OH Erin... now you will finally have the peace you wanted so badly here on earth ...Rest In It serenely now.. too soon
Erin Moran, One Of The Stars Of HAPPY DAYS Dies At 56
Erin Moran , best known for playing Joanie Cunningham on the 1970s sitcom “ Happy Days ,” has died. She was 56.
According to TMZ , Moran’s body was found unresponsive Saturday afternoon by authorities in Indiana. The cause of death is unknown.
The California-born actress, who also starred in the “Happy Days” spinoff “ Joanie Loves Chachi ,” had fallen on hard times in recent years. She was reportedly kicked out of her trailer park home in Indiana because of her hard-partying ways.
Henry Winkler, who starred opposite Moran as The Fonz in CBS’ iconic series, tweeted: “OH Erin…now you will finally have the peace you wanted so badly here on earth. Rest In It serenely now…too soon.”
Moran was just 14 when she signed on to play Ron Howard’s sister in the family comedy, which aired from 1974 to 1984.
Howard tweeted, “Such sad sad news. RIP Erin. I’ll always choose to remember you on our show making scenes better, getting laughs and lighting up tv screens.”
“What happened with all of us was like we were this family,” Moran said in a 2009 interview with Xfinity. “It was so surreal with all the cast members…They were my family, get it?”
The actress, however, apparently wasn’t as happy about appearing in “Joanie Loves Chachi,” the short-lived sitcom spin-off which co-starred Scott Baio.
“I liked working with the people. But I didn’t even want to do it. I was talked into it,” she said. “I wanted to stay on ‘Happy Days.’ They were running them at the same time.”
“Joanie Loves Chachi” only lasted one season (1982-83) before it was pulled off the air.
Moran’s TV credits also included “The Love Boat,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
She most recently appeared on VH1’s reality show “Celebrity Fit Club” in 2008 and low-budget film “Not Another B Movie” 2010.
In 2012, Moran and some of her “Happy Days” co-stars — Anson Williams, Marion Ross, Don Most and the widow of Tom Bosley – filed a $10 million lawsuit against CBS, claiming they never received merchandise royalties they were owed under their contracts. The case was later settled out of court. Neither Henry Winkler nor Ron Howard were part of the lawsuit.
Most said in a statement, “I am so incredibly sad to hear about Erin. She was a wonderful, sweet, caring, talented woman. As I write this I can’t really comprehend this right now. A very painful loss. It gives me some comfort to know that she’s with Tom, Al, Pat and Garry. Rest In Peace, sweet Erin.”
Williams, who played Potsie in “Happy Days,” said, “Erin was a person who made everyone around her feel better. She truly cared about others first, a true angel. I will miss her so much, but know that she is in God’s hands. RIP sweet angel.”
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It is a sad story and a cautionary tale about celebrity and what happens when it ends.
Erin Moran was not a good actress. Her career as a viable actress was over when she was in her mid 20's. No one wanted her once her Happy Days glow wore off because she was not a good actress. But she had been famous once, or relatively so as a secondary character on the most popular show on tv for a while, and she could not adjust to the fact that no one wanted her to be famous any more.
What is the cautionary tale?
The price of short lived fame.
What price she died of complications of stage 4 cancer.
That hadn't been announced here, yet... So sorry to learn of her death!
Me too.
You mean you don't believe Trump's favorite newspoaper Dean?
THE INSIDE STORY!
Erin Moran’s Unhappy Days: Tragic Secrets Of Addict Actress
Drug use left sitcom star dying in squalor!
Erin Moran died of a suspected heroin overdose — after years of struggling with depression!
The former “Happy Days” star was found dead after Indiana police responded to a call for an unresponsive female.
Moran lived in a trailer park in her final days in an area that has seen a alarming spike in heroin usage and fatalities!
To be fair, EVERYWHERE has seen an alarming increase in drug use and fatalities. I hope that her drug use gave her some relief from the pain of cancer. Pain meds-- real ones that help-- are very difficult to come by! I hope that someone, somewhere, helped her get some relief.
If the coroner says she died of cancer then she died of cancer. It is also well known that this was an unhappy woman for a long long time. She wasn't a good actress and she couldn't find work in acting after Happy Days went off. She hasn't acted in any thing reputable since the mid 80's, lost her home to foreclosure, started doing drugs and has been depressed for years.
Poor woman! I hope she finds peace in heaven. My prayers are with her family and friends.
and to be correct , her acting career went back further than when she ended up on happy days at 14, that was when she came into the spotlight and became recognizable , but she had other acting credits on other shows , i remember seeing here on Daktari with Clarence the cross eyed lion when she was no older than my oldest grand daughter as well as appearances on other shows.
The local news here reported that no illicit drugs were found in her home. Which is good, I guess. I'm sorry she is gone, she seemed to be a nice person.