Gavan John O'Herlihy (29 July 1951 – 15 September 2021) was an American actor. He was known for playing Chuck Cunningham in the first episodes of '' Happy Days'', as well as his appearances in films such as ''

Never Say Never Again ''Never Say Never Again'' is a 1983 spy film directed by Irvin Kershner. The film is based on the 1961 James Bond novel '' Thunderball'' by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Flemi ...

'', '' Death Wish 3'', ''

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

'', and '' Superman III''.

Early life

O'Herlihy was born 29 July 1951 in Malibu,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, the son of Irish parents, actor

Dan O'Herlihy Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (May 1, 1919 – February 17, 2005) was an Irish actor of film, television, and radio. With a distinguished appearance and rich, resonant speaking voice, O'Herlihy's best known-roles included his Oscar-nominated portraya ...

and his wife,

Sandymount Sandymount () is an affluent coastal suburb in the Dublin 4 district on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. Etymology An early name for the area was Scal'd Hill or Scald Hill.

native Elsie Bennett. After graduating from

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

in Massachusetts, he attended

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and as an avid

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player, he became Irish National Tennis Champion.

Career

He has over thirty screen credits to his name, most of them in villainous or antagonistic roles such as ''

'', '' Superman III'', '' Death Wish 3'' and '' The Last Outlaw''. His role as Airk Thaughbaer in the 1988 fantasy ''

'' is one of the few heroic roles that he has portrayed, as well as that of the dashing American

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

officer from Virginia Captain Leroy in ''

Sharpe's Eagle ''Sharpe's Eagle'' is a historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1981. The story is set in July 1809, in the midst of the Talavera Campaign during the Peninsular War. It was the first Sharpe novel ...

''. He appeared in '' Rich Man, Poor Man'' and ''

Tales From The Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

''. In 1994, he starred as John Garrideb in "

The Mazarin Stone "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" is one of 12 Sherlock Holmes short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle in '' The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes'' (1927). It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom in October 1921, an ...

" from Granada TV's ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

'' series. The events of the story were rewritten and merged with ''

The Adventure of the Three Garridebs "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. One of the 12 stories in the cycle collected as ''The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes'' (1927), it was first pu ...

''. He was cast as the eldest sibling, Chuck Cunningham, on '' Happy Days''. He played Chuck during season 1 until the episode "Give the Band a Hand" and was replaced for season 2 by

Randolph Roberts Randolph Roberts (born October 5, 1947), also known as Will Roberts, is an American actor best known for being the second actor (after Gavan O'Herlihy) to portray Richie Cunningham's older brother Chuck on a few episodes of ''Happy Days''. Gava ...

until the episode "Guess Who's Coming to Christmas". Chuck was not seen again but was later mentioned in a few other episodes ending with "Fish and the Fins". After that, Chuck was written off the show completely with later episodes depicting the Cunningham family with only two children with

Richie Richie or Richy is a masculine given name or short form (hypocorism) of Richard. It is also a surname. First name *Richie Ashburn (1927–1997), American Major League Baseball player, member of the Hall of Fame *Richie Benaud (1930–2015), Austra ...

as the elder. The character gave rise to the pejorative term "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome", referring to characters who disappear from TV shows without an In-Universe explanation and are later retconned to have never existed. O'Herlihy did not want to become stuck in television roles, preferring films. He played a warrior in the

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

production ''Willow'', directed by his ''Happy Days'' brother,

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 ...

. He also appeared in the pilot episode of '' Star Trek: Voyager'', " Caretaker", as the Kazon First Mage, Jabin. He also appeared in ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is reb ...

'' and ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel ''Cyborg'' by Martin Caidin, starring Lindsay Wagner that aired from January 14, 1976, to May 13, 1978. ' ...

