Erin Moran, who played Joanie on Happy Days, dead at Age 56
Erin Moran, who played Joanie on Happy Days, died at age 56 from cancer. Sadly her post Happy Day life was not "happy" as she suffered from homelessness, depression, and other problems..
R.I.P.
From NY Times:
R.I.P.
From NY Times:
Erin Moran, the former child actor who played the sweet but mischievous Joanie on the television series “Happy Days” and “Joanie Loves Chachi,” has died. She was 56.
The Harrison County Sheriff’s Department in southern Indiana confirmed her death. Ms. Moran was found unresponsive Saturday afternoon and died in her home in New Salisbury, Ind., the authorities said.
An autopsy showed that she most likely died from complications of cancer, the sheriff’s department said in a statement on Monday.
Ms. Moran, who started acting at 5, got her first taste of television in a commercial for First Federal Bank. She went on to play minor characters on television and in film in the late 1960s and early ’70s. At 12, she landed her biggest role: Joanie, the freckle-faced troublemaker and sister of Richie Cunningham, the all-American teenager played by Ron Howard.
Over the 11-season run of “Happy Days,” a Garry Marshall creation that would become one of the most popular sitcoms in television history, Joanie was transformed from a young teenager who complained about being sent to her room to a major character on the show. In later seasons, Joanie’s love interest with the aspiring musician Chachi Arcola, played by Scott Baio, became a major story line.
In 1982, the two characters were given their own show, “Joanie Loves Chachi,” a widely panned comedy that followed their romantic adventures and musical pursuits in Chicago. While “Happy Days” was a No. 1 hit, the spinoff — one of several spawned by “Happy Days” — lasted only 17 episodes.
The show’s failure ushered in a swift end to Ms. Moran’s acting career and her opportunities in Hollywood. She was only 22 when the show ended, but despite minor appearances on other shows, she never held another leading role.
After the shows were over, Ms. Moran was candid about the downsides of growing up on screen under the Hollywood spotlight. She said that shortly before her 15th birthday, producers on “Happy Days” began to pressure her to watch what she ate and to wear more revealing outfits. “They suddenly wanted me to lose weight and become this sexy thing,” she said in an interview in 1983.
In the mid-1980s, Ms. Moran swore off Hollywood and left Los Angeles for a home in the California mountains. She told The Toronto Star in 1988 that she had suffered from depression after the two television series ended and acting offers dried up.
“I wanted time off to reassess my life and career,” she said. “I had to ask myself, ‘Do I really want to keep doing this, or do I want to sit back and take it easy for five years, 10 years?’ ”
Erin Marie Moran was born on Oct. 18, 1960, in Burbank, Calif., and raised in North Hollywood with five siblings. She was the second-youngest child of Sharon and Edward Moran. Her father was a finance manager. Her mother encouraged her acting career and signed her up with an agent at 5.
Before playing Joanie, Ms. Moran played an orphan on “Daktari,” a late-’60s drama about a veterinarian protecting wildlife in East Africa, and a daughter on the sitcom “The Don Rickles Show.” She also appeared in “Family Affair,” “Gunsmoke,” “My Three Sons” and “The F.B.I,” among other shows.
Ms. Moran, who started acting at 5, got her first taste of television in a commercial for First Federal Bank. She went on to play minor characters on television and in film in the late 1960s and early ’70s. At 12, she landed her biggest role: Joanie, the freckle-faced troublemaker and sister of Richie Cunningham, the all-American teenager played by Ron Howard.
Have a nice day!