This ‘Happy Days’ Star Was Found ‘Shaking’ in the Wardrobe Closet Before His First Live Studio Audience Performance

Ron Howard has been a well-known name in Hollywood for more than 50 years, but that doesn’t mean everything has come easy for him. During a Happy Days reunion panel at Fanboy Expo in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, July 11, Howard’s costars Don Most and Anson Williams spoke about the early days of live audience tapings of the beloved show, sharing a recollection of Howard’s nerves.

“Donnie, Henry [Winkler] and I, we had done theater and we were excited about this, because every Friday was like opening night, you know, a little nervous, live audience,” Williams — who played Potsie on the sitcom — told the audience, according to People. “Ron Howard, on the other hand, had never had never done a stage show.”

Williams went on to recall that there was a specific night in 1975 in which he couldn’t find Howard, who portrayed Richie Cunningham, anywhere as the show was supposed to be starting. 

“There’s a wardrobe room, and there’s Ron in the corner, shaking, back turned to me,” Williams recalled. “And I go, ‘Ron!’ And he just walks out. And kills that night! He found out he’s really good at the theater.” As for Happy Days, which ran for 11 seasons, Williams gushed, “That was the beginning of us becoming number one in the world.”

Williams added: “The other thing that made it great, we rehearsed and could improve the show. It wasn’t like, ‘Here’s the page, just shoot the scene.’ We can improve it. And I think that’s another reason we stayed on a long time, because we were all able to collaborate.”

Henry Winkler — who played Fonzie — previously spoke out about Howard’s nerves during a June podcast interview with Ted Danson.

“When you see him, you would never know,” Winkler said of his costar. “He could do anything, this man.”