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O’Herlihy appeared in seven episodes in the first season of Happy Days playing the part of Chuck Cunningham, the older-brother to Ron Howard’s Richie, but departed the series after the first season. He was briefly replaced in the part by another actor, who was playing the part when he ascended the stairs in the Cunningham home and never appeared again, spawning the phrase “Chuck Cunningam syndrome” for TV characters that are never heard from again with no explanation. Despite their brief time together on the show O’Herlihy and Howard would work together again with the actor appearing in Howard’s 1988 fantasy movie Willow.
Howard tweeted about O’Herlihy’s passing after the news broke, writing: “I knew him as the 1st of 2 Chucks on #HappyDays & then as Airk in #Willow where I had the pleasure of directing him. A talented actor with a big free spirit.”
In addition to Happy Days, O’Herlihy’s early TV credits include The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Six Million Dollar Man, Rich Man, Poor Man, The Bionic Woman, and even the 1970s live-action Spider-Man TV series. He would also appear in later shows including Tales from the Crypt, Tarzan, Twin Peaks, and Star Trek: Voyager. His feature film credits include the James Bond film Never Say Never Again, Superman III, and most recently The Descent: Part 2.
Our thoughts go out to the family of Gavan O’Herlihy during this difficult time, may he rest in peace.
(Cover Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
