David Ketchum obit

David Ketchum, the Cooped-Up Agent 13 on ‘Get Smart,’ Dies at 97

He also starred on 'I'm Dickens, He's Fenster' and 'Camp Runamuck' and wrote for nearly four dozen shows, from 'Hey, Landlord' and 'M*A*S*H' to 'MacGyver' and 'Full House.'

 He was not on the list.

David Ketchum, the goofy comic actor and prolific TV writer best known for squeezing into such stuffy spaces as vending machines, trash cans and airport lockers as Agent 13 on the fabled sitcom Get Smart, has died. He was 97.

Ketchum died Aug. 10 in a care facility in Thousand Oaks, California, his daughter Nicole Madden told The Hollywood Reporter.

Ketchum also played carpenter Mel Warshaw opposite John Astin and Marty Ingalls on the 1962-63 ABC sitcom I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster and starred as Counselor Spiffy on the 1965-66 NBC comedy Camp Runamuck.

In notable guest-star turns, he portrayed salesmen selling real estate and petroleum on The Andy Griffith Show in 1967 and was a member of a divorce club that offers great vacation rates on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970.

Said fellow Camp Runamuck actor Dave Madden in Robert Pegg’s 2015 book, Comical Co-Stars of Television: “Dave was a naturally funny guy. He more or less idolized Danny Kaye in Danny’s earlier days, and so an awful lot of the physical things he did in terms of takes and things were very Danny Kaye-ish in their style.”

Ketchum got his first writing credit on a 1967 episode of Garry Marshall‘s Hey, Landlord, and he would write for nearly four dozen shows — other Marshall series like Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley, plus Here’s Lucy, M*A*S*H, Wonder Woman, MacGyver, Highway to Heaven and Full House among them — through 1990.

The Illinois native joined NBC’s Get Smart, created by Buck Henry and Mel Brooks, in time for its second season (1966-67). In one of the spy spoof’s great running gags, his resentful Agent 13 would pop up in mailboxes, grandfather clocks, fire hydrants, planters, etc. while on uncomfortable undercover assignments.

It all started when his sweaty head emerges from under the cover of a barbershop steam cabinet for towels. Asked by Agent 86 (Don Adams) what he’s learned about the latest KAOS criminal plot, he replies, “I’ve grown to hate the spy business, that’s what I’ve learned.”

Soon, producers started saying, “Wait a minute, wouldn’t it be funny if he was in a sofa?” he recalled in a 2002 interview. “So there would be a party, everybody would stand up, and I’d be inside the sofa with a girl and a drink. Stuff like that was tricky. And then they put me in a locker at the airport, and then an ice machine, and it kept getting more and more ridiculous.

“The hardest part for me was when they put Agent 13 in a washing machine. I’m 6-foot-2, so I can’t fit easily into cramped places, and a washing machine is about as cramped as it gets. They also built an eight-foot tube I got into so I could be spun around in the front. You try remembering your lines while you’re spinning around with water and soap squirting in your face!”

In what sounds like a joke, Ketchum was born in an elevator in Quincy, Illinois, on Feb. 4, 1928. He majored in electrical engineering at UCLA.

“I had already done a lot of performing,” he said in a 1965 interview, “but I couldn’t quite resign myself to being in show business. I figured eventually I’d have to work for a living — so I took engineering.”

He was supposed to have a part in the John Wayne-starring Flying Leathernecks (1951) but was activated for service in the National Guard, so he had to pass on that. However, he got into a public information unit that offered him the chance to host a nightly radio show in San Francisco.

He did another radio program in San Diego for seven years, kicking things off there by asking Bob Hope and Doris Day if they’d come on, and they said yes.

Ketchum appeared in a funny bit about Hollywood on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show in 1957 and was a regular on The New Steve Allen Show in 1961. He also worked alongside Ken Berry, Jackie Joseph and Jo Anne Worley in the Billy Barnes Revue, which made it to Broadway in ’61.

A year later, he released a comedy album called The Long-Playing Tongue of Dave Ketchum, and in its review, Billboard called him “a new comic with a number of funny ideas. What’s more, he knows how to put ’em across.”

He caught a big break being cast on I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster, which was created by future Get Smart producer Leonard Stern. On the spy show, he replaced Victor French, who had played Agent 44 in a similar tough-luck role during its first season.

Here he is with Adams in a toothpaste commercial.

Ketchum returned as Agent 13 in the 1989 telefilm Get Smart, Again and on an episode of a rebooted Get Smart in 1995.

