"Happy Days" returns again to Milwaukee for a first-run reprise performance Tuesday, Aug. 19 when the show's stars Henry Winkler (Fonzie), Marion Ross (Marion Cunningham), Tom Bosley (Howard Cunningham), Erin Moran (Joanie), Don Most (Ralph Malph) and Anson Williams (Potsie) return to their "adopted" home for the dedication of the bronze Fonzie statue on the RiverWalk in Downtown.
Stars of the "Happy Days" spin-off, "Laverne & Shirley," Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams (Laverne and Shirley respectively) are also expected to attend, along with the show's creator, director / producer Garry Marshall and his sister, Ronny Hallin, who served as a producer on the show.
The staute's location has also been changed to the patio across from Rock Bottom Brewery to the RiverWalk location just south of Wells Street on the east side (formerly Tula's outdoor dining area). This move was at the request of the Milwaukee RiverWalk District, a major funder of the project.
"The District felt and we agreed that this new site offers easier access, more visibility and a considerably bigger footprint for people to pose with the statue," said David Fantle, vice president of public relations for VISIT Milwaukee.
The statue dedication ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Aug. 19. A public celebration at Pere Marquette Park follows at 11 a.m. with a free public frozen custard social. There, Winkler and the other guests are scheduled to make an appearance with some other -- yet to be announced -- autograph opportunities.
The day-long celebration concludes when Winkler and his cast colleagues are honored at a pre-game ceremony at Miller Park prior to the Brewers vs. Astros game. The cast will throw out the first ball and Williams will sing the national anthem. Every fan at the game gets a commemorative bronze the Fonz baseball card.
The show, "Happy Days" ran for 11 seasons on ABC starting in 1974 and was inspired by the real-life experiences and characters of Thomas Miller, who served as executive producer on the series and grew up in Milwaukee.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
