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‘Happy Days’: Ralph Malph Actor Don Most Explained Why Setting Show in 1950s Made it Timeless

“Happy Days” is one show that has a timeless feel to it. Don Most, who plays Ralph Malph, says the show is supposed to feel that way.

Most, who played Ralph Malph for seven seasons on the ABC sitcom, talked about his time on the show in a 2017 interview with The Boise Beat. He said that “Happy Days” is a show “that is not going to get dated” thanks to its period-piece nature.

“People can look back at the ’50s and that will never change,” Most said. “People like to harken back to that simpler, more innocent time as an escape from the chaos and different pace of living that we all find ourselves in now as compared to the ’50s.”

‘Happy Days’ Star Most Says People Still Enjoy Looking Back At 1950s

Most admitted that it is fun to look back, “even though it’s a bit of a romanticized way.”

“People enjoy that, so that’s a part of it that is in its own special little niche,” he said. In recent years, Most actually has been putting his focus on a music career. His musical niche of choice is jazz and standards.

Anson Williams, who plays Potsie on “Happy Days,” says he and Most have been having discussions about doing a reboot of the ABC sitcom.

Williams, in a 2020 interview with Hollywood Life, says, “Don and I had a meeting with CBS Productions because we figured out how to be able to reboot ‘Happy Days.’

“You can’t get everybody, but we figured out how to do it with Don and I and bring in a lot from that particular platform in a fresh new way that really reboots the show.”

Most has not commented on the meeting himself. Time will tell if anything comes from the discussions.

Most Remembers Hard Work, Mutual Respect Everyone Had On Show

Two things for Most stand out when looking back upon his time on “Happy Days.” In the interview with The Boise Beat, he said there was a lot of hard work and mutual respect between everyone.

From his perspective, this made working on each episode look easy. There was a lot of preparation for each show, Most said. Yet the studio audience usually saw people who were having a great time.

Most also tipped his hat toward director Jerry Paris and show creator Garry Marshall for making “Happy Days” what it became on TV. He said that both men helped the cast produce the best-possible show each week.

The show was a hit on ABC, giving the network something to pin its hopes on through its network run.