His TV acting résumé included stints on The Real McCoys, The Munsters, Good Morning World, Gomer Pyle, Mod Squad, That Girl, Green Acres, The Odd Couple, Happy Days and Alice.

He also appeared in films including Good Neighbor Sam (1964), The Grasshopper (1970), Bless the Beasts & Children (1971), Your Three Minutes Are Up (1973), The North Avenue Irregulars (1979), Love at First Bite (1979), The Main Event (1979), Young Doctors in Love (1982) and The Other Sister (1999).

And he played Murph in a series of commercials for Union 76 gas stations in the 1970s and ’80s.

Ketchum had a lot of time on his hands waiting for his scenes on Get Smart to be set up, so he used that to work on his writing. He penned the 1967 episode “Classification: Dead” and multiple installments of other shows like Captain Nice, Love, American Style, The Rookies, Switch, The Love Boat and Sledge Hammer!

He also co-wrote a claustrophobic ABC telefilm, 1974’s The Elevator.

Survivors include his wife, Louise, whom he married in August 1957; their daughters, Nicole and Wendy; their grandchildren, Hannah, Alison and Cameron; and their great-grandson, Noah.

“He leaves behind a legacy of laughter, warmth and timeless television moments — reminding us all that sometimes, the simplest surprise (like someone perched in a mailbox) can yield the biggest smile,” his family said.

Friends and fans are “invited to enjoy one of his classic performances on Get Smart or Camp Runamuck in remembrance of his quick wit, gentle heart and cinematic spirit.”

Asked in that 2002 interview why Get Smart still resonates after so many years, Ketchum said it was because it was “also satire, and nobody does satire on television today.

“Get Smart did stuff like an episode where they had KAOS take over an entire television network to announce to the world that they’d better capitulate, that it was all over, that KAOS had won. But no one saw that broadcast, because it ran opposite a first-run movie on another network!”

Director

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Director

1978

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Writer

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ReleasedTV Series

1985

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6.8

TV Series

writer

1990

1 episode

 

Michael Landon in Highway to Heaven (1984)

Highway to Heaven

6.9

TV Series

written by

1989

1 episode

 

Anne-Marie Martin, Harrison Page, and David Rasche in Sledge Hammer! (1986)

Sledge Hammer!

8.1

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written byteleplay

1987–1988

4 episodes

 

Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker in Perfect Strangers (1986)

Perfect Strangers

7.2

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written by

1987

1 episode

 

Richard Dean Anderson in MacGyver (1985)

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7.6

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written by

1986

1 episode

 

Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in The Love Boat (1977)

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6.3

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written by

1977–1986

7 episodes

 

Randy Josselyn, David Kaufman, Carol Mansell, Kyle Richards, and Dick Sargent in Down to Earth (1984)

Down to Earth

7.2

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written by

1985

1 episode

 

Lydia Cornell, Jim J. Bullock, Nancy Dussault, Ted Knight, and Deborah Van Valkenburgh in Too Close for Comfort (1980)

Too Close for Comfort

6.6

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written by

1984

1 episode

 

T.J. Hooker (1982)

T.J. Hooker

6.1

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written by

1984

1 episode

 

Lottery! (1983)

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6.9

TV Series

written by

1983

1 episode

 

Laverne & Shirley (1976)

Laverne & Shirley

7.0

TV Series

written by

1981–1982

5 episodes

 

Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, Tom Bosley, Erin Moran, Don Most, and Anson Williams in Happy Days (1974)

Happy Days

7.4

TV Series

written by

1974–1980

10 episodes

 

The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1979)

The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo

6.5

TV Series

story by

1980

1 episode

 

Co-ed Fever (1979)

Co-ed Fever

4.9

TV Series

written by

1979

1 episode

 

The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour (1976)

The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour

7.6

TV Series

story

1976–1978

7 episodes

 

Who's Watching the Kids (1978)

Who's Watching the Kids

5.8

TV Series

written by

1978

2 episodes

 

The Bionic Woman (1976)

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6.7

TV Series

written by

1978

1 episode

 

The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse (1977)

The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse

5.5

Writer

1977

 

Bess Armstrong, Dixie Carter, Lynnie Greene, John Christopher Jones, Dan Resin, and Gretchen Wyler in On Our Own (1977)

On Our Own

6.4

TV Series

written by

1977

1 episode

 

Wonder Woman (1975)

Wonder Woman

7.0

TV Series

storyteleplaywritten by

1976–1977

3 episodes

 

Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels (1977)

Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels

6.4

TV Series

story (as Dave Ketchum)

1977

1 episode

 

Nancy Walker in Blansky's Beauties (1977)

Blansky's Beauties

5.4

TV Series

written by

1977

1 episode

 

Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner in Switch (1975)

Switch

7.1

TV Series

storyteleplaywriter

1975–1976

3 episodes

 

The Rookies (1972)

The Rookies

6.8

TV Series

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1974–1975

2 episodes

 

David Hartman in Lucas Tanner (1974)

Lucas Tanner

6.8

TV Series

written by

1975

1 episode

 

Lee Majors in The Six Million Dollar Man (1973)

The Six Million Dollar Man

7.1

TV Series

story by

1974

1 episode

 

Cleavon Little, Joan Van Ark, Nancy Fox, Reva Rose, and James Whitmore in The New Temperatures Rising Show (1972)

The New Temperatures Rising Show

7.1

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written by

1973–1974

2 episodes

 

The Little People (1972)

The Little People

7.8

TV Series

Writer

1973–1974

3 episodes

 

The Elevator (1974)

The Elevator

5.4

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written by

1974

 

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1972)

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home

7.5

TV Series

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1973

1 episode

 

Jeannie (1973)

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5.9

TV Series

story (as Dave Ketchum, 1973)

1973

 

Alan Alda, David Ogden Stiers, Gary Burghoff, William Christopher, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, and Loretta Swit in M*A*S*H (1972)

M*A*S*H

8.5

TV Series

written by

1973

1 episode

 

Love, American Style (1969)

Love, American Style

6.8

TV Series

written bywriter

1970–1973

4 episodes

 

The Roman Holidays (1972)

The Roman Holidays

6.6

TV Series

story

1972

2 episodes

 

Honeymoon Suite

TV Series

Writer

1972

1 episode

 

Ted Bessell in Me and the Chimp (1972)

Me and the Chimp

3.6

TV Series

story

1972

2 episodes

 

The Funky Phantom (1971)

The Funky Phantom

6.4

TV Series

story

1971–1972

17 episodes

 

Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp (1970)

Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp

7.5

TV Series

written by

1970

3 episodes

 

Scoey Mitchell and Tracy Reed in Barefoot in the Park (1970)

Barefoot in the Park

6.7

TV Series

written by

1970

1 episode

 

Here's Lucy (1968)

Here's Lucy

6.9

TV Series

written by

1969–1970

2 episodes

 

Stanley vs. The System

TV Movie

co-created by

1968

 

Don Adams in Get Smart (1965)

Get Smart

8.2

TV Series

written by

1967

1 episode

 

William Daniels and Ann Prentiss in Captain Nice (1967)

Captain Nice

6.8

TV Series

written by

1967

2 episodes

 

Hey, Landlord (1966)

Hey, Landlord

7.2

TV Series

written by

1967

1 episode

 

Actor

Juliette Lewis and Giovanni Ribisi in The Other Sister (1999)

The Other Sister

6.4

College Maintenance Man #2

1999

 

Get Smart (1995)

Get Smart

6.5

TV Series

Agent 13 (as Dave Ketchum)

1995

1 episode

 

Get Smart, Again! (1989)

Get Smart, Again!

6.1

TV Movie

Agent 13 (as Dave Ketchum)

1989

 

Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker in Perfect Strangers (1986)

Perfect Strangers

7.2

TV Series

Customer (as Dave Ketchum)

1986

1 episode

 

Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, Tom Bosley, Erin Moran, Don Most, and Anson Williams in Happy Days (1974)

Happy Days

7.4

TV Series

Donald HedgesCoach PelinoArmy Lt. Col. Binicky

1974–1984

5 episodes

 

Harold and His Amazing Green Plants (1984)

Harold and His Amazing Green Plants

6.7

Short

Broccoli (voice)

1984

 

Young Doctors in Love (1982)

Young Doctors in Love

5.5

The Others - Balloon Man (as Dave Ketchum)

1982

 

Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal in The Main Event (1979)

The Main Event

5.6

Photographer (as Dave Ketchum)

1979

 

George Hamilton in Love at First Bite (1979)

Love at First Bite

6.1

Customs Inspector

1979

 

Cloris Leachman, Susan Clark, Barbara Harris, Patsy Kelly, and Karen Valentine in The North Avenue Irregulars (1979)

The North Avenue Irregulars

6.7

Capt. Bamford (as Dave Ketchum)

1979

 

Robin Williams and Pam Dawber in Mork & Mindy (1978)

