Happy Days
Richie Almost Dies
TV Flash files “Richie Almost Dies” as hour 106 of 255 in the TV Flash guide — Happy Days (1974–1984) on ABC, season 5, episode 18, aired 1978-01-31, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E18: listed hour 106 of 255 in the Happy Days guide, hour 18 of 27 in season 5. It aired 1978-01-31 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Marion's Misgivings” (S05E17). Next is “Spunkless Spunky” (S05E19).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
What begins as a humorous escapade with a motorcycle turns into a tragic vigil for the Cunninghams and their friends. Richie purchases a motorcycle from Fonzie, but Howard angrily refuses to let him keep it, leading to a deliberately petulant tantrum from Richie to embarrass his father. But Fonzie convinces Howard that the bike is safe and Richie wears proper safety gear, so Howard reluctantly relents. Richie takes Lori Beth along one day while Fonzie is out and Chachi is repairing a truck rented by Al Potsie, and Ralph.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Richie Almost Dies sit in the Happy Days guide?
S05E18 is listed hour 106 of 255 — hour 18 of 27 in season 5, season 5 episode 18.
When did Happy Days S05E18 air?
Richie Almost Dies aired 1978-01-31 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
All the Way, then Fonzie Drops In. The first hour is the family sitcom ABC ordered; the later one is the franchise the country actually bought.
In the series
Why this series still plays
To see a network sell the 1950s to the 1970s until a leather jacket became the logo, the merchandising became the plot, and a water-ski stunt entered English as a warning every aging hit still has to beat.
Picture a 1974 living room trying to remember 1955 and getting the lighting wrong on purpose. Happy Days did not reconstruct the Eisenhower years. It bottled them. ABC wanted warmth after the Lear wars; Garry Marshall delivered a malt shop, a family that still ate together, and a guest greaser in a leather jacket who was not supposed to steal the franchise. Henry Winkler stole it anyway. On the palate: jukebox, catchphrase, and a three-camera hug that America could sell to itself as history.
Filed against
- Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham
Ron Howard’s Richie Cunningham was Happy Days’ wholesome center before Fonzie fever and shark-jump lore took over — after Opie Taylor made him Mayberry’s kid. Child star to Oscar-winning director is the full Hollywood arc. TV Flash still…
- Henry Winkler as Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarelli
Henry Winkler’s Arthur Fonzarelli was the guest greaser who stole Happy Days — leather jacket, malt-shop lighting, and a 1950s memory ABC bottled on purpose. Fonzie fever, spinoff politics, and the shark entered the language. On TV Flash…
- Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham
Tom Bosley’s Howard Cunningham was Happy Days’ “Mr. C” — cardigan warmth and dad authority under Fonzie fever, malt-shop lighting, a leather jacket the country merchandised into a god. Murder, She Wrote later made him cozy-mystery company…
- Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham
Marion Ross’s Marion Cunningham is the kitchen gravity of Happy Days — Mrs. C as the adult who kept Garry Marshall’s Milwaukee nostalgia from becoming only a leather jacket. ABC bottled the 1950s for the 1970s; Ross made the malt-shop…
- Erin Moran as Joanie Cunningham
Erin Moran played Joanie Cunningham on Happy Days — malt-shop kid sister in Garry Marshall's Milwaukee nostalgia factory, a leather-jacket decade that merchandised the 1950s for the 1970s. TV Flash files her as the family weather beside…