Difference between revisions of "Happy Days (franchise)"

Latest revision as of 20:13, October 27, 2025

This article is about the real-life television program. For the show as seen in the Simpsons universe, see Happy Days.

Happy Days was a 1974-1984 American sitcom. It was tremendously popular, mostly thanks to the breakout character The Fonz (played by Henry Winkler). The series has been referenced several times on The Simpsons.

References[edit]

Television episodes[edit]

Picture	Season	Episode number	Episode name	Reference
	3	44	"Saturdays of Thunder"	When Patty and Selma wanted Homer to do a quiz on fathers they told Marge that Henry Winkler was a father and that Winker told a close friend: "I don't always keep my cool like the Fonz but my love for my kids has given me plenty of happy days."
	57	"The Otto Show"	Homer is not eager about Otto Mann staying over and says: "This is not 'Happy Days' and he's not the Fonz." Whereupon Otto enters and greets Homer with the line: "Hey, Mr. S!", in the way the Fonz would greet Mr. Cunningham.
	4	62	"Lisa the Beauty Queen"	One of the caricatures made by the caricaturist depicts the Fonz, amidst a caricature of Farrah Fawcett and Darth Vader.
	65	"Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie"	When Lisa was a baby, Homer read to her from the TV guide about an episode of Happy Days where The Fonz is worried that he's losing his cool..
	66	"Marge Gets a Job"	At a party Lenny Leonard appears dressed as Fonzie and says: "Hey, sit on it!". He is then informed that 1950s night was last time, whereupon Lenny decides to instantly go home and change his outfit.
	78	"The Front"	When Homer and Marge were going to their reunion, Homer said that it would be great to see the old gang again, Potsie, Ralph Malph and the Fonz. Marge then told Homer that that was Happy Days. Homer misunderstands her remark and says that they weren't all happy days, like the time Pinky Tuscadero crashed her motorcycle or the night Richie Cunningham lost all his money to those card sharks and his dad, played by Tom Bosley, had to get it back.
	6	118	"Homie the Clown"	Homer dresses up as a clown and tells Lisa that it is bad enough when he tried to pass himself off as Tom Bosley. Bosley played the father character in Happy Days.
	8	164	"The Twisted World of Marge Simpson"	Disco Stu says "Hey-y-y-y" in the style of the Fonz.
	167	"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"	Poochie describes himself as "half Fonzarelli". Later the character Roy moves in with The Simpsons, whose style and mannerisms are a parody of the Fonz, complete with the line: "Hey, Mr. S.
	9	184	"Bart Star"	Lenny's T-shirt says "Sit on it," a popular phrase from the show.
	190	"Bart Carny"	Spud calls Lisa "Blue Eyes" in the same way Chachi does with Joanie.
	10	208	"When You Dish Upon a Star"	Homer meets Ron Howard, who played Richie Cunningham on the show, but incorrectly addresses him as "Potsie".
At the end of the episode, Ron Howard successfully pitches the script for The Terminizor: An Erotic Thriller (which had been Homer's idea) to a Hollywood executive. The Happy Days theme song plays as the closing credits begin to roll.
	219	"Make Room for Lisa"	Homer is more interested in Fonzie's jacket in the Smithsonian Museum than any other historical valuable object. Bart has no idea who Fonzie is, so Homer lectures him that Fonzie freed the squares.
	13	272	"Homer the Moe"	Homer tries to fix the jukebox in Moe's Tavern by hitting it with his fist, like Fonzie. However, he breaks the glass, badly cuts his hand, and barely manages to say "Hey" and strike a thumbs-up pose (also like Fonzie) before he collapses.
	286	"Gump Roast"	During the song They'll Never Stop the Simpsons Homer is seen on waterskies jumping over a shark, a reference to a famous episode of Happy Days in which Fonzie does the same .
	291	"Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge"	The Fonz appears as a former student of the Springfield Elementary School.
	14	293	"How I Spent My Strummer Vacation"	The family literally jumps the shark during the couch gag.
307	"'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky"
	19	409	"Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind/References"	Fonzie appears in Homer's flashback.
	20	430	"Take My Life, Please"	When Lisa counts the ballots for Homer's class president election, one of the votes is cast for Fonzie.
	433	"In the Name of the Grandfather"	A man on the street tells Homer that he is in AA. Homer replies, "Who are you, stuttering Fonzie?!".
	22	484	"Homer Scissorhands"	In the couch gag the couch is in the Smithsonian Museum, where Fonzie's jacket is seen again. The same couch gag is used again in the episode "Replaceable You".
	23	491	"The Book Job"	Homer calls Neil Gaiman "British Fonzie".
	24	512	"Gone Abie Gone"	A picture of The Fonz is seen in a locket.
	28	615	"The Caper Chase"	Homer makes a note of John Keating, played by Robin Williams, being like Patch Adams minus Mork from Happy Days and Mork & Mindy.
	33	710	"The Wayz We Were"	Moe mentions Henry Winkler and talks about him jumping the shark in Happy Days.
	36	769	"Bart's Birthday"	According to host Conan O'Brien, one of the shows an artificial intelligence device used to write this entire episode was Happy Days.

