Ayyyi! "Happy Days" Here Again

ABC is giving a big thumbs-up to a Happy Days get-together.

The Alphabet network on Thursday announced details for The Happy Day 30th Anniversary Reunion, a two-hour retrospective that will bring together the original gang in honor of the sitcom's 30th anniversary.

All the key cast members are on board: Ron Howard (Richie Cunningham), Henry Winkler (Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli), Tom Bosley (Howard Cunningham), Marion Ross (Marion Cunningham), Erin Moran (Joanie Cunningham), Scott Baio (Chachi) Anson Williams (Potsie), Don Most (Ralph Malph).

According to a press release, the special will include "hilarious clips from the series, with candid conversations, little-known facts and the cast's fondest moments" from the sitcom's 11-year run.

Winkler will executive produce the special with Michael Levitt.

"It was an absolute no-brainer," Andrea Wong, ABC's head of alternative programming, told Variety. "We've wanted to do this for a long time, and Henry Winkler recently called up and said the whole cast was willing to do it."

Also playing a prominent role in the reunion will be series creator Garry Marshall.

He'll be joined by his sister Penny Marshall, who with Cindy Williams played single girls Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney on Happy Days. Their appearance led to what would be the first of three spinoffs from the classic ABC sitcom--the others being Mork & Mindy and Joanie Loves Chachi. Williams is also participating in the special.

Meanwhile, both actors who played the role of Richie Cunningham's long-lost brother, Chuck, in the 1974-75 season--Gavin O?Herlihy and Randolph Roberts--will discuss their experiences playing the character, who quickly disappeared from the show.

Other supporting cast members and guest stars appearing in the special include: Pat Morita (Arnold), Crystal Bernard (K.C. Cunningham), Danny Butch (Spike), Lynda Goodfriend (Lori Beth), Clint Howard (Junior), Ted McGinley (Roger Phillips), Linda Purl (Ashley Pfister) and Cathy Silvers (Jenny Piccalo).

Among the familiar faces MIA from the reunion, at least per ABC's latest rundown: Al Molinaro (Alfred Delvecchio), Roz Kelly (Pinky Tuscadero) and Suzi Quatro (Leather Tuscadero). Robin Williams, whose Mork originally touched down in Milwaukee, isn't listed among the participants, either.

Happy Days, was the first in a wave of shows to capitalize on the nostalgia for the feel-good '50s, followed life with the Cunningham family and their pals in Milwaukee. The series debuted in January 1974 and ran for 11 seasons on ABC before bidding goodbye in 1984. The show was a full-fledged cultural icon, adding phrases like "sit on it" and "ayyy" to the lexicon, inspiring the phrase "jump the shark" and landing Fonzie's leather jacket in the Smithsonian.

Not only will the cast members take part in the reunion, set to tape this weekend, but they'll participate in a cast-crew softball game scheduled for Saturday at Pepperdine University in Malibu.

Winkler says the games were a tradition started by Marshall more than 30 years ago to help cultivate a family atmosphere on the set.

The games "were so much a part of our culture that we felt it would be a great centerpiece for the reunion," the former Fonzie told Variety.

The softball games became so popular that Marshall began organizing them for charity and taking them out on the road as part of USO Tours.

"We played for the troops in Germany and Okinawa. We just moved as a unit. Gary felt that it could not help but make the team that worked together on the show stronger," said Winkler, who aside from costarring on the Emmy-nominated Fox sitcom Arrested Development, is also teaming with Levitt to produce a Dallas reunion for CBS.

Footage from the baseball game will serve to set up clips and memorable moments discussed by the cast before a studio audience at the reunion taping at CBS Television City, where the sitcom was originally shot. Clips of the old softball games, captured on home video by members of the crew, will also be screened during the special.

The Happy Day 30th Anniversary Reunion does not yet have an airdate, but ABC will most likely slate the special for a plum slot in the November or February sweeps.