change
Ron Howard threatened to quit his hit Happy Days over plans to change the title. The actor-turned-moviemaker played Richie Cunningham in the hit TV show with Henry Winkler as best friend Arthur 'Fonzie Fonzarelli and he's revealed he almost walked away from the popular series when his bosses floated the idea of changing the name to Fonzie's Happy Days because of the popularity of Winkler's character. He told Vulture: "I never, ever challenged what they were doing creatively. It made perfect sense that you'd build this Fonzie character and maximize that. "But the optics of now being in a show called Fonzie's Happy Days, my ego wouldn't allow for that. I wasn't bluffing. I would've left. "And my contract, I'm sure, had no clause connected to titles." However, the idea was eventually ditched and Ron credits the show's creator Garry Marshall with keeping him onbaord. He said: "They could have said: 'F*** you. We changed the title, and we expect you to show up Monday morning.' But thank God for great bosses. Garry Marshall said, 'If you're not cool with it [we won't do it] …'" Ron went on to reveal he later found out his co-star Winkler wasn't happy with the title change either, adding: "I later found out Henry himself thought it was a terrible idea. "I think the position I took made it easy for both Garry and Henry to also say: 'No, let's not do that.' "Years later, Henry said they were ready to do a spinoff and other things for Fonzie and he just said: 'Why fix it if it's not broken? My success depends on the ensemble I'm in'." Ron appeared in Happy Days between 1974–1980 and he went on to leave the show behind to focus on carving out a new career behind the camera as a director. His daughter Bryce Dallas Howard eventually followed him into the movie business, but she recently admitted she's never seen the TV show that made her dad a household name. During an appearance on Busy This Week, Bryce said: "I'm going to admit something, which is that I've never watched an episode of Happy Days." She has ties to the show because Winkler is her Godfather but she has no idea why she hasn't actually watching a single episode. Bryce went on to say: "I love him [Winkler] so much, and I love my dad so much, and I love all the Happy Days folks, and it would be so easy just to watch it, and I don't know why." Asked if Ron and Henry were aware that she hasn't watched the show, Bryce said: "Yeah, kind of." The movie star even suggested that her siblings - Paige, Jocelyn and Reed - haven't watched the hit sitcom, either. She said: "I kind of don't think they have. I don't think they have."
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