Richard J. Cunningham is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

played 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 ...

in the 1970s TV

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, 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 troup ...

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 is the second son of Howard and Marion Cunningham, brother of

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 ch ...

and Chuck Cunningham, and a friend 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 lead ...

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 ...

, and Potsie Weber. Richie was the original lead character, but was supplanted by Fonzie when that character's popularity came to dwarf that of Richie and the other characters (however, Ron Howard 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 ...

(Fonzie) continued to share top billing in the opening credits of the show).

Character traits

Richie Cunningham's personality was that of the quintessential All-American, 1950s

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with t ...

. With his red hair and freckles, he bore more than a passing resemblance to

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F Campbell

(as noted in the episode "The Howdy Doody Show"). Occasionally he got into trouble, usually in some scheme designed to attract women, but he was never portrayed as malicious; instead, he was shown as wholesome and caring. Many of the episodes revolved around Richie's attempts to pick up women. Despite his demeanor as a clean-cut teenager, he was not above scheming to get a date. Examples of his previous attempts include buying a new car and joining a local gang. Whenever he was feeling particularly lucky—especially when he spotted a prospective girlfriend—he would sing

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

's "I found my thrill...on Blueberry Hill". When he became angry or annoyed, he would call any nemesis "bucko", even going as far as calling Fonzie this on several occasions. He even called his father, Howard, "bucko" once, in anger, though he quickly apologized for it. Richie also harbored an enormous ambition as a writer. He first wrote for the ''Jefferson High Bugle'', and then later became a cub reporter for the ''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'', although in the first-season episode "Because She's There" he told his blind date, Phyllis, that he wanted to eventually go to

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

and become a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor ...

. Throughout the series' run, Richie remained best friends with

, and Potsie Weber. He was always ready to help any of these friends if they got into trouble. He also looked after his younger sister

Joanie Joanie or Joannie is a feminine given name which may refer to: People: * Joan Joanie Bartels (born 1953), American children's music singer and songwriter * Joanie Keller, American country music singer * Joanie Mackowski (born 1963), American poet ...

as she grew up. In the first season, it was revealed that he and Potsie were best friends and grew up together since childhood; this was alluded to again in the seventh-season episode, "A Potsie Is Born." After high school, Richie went to the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...

and soon met his girlfriend and future wife Lori Beth Allen in a library. Richie studied

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (prof ...

at the university and always remained alert for any opportunity to further his writing career. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee; he, along with Ralph, served a short stint in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

and was stationed in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

. While overseas, he married Lori Beth by telephone, with Fonzie standing in as proxy for the absent Richie. Lori Beth visited Richie in Greenland long enough to get pregnant. Their son was named Richie Jr. In the final season of the series, Richie (with Lori Beth and Richie Jr.) and Ralph returned home from the Army. Howard had got Richie a job as a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal, something Richie had always wanted, but Richie had a new dream of becoming a screenwriter. Richie moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

with Lori Beth and his child to find work as a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. They later returned in the series finale for Joanie and Chachi's wedding.

Cultural references

In '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'', Austin, going undercover, goes by the alias "Richie Cunningham". In the TV series ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

'', Pacey likens Dawson to Richie Cunningham (in the first season ninth episode). In the TV series '' True Story with Ed & Randall'', Gastor describes the police officer who pulls him over as Richie Cunningham (in the first season sixth episode).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Richie Happy Days characters Fictional characters from Milwaukee Fictional United States Army personnel Television characters introduced in 1972 Teenage characters in television American male characters in television sv:Richard Cunningham