Charles "Chachi" Arcola is a character played by

Scott Baio Scott Vincent James Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off ''Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on ...

on the sitcom ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most succ ...

'' and its spin-off ''

Joanie Loves Chachi ''Joanie Loves Chachi'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of ''Happy Days'' that aired on ABC from March 23, 1982, to May 24, 1983. It stars Erin Moran and Scott Baio as the characters Joanie Cunningham and Chachi Arcola, re ...

''. The character of Chachi is the younger cousin of

Fonzie Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, better known as "Fonzie" or "The Fonz", is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984). He was originally a secondary character, but was soon positioned as a lea ...

, first appearing on ''Happy Days'' in season 5, beginning in 1977. His main love interest is

Joanie Cunningham Joanie Louise Cunningham is a fictional character, played by Erin Moran on the sitcoms ''Happy Days'' and ''Joanie Loves Chachi''. Her first appearance was on one episode of ''Love, American Style'', where she was played by Susan Neher. The char ...

, with their relationship becoming a common theme for episodes in later seasons. Chachi shares a close relationship with his older cousin Fonzie. Many times, Fonzie stepped in and was able to be the older brother figure that Chachi needed. Chachi is also very close to his mother and his step-father Al. Together, Chachi and Joanie became aspiring musicians, and the spinoff series ''

'' was developed when Chachi's mother Louisa and new stepfather Al Delvecchio (the second owner of Arnold's) opened a new

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

where Joanie and Chachi performed most of their music. Joanie and Chachi, along with some of his cousins and a character named Bingo, form a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

, which was never named in the series. Joanie and Chachi returned to ''Happy Days'' when ''Joanie Loves Chachi'' was cancelled, and after them being broken up for a while in the final ''Happy Days'' episode, Joanie and Chachi marry.

Development and reception

After his initial appearance, the character of Chachi was expanded to a recurring character due to positive reception by fans, with Baio receiving up to 5,000 fan letters a week. The name was given by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

's long-term friend, Andrew Smith. When the writers began developing the character of Chachi as a musician, Baio was against the idea because he "didn't sing," but changed his mind based on the possibility of the fame associated with becoming a pop singer. His early catchphrase "Wah, wah, wah!" became popular with teenage girls. However, an attempt to spark a fashion trend by having Chachi frequently costumed with a

bandana A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative purpos ...

tied around his pant leg did not catch on. The character was named after a street where the show's creator

Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play ''The Odd Co ...

had lived. There have been false rumors that circulated claiming that the broadcast of ''Joanie loves Chachi'' had high viewership numbers in Japan and Korea because the name "Chachi" sounds like slang term for "penis" in those countries. Later in 2005, Baio joined the cast of ''

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

'' which also featured two stars of ''

'',

(executive producer and narrator) and

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series ''Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

(as the incompetent lawyer

Barry Zuckerkorn ''Arrested Development'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network from November 2, 2003, to February 10, 2006. A fourth season of 15 episodes was released on Netflix on May 26, 2013. Cr ...

). In Season Three, Episode Three, Baio's character, the potentially new lawyer Bob Loblaw, states "look, this is not the first time I’ve been brought in to replace Barry Zuckerkorn. I think I can do for you everything he did. Plus, I skew younger. With juries and so forth."

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

further argues that this statement is "a nod to ''Happy Days'', where

aio AIO, Aio or AiO may refer to: Adapt, Improvise, Overcome Arts, entertainment, and media *''Adventures in Odyssey'', an Evangelical Christian-themed radio drama/comedy series *'' Äio'', a 2010 folk-metal album from Estonian folk-metal group Mets ...

was brought on as Chachi, to be a new teen idol as Henry Winkler got older."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arcola, Chachi Happy Days characters Television characters introduced in 1977 Fictional musicians Fictional Italian American people Teenage characters in television