Gavan John O'Herlihy (29 July 1951 – 15 September 2021) was an Irish actor. He was known for playing Chuck Cunningham in the first episodes of the television sitcom ''

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

'', 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 (novel), Thunderball'' by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Wh ...

'', ''

Superman III ''Superman III'' is a 1983 superhero film directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the third installment in the ''Superman'' film series and the sequel to ''S ...

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

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

''. He was the son of actor

Dan O'Herlihy Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (1 May 1919 – 17 February 2005) was an Irish actor. His best-known roles included his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the title character in Luis Buñuel's ''Robinson Crusoe'' (1954), Brigadier General Warren A. Black in ...

Early life

O'Herlihy was born 29 July 1951 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, the son of Irish parents, actor

and his wife,

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

native Elsie Bennett. He was raised in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

and Dublin. After graduating from

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

in Massachusetts, he attended

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

and as an avid

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

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 ''

'', ''

'', '' 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 Cr ...

officer from Virginia Captain Leroy in '' Sharpe's Eagle''. He appeared in '' Rich Man, Poor Man'' and '' Tales From The Crypt''. In 1994, he starred as John Garrideb in " The Mazarin Stone" from Granada TV's ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

'' series. The events of the story were rewritten and merged with '' The Adventure of the Three Garridebs''. He was cast as the eldest sibling, Chuck Cunningham, on ''

''. He played Chuck during season 1 until the episode "Give the Band a Hand" and was replaced for season 2 by Randolph Roberts 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), Aust ...

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 Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

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 and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

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

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

. He also appeared in the pilot episode of '' Star Trek: Voyager'', " Caretaker", as the Kazon First Maje, 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 being seriously injured in a NASA test f ...

'' and ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction film, science fiction Action-adventure fiction, action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson (producer), Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel Cyborg (novel), ''Cyborg'' by ...

'' television series. O'Herlihy was cast as sadistic killer Dan Suggs in the 1989 miniseries '' Lonesome Dove''. After playing the role of a crooked

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

officer in ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

'' (which also featured his father), O'Herlihy permanently relocated to the UK, where he preferred to work in the theatre and on television, with roles on British television, including '' Coded Hostile'', '' Sharpe'', ''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery fiction, mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician whi ...

'' and ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

''. 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'', 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-World War II era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by members o ...

, and due for release in 2026.

Personal life

O'Herlihy had four children. He died in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

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

Selected filmography

* 1974 ''

'' as Charles "Chuck" Cunningham * 1974 '' The California Kid'' as Tom * 1978 ''

A Death in Canaan ''A Death in Canaan'' is a 1978 American television film, made-for-television drama (film and television), drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Stefanie Powers, Paul Clemens, and Brian Dennehy.A Wedding'' as Wilson Briggs * 1980 '' A Rumor of War'' as Stanton * 1982 ''

We'll Meet Again "We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song by English singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics composed and written by English songwriters Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. The song is one of the most famous of the Second World War era, resonating with ...

'' as Captain "Red" Berwash * 1983 ''

'' as Brad Wilson * 1983 ''

'' as Captain Jack Petachi * 1983 '' The Secret Adversary'' (TV movie) as Julius P. Hersheimmer * 1984 '' Space Riders'' as Ron Harris * 1985 '' The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission'' (TV movie) as Conrad E. Perkins * 1985 '' Death Wish 3'' as Manny Fraker * 1987 '' A Killing on the Exchange'' * 1988 ''

'' as Airk Thaughbaer * 1989 '' Lonesome Dove'' as Dan Suggs * 1990 ''

'' as Preston King * 1991 '' Conagher'' as Chris Mahler * 1991 '' Tales From The Crypt'' as Richard * 1993 '' The Last Outlaw'' as Marshal Sharp * 1993 '' Sharpe's Eagle'' as Captain Leroy * 1994 ''

'' (Episode: " The Mazarin Stone") as John Garrideb * 1995 '' The Shooter'' as Dick Powell * 1997 ''

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 s ...

'' as King Thane * 1997 '' Top of the World'' as Lieutenant Logan * 1998 ''

'' as Hal Drucker * 2000 ''Command Approved'' as Arms Dealer * 2002 ''

Butterfly Man ''Butterfly Man'' () 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 backpacker, breaks up with his girlfriend immediately ...

'' as Bill Kincaid * 2006 '' Seven Days of Grace'' as MacNab * 2009 '' The Descent Part 2'' as Vaines * 2009 ''

'' (Episode: "The Black Book") as George Arlington * 2026 ''Queen of the Redwood Mountains'' as John Anderson

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oherlihy, Gavan 1951 births 2021 deaths Alumni of University College Dublin Irish male film actors Irish male television actors Male actors from Bath, Somerset Male actors from Dublin (city) Male actors from Los Angeles Phillips Academy alumni 20th-century Irish actors 21st-century Irish actors