Tom Bosley was everybody’s favorite TV dad for a reason

After watching Tom Bosley play the head of the Cunningham family as Howard Cunningham, you'd expect him to be as nice as his character was. And spoiler: He was!

According to a 1979 interview with The Palm Beach Post, Bosley couldn't go out in public without kids, parents and fans running up to him. He would never decline an autograph or a moment with most fans.

"The relationship between the TV performer and the audience is an extremely personal one," Bosley said. "The viewers have been inviting us into their homes for years, and they feel they really know you. Actors have to understand this. It took me a while to sort it out for myself."

Bosley was as nice and caring as his character onscreen, which was probably part of the reason Howard Cunningham felt so real to viewers at home. He was Cunningham, and Cunningham was him.

While there were certainly times he probably wanted to be alone, he cared deeply for his Happy Days fans. If he could make their day better, then it was all happy days for him.

See Also

Are these Full House fun facts true or false?

According to the interview, Bosley attributed the success of Happy Days to the fact that the plotlines always left room for communication between parents and children.

"Even though I play a bit of a buffoon, I'm still able to handle the situation as a parent when it's called for in the storyline," Bosley added.

Bosley also generously, as you would expect, gave Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie, a lot of credit for the series' success. Everyone knew the cool guy known for the famous phrase "Ayyy" was a key part of the show's popularity.

But Bosley's generosity didn't stop with praise for Fonzie. It extended to Ron Howard's character and the actor himself for moving over and letting Henry Winkler shine.

"The original premise had Ron as the star, and when Fonzie's supporting character took off, the producers could have written Ron out entirely or gone with a new show about The Fonz," Bosley said. "But Ron convinced the studio it would work with both of them, and, of course, he was right."

Bosley also had a lot of himself in the character. According to the interview, he patterned some of Howard Cunningham's traits after his own brother, who lived in Chicago.

So, not only was his relationship with the audience deeply personal, but his relationship with his own character was personal as well.