Erin Moran: ''I couldn't be Joanie all my life.''

"It's time for something else."

CBS Television Distribution

When you spend a few years anywhere, it can be a bit difficult to say goodbye. But as difficult as it was for viewers to say goodbye to a show like Happy Days, it was actually even harder for the show's actors.

Happy Days was a source of comfort for many, providing a sense of nostalgia back to what people argue was a better, simpler time period. Just as the show preached camaraderie, so too were the cast members bonded together behind the scenes. Interestingly enough, Erin Moran, best known for playing Joanie Cunningham on the series, wasn't too cut up that her spinoff series, Joanie Loves Chachi, was canceled because it meant that she could return to Happy Days.

"I was disappointed that our show didn't go but I wasn't devastated that it didn't," Moran said of Joanie Loves Chachi. "This business is so fickle. But I develop a family feeling when I work with people. I get attached to the crew if I'm doing a commercial."

Therefore, it's no secret that Moran was devastated when Happy Days wrapped up its eleven-season run. It was a show that Moran grew up on. Still, she couldn't be a Cunningham for the rest of her life.

"It's eleven years of my life," she said. "I started when I was twelve. I grew up with two families, my own and my Happy Days family. It was wonderful. But I knew it couldn't go on forever. I couldn't be Joanie all my life. It's time for something else."

Still, Moran was grateful for the opportunities that starring in Happy Days provided her. "What pleased me is that when I've been talking to the public, that's what they tell me," she said. "They'd like to see me in something else."

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5 Comments

LabLove 2 months ago
I always thought they could have chosen better for the role of "Joanie".
MichaelPowers 3 months ago
Mary Elizabeth MacDonough (Erin Walton on The Waltons) and Erin Moran were close friends according to MEM's autobiography.
Runeshaper 3 months ago
Sounds like Moran really appreciated her time on Happy Days and at the same time, was ready for her next project (-:
McGillahooala 3 months ago
Wasn’t there a time when she made accusations against the guys on the show and seemed bitter about the experience?
CoreyC 3 months ago
Erin Moran life became tragic after Happy Days. She never acted again and suffered psychological issues until her death.
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