Tom Bosley Dies At His Rancho Mirage Home
Actor Tom Bosley, who became a father figure to America through his role as Howard Cunningham on the iconic television series “Happy Days,” died today in Rancho Mirage.
Bosley, 83, died after a short battle with lung cancer, according to a statement issued by his family.
The Chicago native had bit parts in a variety of television shows in the 1960s, including “Route 66,” “Car 54, Where Are You?,” “The Mod Squad” and “Marcus Welby, M.D.” He was a semi-regular on “The Debbie Reynolds Show,” “The Sandy Duncan Show” and “Love, American Style.”
He shot to fame, however, playing Howard Cunningham, the father to Ron Howard’s Richie Cunningham and father-figure to Henry Winkler’s Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli on “Happy Days.”
“It was the highlight of our careers not only because we had so much time on the show but because we really were a family,” Winkler told KNX radio. “And Tom was not only a TV father, he was also one of the dads on the set.
“We played baseball together, we traveled all over the world together. We played charades together. Tom would help us when we bought our first houses, you know, as the show was going on … I’m just in shock. I really am. I spoke to him just a few weeks ago and he seemed to be getting his strength back and doing really well. It’s very sad.”
The show ran for a decade.
Scott Baio, who played The Fonz’s cousin, Chachi, on the show, paid tribute to Bosley on his Twitter page.
“Mr. Tom Bosley will be missed by many,” Baio wrote. “He was a great actor, teacher and man.”
After “Happy Days” ended its run, Bosley became a regular on “Murder, She Wrote” and starred in the “Father Dowling Mysteries.”
Bosley served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and began appearing in stage productions in Illinois in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He won a Tony Award for his role as Fiorello La Guardia in the 1959 Broadway musical “Fiorello!”
He made sporadic television and film appearances after “Father Dowling Mysteries” ended in 1991. He made guest appearances over the years on shows ranging from “The Drew Carey Show” to “ER” to “That 70s Show.” He also lent his voice to animated productions including “Rugrats,” “Felix the Cat Saves Christmas” — and even as Howard Cunningham on “Family Guy.”
In 1994, he returned to Broadway, starring as Belle’s father in the musical “Beauty and the Beast.”
He appeared most recently in the film “The Back-up Plan,” starring Jennifer Lopez.
He is survived by his wife Patricia, his daughter Amy, brother Richard, stepdaughters Kimberly diBonaventura and Jamie Van Meter and seven grandchildren.
