Buzz
During the later seasons of the beloved ABC sitcom Happy Days, Howard Cunningham (Tom Bosley), the family's father, expressed his pride in his two children, Richie (Ron Howard) and Joanie (Erin Moran).
“What else is there to say?” Howard remarked in the series finale. “Both of our kids are now married and beginning their own journeys ... we’ve had the privilege of raising two amazing children and witnessing them and their friends mature into caring adults.”
For long-time fans of the show since its debut in 1974, this statement felt strange. Howard and his wife Marion (Marion Ross) actually had three children, not two. The eldest, Chuck Cunningham, appeared in several episodes during the first and second seasons before vanishing without a trace. He was never seen or referenced again, as if he had been erased from the memories of his own fictional family.
Oh, Brother
After the pilot for Garry Marshall’s Happy Days received a lukewarm response from ABC, the network opted to air it as part of the anthology series Love, American Style in 1972 instead of greenlighting it as a full series. However, the massive success of George Lucas’s American Graffiti—a ‘50s-themed project also starring Ron Howard—the following year made ABC realize they had a TV-ready counterpart. With the growing popularity of Henry Winkler’s Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, the show skyrocketed in fame and continued for 11 seasons.
In the pilot, Ric Carrott originally played Chuck Cunningham, but many roles were recast when the series went into full production. (For instance, Harold Gould, the initial Howard Cunningham, had theater commitments and was replaced by Tom Bosley.) Gavan O’Herlihy, born in Dublin in 1951 and raised in both California and Ireland, took on the role of Chuck. (His father, Dan O'Herlihy, was a seasoned actor known for his role in Halloween III: Season of the Witch as Conal Cochran.) Chuck, Richie’s older brother, was a basketball star preparing for college. With his freckles and bright red hair, O’Herlihy resembled a character straight out of a Norman Rockwell illustration.
Initially, O’Herlihy was thrilled to land the role. “That was my big break,” he later recalled. “It quickly established me as a rising star in town.”
However, the reality of the job soon became clear. Happy Days was primarily a platform for Ron Howard, later shared with Winkler’s immensely popular Fonzie. Chuck was unlikely to receive significant screen time or develop into a standout character. “I was going to grunt and dribble a basketball every few weeks for what could have been three or four years,” O’Herlihy remarked.
After appearing in a few episodes during the first and second seasons, O’Herlihy approached the producers to express his lack of interest in continuing. They attempted to persuade him to stay. For many actors, even a small role on a successful sitcom would be considered a victory. However, O’Herlihy remained firm. “It wasn’t for me,” he shared with OnMilwaukee.com in 2013. “It surprised some people, but I’m happy with my choice.”
O’Herlihy left the series in its second season, and a third actor, Randolph Roberts, briefly took over the role of Chuck. Then, without any explanation, Chuck Cunningham vanished entirely, never to be referenced or seen in the Cunningham household again.
Chucked
During the 1970s and early 1980s, reruns were not as widely available as they are today. Finding episodes of Happy Days featuring Chuck was challenging, leading some viewers to doubt his existence altogether.
“We can’t seem to convince our son-in-law that Richie Cunningham had an older brother named Chuck on Happy Days,” a viewer wrote to a Kansas City Star television columnist in 1979. “He insists the older brother only appeared in a Love, American Style segment. Can you clarify?”
It was strange. All Happy Days creator Garry Marshall needed to do was provide a simple explanation for Chuck’s absence—perhaps that he was attending college out of state, had joined the military, or moved away. Yet, no such explanation was ever given, and the Cunninghams eventually acted as though Chuck had never existed.
Marshall later revealed that this ambiguity was intentional—he aimed to spark curiosity among viewers. “People kept asking me, ‘What happened to Chuck on Happy Days?’” he remarked in 2016. “It became clear, based on audience reactions, that Fonzie had taken on the role of the older brother, and that dynamic was what resonated with fans.
“[The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show], remember that show? ... One night, I was watching, and the doorbell rang. [George Burns] walked toward the door, paused, looked at the camera, and said, ‘You know the actor playing our boss? He had to leave. This is a new boss.’ ... He opened the door, and there was a different actor. No one complained. No one wrote in. So I thought, ‘Let’s just make Chuck disappear and see how people react.’ We didn’t get much feedback.”
While Fonzie essentially replaced Chuck, there was a moment when Chuck could have filled another role—taking over for Richie. After Ron Howard left the show following the 1979-1980 season, a significant void was left. According to The Daily News, ABC considered bringing Chuck back, though not with O’Herlihy or Roberts. Instead, they reportedly sought a fourth actor to play Chuck.
This never happened. Instead, Happy Days introduced a new family member, Richie’s cousin Roger, portrayed by Ted McGinley. Over time, the show became known for popularizing two cultural phenomena: jumping the shark (a drastic decline in quality or reliance on absurd plotlines for ratings) and Chuck Cunningham syndrome, where a character vanishes without explanation.
O’Herlihy pursued his acting career, featuring in movies such as Superman III (1983) and Death Wish 3 (1985). He later reunited with Ron Howard when Howard directed the 1988 film Willow. O’Herlihy passed away in 2021 at the age of 70. As for his character, Chuck Cunningham, his ultimate fate remains an unsolved enigma.
