‘Happy Days’ Actor Gavan O’Herlihy Dies At 70

If you were a fan of classic ABC sitcom Happy Days, you might recall the early presence of an older Cunningham sibling named Chuck. Written out without any explanation in the second season, Chuck was initially played by Irish actor Gavan O’Herlihy, who chose to exit after just seven episodes (and was briefly replaced by Randolph Roberts).

“I pulled out of it, I didn’t want to do it,” he once said in an interview. “They had me at college, I was going to grunt and bounce a basketball once every couple of weeks for probably three or four years. And at 20 years old, that’s not the gig you want to be doing. But that was my big break; that got me established around town as a kid who got hot in a hurry.”

On Wednesday, newspaper The Irish Echo reported that Gavan O’Herlily died last month at the age of 70.

“RIP Gavan,” wrote filmmaker Howard on Twitter. “I knew him as the 1st of 2 Chucks on #HappyDays & then as Airk in #Willow where I had the pleasure of directing him. A talented actor with a big free spirit.”

Born July 29, 1951 in Dublin, Ireland, O’Herlihy segued from being an Irish National Tennis Champion to over 30 film credits as an actor including Willow, Never Say Never Again, Death Wish 3 and Superman III.

After Happy Days, O’Herlihy racked up a notable resume of TV show guest appearances including Lucas Tanner, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Six Million Dollar Man, Police Woman and miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man. In his movie debut in 1978, he portrayed the ex of the bride (Amy Stryker) in Robert Altman’s A Wedding.

By the 1990s, O’Herlihy relocated to the UK, where he worked in the theatre and on television, with roles on British television series including Coded Hostile, Sharpe, Jonathan Creek, and Midsomer Murders. In 2009, returned to the big screen as Sheriff Vaines in the follow up to Neil Marshall’s cult horror film, The Descent 2. More recent was upcoming film Queen of the Redwood Mountains.

“Gavan .. Rest In Peace,” tweeted Happy Days star Henry Winkler. “It was a pleasure sharing the screen with you !!! You walked up the longest staircase this time.”