Warren "Potsie" Weber is a fictional character from the
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
''
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 su ...
''. He was played by
Anson Williams. Anson also played the character in several other shows; he appeared in guest appearances on ''
Love, American Style'' and ''
Laverne & Shirley''.
Potsie was a close friend of
Richie Cunningham
Richard J. Cunningham is a fictional character played by Ron Howard in the 1970s TV sitcom ''Happy Days''. He is the second son of Howard and Marion Cunningham, brother of Joanie Cunningham and Chuck Cunningham, and a friend of Fonzie, Ralph Ma ...
and
Ralph Malph
Ralph Hector Malph is a character on ''Happy Days'' played by Donny Most.
Background of character
He usually had two things on his mind, girls and jokes. His jokes usually got little or no reaction from any other character, yet he continued his ...
, who often spent time at Arnold's Drive In. He was characterized as being not very bright, somewhat gullible, socially clumsy, and in modern hindsight, very "square," and because of it, he was frequently called a
nerd
A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...
by friends and acquaintances. However, Potsie is a very talented singer, and his musical endeavors became more central to the character as the series progressed. Potsie's extremely sour relationship with his father (never seen on camera) was a minor running joke on the series, with lines such as "I'm gonna talk to my dad too; will be the first time in six months!" Despite his shortcomings, he is a very kind and compassionate young man. If he messes up, he is usually the first to apologize. He is the first to jump in and support someone, especially his best friend Richie.
In "
The Deadly Dares" (Season 1, Episode 6), Potsie revealed how he got his nickname. He was asked, "Potsie Weber? What kind of name is this?" He replied, "They call me Potsie because when I was a young boy I used to like to make things with clay, and one day my mother called me Potsie."
In the pilot and early seasons, Potsie appeared with best friend Richie in the plots and appeared to be more savvy than him, a character trait that would be dropped by the writers. As the series progressed, and with the
breakout character
A breakout character is a character in serial fiction, especially a member of an ensemble cast, who becomes much more prominent, popular, discussed, or imitated than expected by the creators. A breakout character may equal or overtake the oth ...
Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli becoming close friends with Richie, Potsie became more commonly paired with Ralph in episodes, particularly when the pair rented an apartment together upon leaving high school.
Potsie was – along with Richie and Ralph, and later Chachi – part of a band that, in some episodes, performed at Arnold's Drive-In (and later, Fonzie & Big Al's) and other venues. Williams actually sang lead vocals for the group and sang in several other episodes where he was apart from the band.
Like his friends, Potsie had his share of crushes on members of the opposite sex. His one steady girlfriend was Jennifer Jerome, played by Lorrie Mahaffey, who became Williams' wife from 1978 to 1986. The two met in college and shared a passion for singing, as evidenced by a duet they sang during their fraternity/sorority "pinning ceremony." Her departure from the show was left unexplained.
Potsie,who eventually became assistant manager of Cunningham Hardware, the hardware store owned and operated by Richie's father, Howard Cunningham, was apparently smart enough to get into
medical school, and continued to work toward his goal of becoming a
psychiatrist during the later years of the show's run.
Potsie was one of the few characters to remain through the entire run of the show, even though his appearances became sporadic in the later years (Potsie appeared in only six episodes apiece in the final two seasons). As episodes began to shift toward Fonzie and the other characters, Potsie became more of a "dumb foil" for punchlines, usually from Fonzie or Mr. Cunningham.
Although he is credited as a star during the opening credits of the series finale, "Passages," he does not appear in the episode, other than in archive footage from previous episodes in the end montage.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Potsie
Happy Days characters
Television characters introduced in 1972
Teenage characters in television