'' television series. O'Herlihy was cast as sadistic killer Dan Suggs in the 1989 miniseries '' Lonesome Dove''. By the 1990s, O'Herlihy had permanently relocated to the UK, where he preferred to work in the theatre and on television, with roles on British television, including ''

Coded Hostile ''Coded Hostile'' is a 1989 British television film directed by David Darlow and written by Brian Phelan, about the real life shoot-down of Korean Air Flight 007. The film stars Michael Murphy, Michael Moriarty, Chris Sarandon, Harris Yulin, Otto ...

'', '' Sharpe'', '' Jonathan Creek'', and ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

''. In 2009, O'Herlihy returned to the big screen as Sheriff Vaines in the follow up to Neil Marshall's cult horror film, ''

The Descent Part 2 ''The Descent Part 2'' is a 2009 British adventure horror film and sequel to the 2005 horror film ''The Descent''. It was directed by Jon Harris from a screenplay by James McCarthy, J Blakeson, and James Watkins. The film was produced by Chr ...

'', and over a decade later returned to the screen again to play the leading role of writer John Anderson for director Nic Saunders in ''Queen of the Redwood Mountains'', a film inspired by the authors of the

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatio ...

, and due for release in 2021.

Personal life

O'Herlihy had four children. He died in

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

, on September 15, 2021, at the age of 70 of undisclosed causes.

Selected filmography

*'' Happy Days'' (1974) - Charles "Chuck" Cunningham *''

The California Kid ''The California Kid'' is a 1974 American made-for-television action thriller film directed by Richard T. Heffron and starring Martin Sheen. Plot The story takes place in 1958, and involves a town, Clarksberg, with a famous speed trap. Di ...

'' (1974) - Tom *''

A Death in Canaan ''A Death in Canaan'' is a 1978 American made-for-television drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Stefanie Powers, Paul Clemens, and Brian Dennehy.A Wedding'' (1978) - Wilson Briggs *'' A Rumor of War'' (1980) - Stanton *'' We'll Meet Again'' (1982) - Captain "Red" Berwash *'' Superman III'' (1983) - Brad Wilson *''

'' (1983) - Captain Jack Petachi *''

The Secret Adversary ''The Secret Adversary'' is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in th ...

'' (1983, TV Movie) - Julius P. Hersheimmer *'' Space Riders'' (1984) - Ron Harris *'' The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission'' (1985, TV Movie) - Conrad E. Perkins *'' Death Wish 3'' (1985) - Manny Fraker *''

A Killing on the Exchange ''A Killing on the Exchange'' is a six-part British television crime drama series, first broadcast on 6 March 1987, that aired on ITV. The series centres on Detective Superintendent Lance Thorne (John Duttine), who investigates the murder of a t ...

'' (1987) *''

'' (1988) - Airk Thaughbaer *'' Lonesome Dove'' (1989) - Dan Suggs *''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...

'' (1990) - Preston King *''

Conagher ''Conagher'' is a 1991 American Western made-for-television film based on the 1969 Louis L'Amour novel of the same name co-produced and distributed by Turner Network Television. Plot The film opens with the Teale family moving west on a wagon ...

'' (1991) - Chris Mahler *'' The Last Outlaw'' (1993) - Marshal Sharp *''

'' (1993) - Captain Leroy *''

'' (1994, Episode: "

") - John Garrideb *'' The Shooter'' (1995) - Dick Powell *''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretc ...

'' (1997) - King Thane *'' Top of the World'' (1997) - Lieutenant Logan *''Command Approved'' (2000) - Arms Dealer *''

Butterfly Man ''Butterfly Man'' ( th, ผีเสื้อร้อนรัก) is a 2002 Thai-British adventure- romantic drama film directed and written by Kaprice Kea and starring Stuart Laing and Napakpapha Nakprasitte. Plot Adam, an English backpacke ...

'' (2002) - Bill Kincaid *'' Seven Days of Grace'' (2006) - MacNab *''

'' (2009) - Vaines *''Queen of the Redwood Mountains'' (2021) - John Anderson

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oherlihy, Gavan 1951 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American people of Irish descent Male actors from Dublin (city) Male actors from Los Angeles British television actors People from Bath, Somerset