A Major Happy Days Character Exit Actually Had the Perfect Way to Return

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A common storytelling pattern in TV and other fandoms is when a character is simply written off a show and then never mentioned again, as if they never existed. This is known as the “Chuck Cunningham” trope, named after a character from the early seasons of Happy Days. Chuck, the older brother of Richie and Joanie, was played by multiple actors – Gavan O’Herlihy in season one and Randolph Roberts in season two. Interestingly, Ric Carrot portrayed Chuck in a 1972 episode of Love, American Style, which served as a pilot for Happy Days.

As a critic, I always felt sorry for Chuck Cunningham on ‘Happy Days.’ Initially, he was set up as the dependable older brother to Richie, but that role quickly vanished. You see, a cool, leather-jacketed newcomer, Fonzie, stole the show and became the one Richie turned to for guidance. Frankly, with Fonzie around, Chuck just wasn’t needed. And beyond being a former college basketball player, Chuck didn’t really have much going for him. It’s no surprise they wrote him off the show entirely. It was a bit of a quiet exit, actually – in the 1984 finale, Howard simply mentioned that both his children were now married, as if to say, ‘Oh, and by the way, Chuck’s gone.’

It’s ironic that “Chuck Cunningham Syndrome” – when a character is simply written off a show and never mentioned again – is named after a relatively recent example. This actually happened on television long before Happy Days premiered in 1974. For instance, on My Three Sons, one of the original three sons, Mike Douglas, was replaced with a new third son, and the show just pretended the first one never existed. So, it’s amusing that a later instance is the one that gave the trope its name.

Perhaps the most puzzling thing about Chuck’s departure from the show is that Happy Days actually had a brilliant, easy way to bring him back, but they surprisingly chose not to. Instead, they created a new character who wasn’t nearly as effective.

How was Richie Cunningham replaced on Happy Days?

Early on, Happy Days faced a challenge when it became clear that Ron Howard’s character, Fonzie, was becoming more popular than Richie Cunningham. Despite this, the show intentionally maintained Richie as a central character alongside Fonzie, emphasizing that Fonzie always seemed best when supporting his friend, Richie.

As the series progressed, the dynamic between Richie and Fonzie changed. Richie matured, and Fonzie’s role as a mentor diminished, with the two becoming more like equals and best friends. Ron Howard wasn’t concerned with being the show’s main focus anymore, and he developed a close friendship with Henry Winkler off-screen. However, Howard aspired to direct films, so after seven seasons he left Happy Days and went on to a successful directing career, even winning an Oscar for Best Director for the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind.

After Richie left the show, the writers smartly introduced Joanie, his younger sister, as a new teen character, along with her boyfriend Chachi. This allowed Fonzie to take on a mentoring role again, so the show continued smoothly. However, after a couple of seasons, they tried to launch Joanie and Chachi into their own series, which didn’t succeed. Without Richie or Joanie, the show lost its direction and began to decline. Though Joanie and Chachi returned before the tenth season ended, the show only lasted one more season after that.

After Joanie and Chachi stepped into leading roles alongside Fonzie, the show still missed having a close friend for Fonzie to connect with, similar to Richie. To fill this void, they introduced Roger Phillips (played by Ted McGinley), Richie’s cousin who had just finished college.

Roger continued to be part of the show for its entire run. It’s a shame they didn’t just have Roger replace Chuck – that would have made so much more sense!

Why should Roger Phillips have been Chuck Cunningham?

Let’s face it, starting with season three, Fonzie essentially became part of the Cunningham family. He lived with them, ate with them, and was treated like one of their own. So, if the show was going to replace Richie Cunningham, it really should have been with another member of the Cunningham family!

But the biggest issue was that Roger Phillips wasn’t a fully fleshed-out character. We only knew two things about him: he was Marion Cunningham’s nephew and a former college basketball star. In fact, being a basketball player – which led to him coaching at Jefferson High and being Chachi’s teacher and coach – was his main characteristic, and it was exactly the same trait that defined Chuck.

When Chuck left the show, he was a college basketball star. Roger came on as a college graduate who had also been a basketball player, but it felt like a missed opportunity. It would have been easy for Ted McGinley to play Chuck, simply returning after spending five years in college. The show needed someone a bit older for Fonzie to connect with, and while Roger worked for that role (eventually becoming a school principal with Fonzie as his dean), Chuck would have fit just as well and kept Fonzie close to the Cunningham family.

I really don’t understand why they didn’t just have Roger play the role of Chuck. It feels like a big missed chance, and it’s hard to see what they were thinking.

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2025-10-22 00:10