Comic stories[edit]

Comic issue	Story name	Reference
Simpsons Comics #90	Homer's America	Homer drives the school bus to Mount Rushmore during a field trip. Ralph Wiggum asks, "Who are those men and why are their heads so big?" Homer says, "Glad you asked, Potsie!", referring to Happy Days character Potsie Weber, and tells Ralph his version of the story of Mount Rushmore.
Simpsons Comics #130	Marge the Sellout	Old TV Guide covers include one of Fonzie.
Simpsons Super Spectacular #1	Holy Cow!! Has Pie Man Turned Evil?	When Krusty was caught perpetrating a series of crimes while disguised as Pie Man, he said he did it to stop Pie Man from distracting his audience's attention, and it had worked well enough he could stop doing his Pat Morita impression. When everyone looked blank, Krusty, incredulous, gave a clue, describing Morita as "the little guy from Happy Days". Even with the clue, no one recognized Morita, dismaying Krusty even further. (Pat Morita had a recurring role on Happy Days as diner owner Arnold Takahashi.)
Krusty the Clown #1	The Laugh Man on Earth!	In the early days of Krustylu Studios, one of the programs Krusty made was a sitcom called Krusty Days, a parody of Happy Days.

Common cast members[edit]

Name	Role in Happy Days	Role on The Simpsons
Ed Begley, Jr.	Played Hank in "The Deadly Dares".	Voiced himself in "Homer to the Max" and "Gone Maggie Gone".
Joyce Brothers	Played herself in "Spunkless Spunky".	Voiced herself in "Last Exit to Springfield".
Morgan Fairchild	Played Cynthia Holmes in "My Fair Fonzie".	Voiced Vivienne St. Charmaine in "Podcast News".
Tom Hanks	Played Dr. Dwayne Twitchell in "A Little Case of Revenge".	Voiced himself in the film The Simpsons Movie.
Ron Howard	Played Richie Cunningham.	Voiced himself in the episodes "When You Dish Upon a Star" and "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder".
David Lander	Played Andrew 'Squiggy' Squiggmann in "Fonzie's Funeral: Part 2".	Voiced Squiggy, his character from Laverne & Shirley, in "Helter Shelter".
Maggie Roswell	Guest-starred as Joyce James in the episode "Fonzie Moves Out".	Voice of Helen Lovejoy, Elizabeth Hoover, Luann Van Houten, Maude Flanders, and other characters.
Henry Winkler	Played Arthur Fonzarelli, aka The Fonz.	Voiced Ramrod in the episode "Take My Wife, Sleaze".

External links[edit]

Happy Days at Wikipedia

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