Happy Days is, without a doubt, one of the most important shows to ever air. Even if you take away the overall cultural impact it had, it still did so much. For instance, it launched the careers of a handful of actors. At the same time, it elevated the careers of others. Without the classic show, there are many fan-favorite film roles that would have been filled by different actors.
For one, Happy Days lifted the career of Marion Ross to a new level. Before she was on the classic television show, she was an accomplished actress. Ross had starred in several films. She also appeared in several television shows. Her time as Mrs. Cunningham made her a household name, though. Even today, people connect her to that role more than any other she has played. Ross was in several recent shows and films before she retired in 2018, but she’ll always be Mrs. C.
The former Happy Days star sat down with Entertainment Weekly back in 2008 to talk about her expansive career, and especially her time on the classic sitcom. This interview was different, though, because it was largely made up of questions from fans. So, the topics are wide and varied. At one point during the interview, Marion Ross was asked if she had ever turned down a role.
The Happy Days Star Turned Down Several Roles
Entertainment Weekly viewer NINEDAVES wanted to know if Marion Ross had ever turned down anything in her career and regretted it later. The Happy Days star said that she turned down several roles. However, she didn’t seem to be regretful about turning them down.
Ross said that she turned down several smaller movies that were “absolutely pornographic,” over the years. She went on to say that, after turning down the roles, she would see actresses that she knew well take the roles. She didn’t judge them, though. The Happy Days star felt that the young men who wrote the scripts thought it would be funny to have someone like her in a scandalous role. She said that it felt like they were trying to “make sport” of her and she wanted none of that.
However, don’t think that the Happy Days star was a complete prude. She had no problem taking fun roles with a little off-color humor. For instance, she told Entertainment Weekly that she had just finished shooting Superhero Movie. In that film, she played Leslie Nielsen‘s wife.
About that role, she said, “Terrible things happen to me in this movie, and I love being in this… I have the greatest fart scene since Blazing Saddles in this movie.”
She wouldn’t go into details about the scene in the interview. However, through the magic of the internet, you can watch that scene in the clip below.
