Erin Moran obit

Erin Moran, Who Played Joanie on ‘Happy Days,’ Dies at 56

She was not on the list.

Erin Moran, the former child actor who played the sweet but mischievous Joanie on the television series “Happy Days” and “Joanie Loves Chachi,” has died. She was 56.

The Harrison County Sheriff’s Department in southern Indiana confirmed her death. Ms. Moran was found unresponsive Saturday afternoon and died in her home in New Salisbury, Ind., the authorities said.

An autopsy showed that she most likely died from complications of cancer, the sheriff’s department said in a statement on Monday.

Ms. Moran, who started acting at 5, got her first taste of television in a commercial for First Federal Bank. She went on to play minor characters on television and in film in the late 1960s and early ’70s. At 12, she landed her biggest role: Joanie, the freckle-faced troublemaker and sister of Richie Cunningham, the all-American teenager played by Ron Howard.

Over the 11-season run of “Happy Days,” a Garry Marshall creation that would become one of the most popular sitcoms in television history, Joanie was transformed from a young teenager who complained about being sent to her room to a major character on the show. In later seasons, Joanie’s love interest with the aspiring musician Chachi Arcola, played by Scott Baio, became a major story line.

In 1982, the two characters were given their own show, “Joanie Loves Chachi,” a widely panned comedy that followed their romantic adventures and musical pursuits in Chicago. While “Happy Days” was a No. 1 hit, the spinoff — one of several spawned by “Happy Days” — lasted only 17 episodes.

The show’s failure ushered in a swift end to Ms. Moran’s acting career and her opportunities in Hollywood. She was only 22 when the show ended, but despite minor appearances on other shows, she never held another leading role.

After the shows were over, Ms. Moran was candid about the downsides of growing up on screen under the Hollywood spotlight. She said that shortly before her 15th birthday, producers on “Happy Days” began to pressure her to watch what she ate and to wear more revealing outfits. “They suddenly wanted me to lose weight and become this sexy thing,” she said in an interview in 1983.

In the mid-1980s, Ms. Moran swore off Hollywood and left Los Angeles for a home in the California mountains. She told The Toronto Star in 1988 that she had suffered from depression after the two television series ended and acting offers dried up.

“I wanted time off to reassess my life and career,” she said. “I had to ask myself, ‘Do I really want to keep doing this, or do I want to sit back and take it easy for five years, 10 years?’ ”

Erin Marie Moran was born on Oct. 18, 1960, in Burbank, Calif., and raised in North Hollywood with five siblings. She was the second-youngest child of Sharon and Edward Moran. Her father was a finance manager. Her mother encouraged her acting career and signed her up with an agent at 5.

Before playing Joanie, Ms. Moran played an orphan on “Daktari,” a late-’60s drama about a veterinarian protecting wildlife in East Africa, and a daughter on the sitcom “The Don Rickles Show.” She also appeared in “Family Affair,” “Gunsmoke,” “My Three Sons” and “The F.B.I,” among other shows.

Later in her life, she moved to Indiana with her second husband, Steve Fleischmann.

A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.

Filmography

Film and television

    1967: Who's Minding the Mint? as Little Girl on Tricycle (uncredited)

    1968: How Sweet It Is! as Laurie

    1968: Stanley vs. The System

    1968–1969: Daktari as Jenny Jones

    1969: Death Valley Days as Mary Tugwell (2 episodes)

    1969: 80 Steps to Jonah as Kim

    1969: The Happy Ending as Marge Wilson as a Child (uncredited)

    1970: The Courtship of Eddie's Father as Emily Ruth Gustafson

    1970-1973: The F.B.I. as Vickie Florea / Cindy Marot (3 episodes)

    1970: My Three Sons as Victoria Lewis

    1970: Watermelon Man as Janice Gerber

    1970–1971: Family Affair as Amy / Mary Ellen / Janet (3 episodes)

    1971: O'Hara, U.S. Treasury as Little Girl

    1971: The Smith Family as Julie

    1971: Bearcats! as Elisa Tillman

    1971: Gunsmoke as Rachel / Jenny (2 episodes)

    1972: The Don Rickles Show as Janie Robinson

    1973: Lisa, Bright and Dark as Tracy Schilling

    1974–1984: Happy Days as Joanie Cunningham (234 episodes)

    1975: The Waltons as Sally Ann Harper

    1975: Dinah! as Herself

    1976: The Captain and Tennille as Herself

    1977: The Magic Pony (voice)

    1978-1979: The Mike Douglas Show as Herself (2 episodes)

    1978-1979: The Hollywood Squares as Herself (6 episodes)

    1979: Greatest Heroes of the Bible as Tova

    1979: Sitcom: The Adventures of Garry Marshall as Herself (uncredited)

    1980–1985: The Love Boat as Carrie Walker / Joanne Morgan / Barbara Blatnick / Janet Reynolds (6 episodes)

    1980: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve as Herself

    1981: Twirl as Bonnie Lee Jordan

    1981: Galaxy of Terror as Alluma

    1981: 38th Golden Globe Awards as Herself

    1982: 39th Golden Globe Awards as Herself

    1982–1983: Joanie Loves Chachi as Joanie Cunningham (17 episodes)

    1983: Hotel as Karen Donnelly

    1984: Glitter as Caroline Mason

    1984: Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour as Herself (10 episodes)

    1986: Murder, She Wrote as Maggie Roberts

    1992: The Howard Stern Show as Herself

    1996: Dear God as Herself

    1998: Diagnosis: Murder as Cynthia Bennett

    1998: Desperation Boulevard as Herself

    1999: Celebrity Profile as Herself

    1999: Good vs. Evil as Herself

    1999: Entertainment Tonight Presents: Happy Days - Secrets as Herself

    2000: I Love 1970's as Herself

    2001: TVography: Happy Days as Herself

    2001: Weakest Link as Herself

    2001-2003: Hollywood Squares as Herself (7 episodes)

    2002: Inside TV Land: 40 Greatest Theme Songs as Herself

    2003: ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration as Herself

    2003: Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star as Herself

    2004: Pyramid as Herself

    2005: Happy Days: 30th Anniversary Reunion as Herself

    2006: Where Are They Now? as Herself

    2007: Scott Baio is 45 and Single as Herself

    2007: The Singing Bee as Herself

    2007-2008: Entertainment Weekly as Herself (5 episodes)

    2008: Today as Herself

    2008: Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp as Herself

    2008: Broken Promise as Mrs. Watkins

    2008: The Early Show as Herself

    2008: Fox Reality Awards as Herself

    2008: Whatever Happened To? as Herself

    2008: Mother Goose Parade as Herself

    2009: The Bold and the Beautiful as Kelly DeMartin

    2009: Catch 21 as Herself

    2010: Not Another B Movie as Mrs. Klien

    2010: Totally Tracked Down as Herself

    2012: The Deceit as Mrs. Shephard (final film role)

    2012: Celebrity Ghost Stories as Herself (final TV role)