Happy Days' Tom Bosley Dead at 83

He played beloved TV dad Howard Cunningham
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 19, 2010 1:16 PM CDT
Happy Days ' Tom Bosley Dead at 83
This is an undated file photo of the cast of the television series "Happy Days." Tom Bosley is lower right.   (AP Photo/file)

A sad week for iconic TV parents. Tom Bosley—Mr. C from Happy Days—has died of heart failure at age 83. He had been suffering from lung cancer. TV Guide ranked Bosley's Howard Cunningham character No. 9 on its list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" in 2004. "He was my husband for 11 years," said Marion Ross, who played Marion Cunningham on the show. "He was so smart he could fix the end of a joke or a scene on the spot. We made a perfect couple. I played piccolo to his tuba." Said Ron Howard: "I miss him already."

After Happy Days ended, Bosley went on to a recurring role in Murder, She Wrote as Sheriff Amos Tucker. He also was the crime-solving priest in television's The Father Dowling Mysteries, which ran from 1989 to 1991. His death follows that of Barbara Billingsley, who played the mom on Leave It to Beaver.
(More Tom Bosley stories.)

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