Editing Happy Days (section)

{{Short description|American television sitcom (1974–1984)}}
{{About|the 1970s television series}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Happy-days.jpg
| genre                = [[Sitcom]]
| creator              = [[Garry Marshall]]
| starring             = {{unbulleted list|[[Ron Howard]]|[[Marion Ross]]|[[Anson Williams]]|[[Tom Bosley]]|[[Henry Winkler]]|[[Don Most|Donny Most]]|[[Erin Moran]]|[[Pat Morita]]|[[Al Molinaro]]|[[Scott Baio]]|[[Lynda Goodfriend]]|[[Cathy Silvers]]|[[Ted McGinley]]|[[Linda Purl]]|[[Heather O'Rourke]]}}
| theme_music_composer = {{Plainlist|
* [[Max C. Freedman]] and [[James E. Myers]] (1974–1975, opening)
* [[Norman Gimbel]] and [[Charles Fox (composer)|Charles Fox]] (1975–1984, opening; 1974–1984, ending)
}}
| opentheme            = {{Plainlist|
* "[[Rock Around the Clock]]", performed by [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] (1974–1975)
* "[[Happy Days (TV theme)|Happy Days]]", performed by: [[The Ron Hicklin Singers]] (1975–1983)
* Bobby Arvon (1983–1984)
}}
| endtheme             = {{Plainlist|
* "Happy Days", performed by:
*  [[Jim Haas]] (1974–1975)
* The Ron Hicklin Singers (1975–1983)
* Bobby Arvon (1983–1984)
}}
| composer             = {{unbulleted list|[[John Beal (composer)|John Beal]]|[[Frank Comstock]]||[[Pete King (composer)|Pete King]]|[[Jimmy Dunne (songwriter)|James Patrick Dunne]]}}
| director             = {{Plainlist|
*[[Jerry Paris]]
*Various (seasons 1–3)
}}
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 11
| num_episodes         = 255
| list_episodes        = List of Happy Days episodes
| executive_producer   = {{unbulleted list|Garry Marshall|[[Thomas L. Miller]]|[[Edward K. Milkis]]|[[Robert L. Boyett]]}}
| producer             = {{unbulleted list|William Bickley|Michael Warren|[[Anthony W. Marshall]]|Ronny Hallin|Fred Fox, Jr.}}
| camera               = {{unbulleted list|[[Single-camera]] (1974–1975)|[[Multi-camera]] (1975–1984)}}
| runtime              = 25 minutes
| company              = {{unbulleted list|[[Miller-Boyett Productions|Miller-Milkis Productions]] (seasons 1–8)|[[Garry Marshall|Henderson Production Company, Inc.]] (seasons 6–11)|[[Miller-Boyett Productions|Miller-Milkis-Boyett Productions]] (seasons 9–11)|[[Paramount Television]]}}
| network              = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1974|1|15}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1984|7|19}}
| related              = {{unbulleted list|''[[Laverne & Shirley]]''|''[[Blansky's Beauties]]''|''[[Mork & Mindy]]''|''[[Out of the Blue (1979 TV series)|Out of the Blue]]''|''[[Joanie Loves Chachi]]''}}
| alt_name             = ''Happy Days Again''
}}

'''''Happy Days''''' is an American television [[sitcom]] that aired first-run on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by [[Garry Marshall]], it was one of the most successful series of the 1970s. The series presented life in the 1950s and early 1960s [[Midwestern United States]], and it starred [[Ron Howard]] as [[Richie Cunningham]], [[Henry Winkler]] as his friend [[Fonzie]], and [[Tom Bosley]] and [[Marion Ross]] as Richie's parents, [[Howard Cunningham (Happy Days)|Howard]] and [[Marion Cunningham (Happy Days)|Marion Cunningham]].<ref name="Happy Days Actor Tom Bosley Dies">{{Cite news |title=Happy Days Actor Tom Bosley Dies |work=Baltimore Sun |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/ktla-tom-bosley-obit,0,3802680.story |url-status=dead |access-date=October 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022010008/http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/ktla-tom-bosley-obit,0,3802680.story |archive-date=October 22, 2010}}</ref> Although it opened to mixed reviews from critics, ''Happy Days'' became successful and popular over time.<ref name="vanderwerff">{{Cite web |last=VanDerWerff |first=Emily |date=August 27, 2012 |title=Happy Days Became One of the Biggest Hits on TV by Selling Its Soul |url=https://www.avclub.com/article/ihappy-daysi-became-one-of-the-biggest-hits-on-tv--84232 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809131739/http://www.avclub.com/article/ihappy-daysi-became-one-of-the-biggest-hits-on-tv--84232 |archive-date=August 9, 2016 |access-date=January 7, 2020 |website=[[The A.V. Club]]}}</ref>

The series began as an unsold pilot starring Howard, Ross and [[Anson Williams]], which aired in 1972 as a segment titled "Love and the Television Set" (later retitled "Love and the happy  days" for syndication) on ABC's anthology show ''[[Love, American Style]]''. Based on the pilot, director [[George Lucas]] cast Howard as the lead in his 1973 film ''[[American Graffiti]]'', causing ABC to take a renewed interest in the pilot. The first two seasons of ''Happy Days'' focused on the experiences and dilemmas of "innocent teenager" Richie Cunningham, his family, and his high school friends, attempting to "honestly depict a wistful look back at adolescence".<ref name=vanderwerff/>

Initially a moderate success, the series' ratings began to fall during its second season, causing Marshall to retool it. The new format emphasized broad comedy and spotlighted the previously minor character of Fonzie, a "cool" [[Motorcycling#Subcultures|biker]] and high school dropout.<ref name=vanderwerff/> Following these changes, ''Happy Days'' became the number-one program in television in 1976–1977, Fonzie became one of the most merchandised characters of the 1970s, and Henry Winkler became a major star.<ref name="brooks">{{Cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&pg=PA581 |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 – Present |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle |date=2007 |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=9780307483201 |edition=9th |location=New York |pages=580–582}}</ref><ref name="crupi">{{Cite web |last=Crupi |first=Anthony |date=May 2017 |title=Happy Days for broadcasters* *as long as they're selling sports |url=http://adage.com/article/special-report-tv-upfront/broadcast-tv-ratings/308959/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609093718/http://adage.com/article/special-report-tv-upfront/broadcast-tv-ratings/308959/ |archive-date=June 9, 2017 |access-date=June 12, 2017 |website=adage.com |publisher=Advertising Age}}</ref> The series also spawned a number of [[spin-off (media)|spin-off]]s, including ''[[Laverne & Shirley]]'' and ''[[Mork & Mindy]]''.