12 Facts About "Happy Days"

Is there anything better than a lazy day at home binge watching some classic television? You turn the phone off, close the blinds and completely shut yourself out from the outside world. This literally is my version of Heaven and I don’t really care what you think, because if you say that this doesn’t sound like a perfect day you’re clearly a liar. I’m often amazed at some of the shows I find myself watching. What starts out as one episode simply because “it’s on,” turns into hours and hours of laying on the couch trying to remember what day it is. 

My most recent television adventure has come in the form of the classic program known as Happy Days. The show is way before my time, and depicts a generation that is even MORE before my time. Maybe that’s why it’s so impressive that it still holds up to viewers like me. Anyway – I decided to try and satisfy my recent Happy Days obsession by doing some research on the show, and came to the realization that there was a lot of crazy stuff going on behind the scenes. Check it out. 

1. Ron Howard only auditioned for the role to avoid being drafted into the army.

At the time the show was being created, Ron was enrolled in school. But when Uncle Sam stopped handing out student deferments, he realized the only way he could avoid the war was by getting a steady job. 

2. The show was originally supposed to take place in the ’20s and ’30s.

The network wanted Garry Marshall to write a show that would highlight flappers and guys in suits. But Marshall, explaining that he had no knowledge about that era, said it would be more realistic for him to write about the era in which he was a teenager.

3. Henry Winkler could barely read his lines.

Winkler always struggled in school and wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until he was in his 30s. So when he couldn’t read the lines during his audition, he made them up. And the best part? When the producers explained to him that those weren’t the lines, he simply replied “I know but I’m giving you the essence of the character and if I get the part I’ll do it verbatim.”