The Happy Days cast shared many wonderful experiences, but nothing beats returning home.

Brian Levant and Fred Fox Jr., producers and showrunners for the iconic series, discuss some of its most memorable moments in their new book, 50 Years of Happy Days: A Visual History of an American Television Classic.

The cast’s reunion for the show’s 250th episode, which aired as a two-part special in May 1984, is a pleasant memory for the two. The whole cast gathers for Joanie’s (Erin Moran) and Chachi’s (Scott Baio) wedding, which was meant to be the series finale.

“The 250th episode we did, after Ron Howard… left the show, and his contract with NBC expired, he came home,” Levant says, referring to the storyline in which Howard’s Richie Cunningham and his girlfriend Lori Beth (Lynda Goodfriend) bid their goodbyes.

Viewers were surprised to see Howard return to the show over three years after his leave. It was extremely exciting for the live studio audience, who got to see the incident unfold.

“Seeing [the ensemble] reuniting and having so much fun portraying the characters and interacting with one another was truly remarkable.”Levant continues, “It feels like the teammates have reunited.”

“The audience went wild when they saw Ron come back,” Fox Jr. recalls.

“We didn’t tip it,” Levant says with a giggle.

Happy Days aired on ABC for 11 seasons, from 1974 to 1984. Set in 1950s and 1960s Milwaukee, it followed the Cunningham family and Richie Cunningham’s pals. The Happy Days cast’s chemistry and friendship remain to this day: Henry Winkler, 78, who portrayed Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, spoke about reconnecting with Howard onstage at the 2024 Emmys on the October 14 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark.

The actor said of his relationship with Howard, 70, that it started when their series debuted in 1974. “When we met, he was 18 and I was 27. You fantasize about having chemistry with your co-star, and it either exists or does not.”

Winkler and Howard, who acted as close friends, created it. “So 50 years ago, we could do a three-page scene in 20 minutes,” he informed me. We could memorize, rehearse, and shoot it in 20 minutes, and we were on a thread.”

When they reunited in September 2024, Winkler was relieved to see that nothing had changed decades later. “We were at the Emmys; we had 45 seconds; they yelled, ‘Action,’ and that chemistry hit like lightning. “Right into that space.”