Mork & Mindy

7.2

TV Series

The Salesman

1978

1 episode

 

Alice (1976)

Alice

6.9

TV Series

Carl

1977

1 episode

 

Barbara Eden in How to Break Up a Happy Divorce (1976)

How to Break Up a Happy Divorce

5.8

TV Movie

Professor Schofield

1976

 

The Fireman's Ball

TV Movie

Captain O'Hara (as Dave Ketchum)

1975

 

Goodnight Jackie (1974)

Goodnight Jackie

5.3

Mr. Green

1974

 

Bea Arthur in Maude (1972)

Maude

7.3

TV Series

Herman Ellinger

1974

1 episode

 

The Fireman's Ball

TV Movie

1974

 

The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie (1972)

The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie

7.3

TV Series

ArturoVoices (voice, as Dave Ketchum)

1972–1973

2 episodes

 

Your Three Minutes Are Up (1973)

Your Three Minutes Are Up

6.2

Mr. Kellogg

1973

 

Thicker Than Water

7.7

TV Series

1973

1 episode

 

Love, American Style (1969)

Love, American Style

6.8

TV Series

Alfred (segment "Love and the Vertical Romance")Professor Casey (segment "Love and the Check")Lyle (segment "Love and the Optimist") ...

1969–1973

4 episodes

 

Arlene Golonka in Call Holme (1972)

Call Holme

7.0

TV Movie

Sergeant Dobbs (as Dave Ketchum)

1972

 

The Partridge Family (1970)

The Partridge Family

6.6

TV Series

Mr. Phelps

1972

1 episode

 

Jack Klugman and Tony Randall in The Odd Couple (1970)

The Odd Couple

7.9

TV Series

JockThe Cop

1971

2 episodes

 

My Three Sons (1960)

My Three Sons

7.1

TV Series

Milton Baxter (as Dave Ketchum)

1971

1 episode

 

The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971)

The New Dick Van Dyke Show

6.6

TV Series

Fred Ross

1971

1 episode

 

Bless the Beasts & Children (1971)

Bless the Beasts & Children

6.7

Camp Director (as Dave Ketchum)

1971

 

Eddie Albert, Eva Gabor, and Arnold the Piggy in Green Acres (1965)

Green Acres

7.3

TV Series

PhotographerHarvey Schmidlapp

1967–1971

2 episodes

 

The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969)

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7.3

TV Series

Joe Kelly

1969–1970

3 episodes

 

Edward Asner, Valerie Harper, and Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

8.3

TV Series

Hal (as Dave Ketchum)

1970

1 episode

 

That Girl (1966)

That Girl

7.3

TV Series

Man in RestaurantHarryJack Packard

1968–1970

3 episodes

 

Herschel Bernardi and Sue Ane Langdon in Arnie (1970)

Arnie

7.1

TV Series

Grant

1970

1 episode

 

The Grasshopper (1970)

The Grasshopper

5.7

Football Conventioner

1970

 

Peggy Lipton, Michael Cole, and Clarence Williams III in Mod Squad (1968)

Mod Squad

7.0

TV Series

Jake Barry

1969

1 episode

 

Andy Griffith in Mayberry R.F.D. (1968)

Mayberry R.F.D.

5.9

TV Series

Man

1969

1 episode

 

Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton in Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964)

Gomer Pyle: USMC

7.0

TV Series

Sol Gordon

1968

1 episode

 

Bea Benaderet, Edgar Buchanan, Smiley Burnette, Frank Cady, Rufe Davis, Linda Henning, Gunilla Hutton, Meredith MacRae, Mike Minor, Jeannine Riley, Lori Saunders, and Pat Woodell in Petticoat Junction (1963)

Petticoat Junction

7.0

TV Series

Buddy Buster (as Dave Ketchum)

1968

1 episode

 

Accidental Family (1967)

Accidental Family

6.3

TV Series

Mr. JenningsScott

1967

2 episodes

 

Ron Howard, Frances Bavier, and Andy Griffith in The Andy Griffith Show (1960)

The Andy Griffith Show

8.4

TV Series

Fred MichaelsHarry Walker

1967

2 episodes

 

Goldie Hawn, Joby Baker, Billy De Wolfe, Julie Parrish, and Ronnie Schell in Good Morning World (1967)

Good Morning World

6.6

TV Series

Henry HoneyBert

1967

2 episodes

 

Carol Burnett in The Carol Burnett Show (1967)

The Carol Burnett Show

8.7

TV Series

George (as Dave Ketchum)

1967

1 episode

 

Don Adams in Get Smart (1965)

Get Smart

8.2

TV Series

Agent 13

1966–1967

13 episodes

 

Hey, Landlord (1966)

Hey, Landlord

7.2

TV Series

Dr. SandorHaskell the RascalWilson

1966–1967

4 episodes

 

Camp Runamuck (1965)

Camp Runamuck

7.5

TV Series

Spiffy

1965–1966

26 episodes

 

Gary Owens in Roger Ramjet (1965)

Roger Ramjet

6.7

TV Series

Announcer (voice)

1965

8 episodes

 

Yvonne De Carlo, Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, and Pat Priest in The Munsters (1964)

The Munsters

7.8

TV Series

The Master of Ceremonies

1965

1 episode

 

The Joey Bishop Show (1961)

The Joey Bishop Show

6.5

TV Series

Dr. MarksFloorwalker (as Dave Ketchum)

1964

2 episodes

 

Walter Brennan in The Tycoon (1964)

The Tycoon

7.1

TV Series

Worker

1964

1 episode

 

Jack Lemmon, Romy Schneider, and Dorothy Provine in Good Neighbor Sam (1964)

Good Neighbor Sam

6.8

Dave - Hertz Commercial Actor (uncredited)

1964

 

Jack Benny in The Jack Benny Program (1950)

The Jack Benny Program

8.5

TV Series

Mr. Thromberry (as Dave Ketchum)

1964

1 episode

 

I'm Dickens, He's Fenster (1962)

I'm Dickens, He's Fenster

7.6

TV Series

Mel Warshaw

1962–1963

23 episodes

 

Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan in The Real McCoys (1957)

The Real McCoys

7.6

TV Series

Lou Hicks (as Dave Ketchum)

1963

1 episode

 

The Spike Jones Show

TV Series

Dave Ketchum

1960–1961

2 episodes

 

Annie Fargue, Jess Oppenheimer, and Marshall Thompson in Angel (1960)

Angel

7.4

TV Series

UmpireRepairman

1961

2 episodes

 

The Jim Backus Show (1960)

The Jim Backus Show

7.2

TV Series

Dorcy Howard (as Dave Ketchum)

1961

1 episode

 

Additional Crew

Laverne & Shirley (1976)

Laverne & Shirley

7.0

TV Series

executive story consultant

1980–1981

22 episodes

 

Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, Tom Bosley, Erin Moran, Don Most, and Anson Williams in Happy Days (1974)

Happy Days

7.4

TV Series

executive story consultant

1979–1980

8 episodes

 

Soundtrack

Bea Benaderet, Edgar Buchanan, Smiley Burnette, Frank Cady, Rufe Davis, Linda Henning, Gunilla Hutton, Meredith MacRae, Mike Minor, Jeannine Riley, Lori Saunders, and Pat Woodell in Petticoat Junction (1963)

Petticoat Junction

7.0

TV Series

performer: "I Love You Mother" (uncredited)

1968

1 episode

 

I'm Dickens, He's Fenster (1962)

I'm Dickens, He's Fenster

7.6

TV Series

performer: "Kentucky Babe"

1962

1 episode

 

Self

Inside TV Land (2000)

Inside TV Land

4.4

TV Series

Self

2001

1 episode

 

Alex Borstein, Michael McDonald, Will Sasso, and Debra Wilson in Mad TV (1995)

Mad TV

7.3

TV Series

Self (as Dave Ketchum)

1996

1 episode

 

The Woody Woodbury Show (1967)

The Woody Woodbury Show

8.7

TV Series

Self

1968

1 episode

 

Pat Boone in Pat Boone in Hollywood (1967)

Pat Boone in Hollywood

TV Series

Self

1967

1 episode

 

Mike Douglas in The Mike Douglas Show (1961)

The Mike Douglas Show

7.1

TV Series

Self (as Dave Ketchum)

1967

1 episode

 

Merv Griffin in The Merv Griffin Show (1962)

The Merv Griffin Show

6.6

TV Series

Self

1967

1 episode

 

Steve Allen in The New Steve Allen Show (1961)

The New Steve Allen Show

8.3

TV Series

Self

1961

1 episode

 

Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita in The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956)

The Steve Allen Plymouth Show

8.4

TV Series

Self

1957

1 episode

 

Archive Footage

Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, Tom Bosley, Erin Moran, Don Most, and Anson Williams in Happy Days (1974)

Happy Days

7.4

TV Series

Coach Pelino (archive footage)

1978

1 episode