‘Happy Days’: ‘Potsie’ Actor Anson Williams Revealed the ‘Secret’ That Made the Cast Bond Together
Happy Days hit the airwaves in 1974 and soon became a family favorite. Starring Ron Howard (Richie Cunningham), Henry Winkler (Arthur “Fonzi” Fonzarelli), Anson Williams (Warren “Potsie” Weber), and Donnie Most (Ralph Malph), the legendary sitcom brought together an iconic cast. One star of the show credited this off-camera bonding activity for making them a tight-knit group.
Anson Williams considered the ‘Happy Days’ softball team a major asset
Williams described the camaraderie with his co-stars, which began as soon as Happy Days began production.
“When Happy Days first started, I thought timing-wise we might do OK,” Williams said, according to Fox News. “But I also didn’t realize there was a special chemistry happening on that show. An ‘It’ factor, a certain magic… It’s a wonderful feeling we still have it around for people to enjoy.”
The Happy Days alum noted the team sport that the cast played, which helped solidify their relationships off set.
“I think the secret that made the set so great was our softball team,” Williams remarked. “We would travel all over the world playing benefit games. Most of us were ex-jocks. So it was fantastic in terms of keeping a group of actors together beyond the set.”
The ‘Happy Days’ cast maintain a special bond
With Howard now an established director and many Happy Days cast members off on new ventures, the former co-stars don’t get together as frequently as they’d like. Yet Williams shared that their connection is still solid.
“Our relationship is excellent,” Williams said of his former Happy Days co-stars. “I don’t see Ron [Howard] as much because he’s always all over, but we’re in contact. Henry Winkler, we’re in contact.”
Williams revealed that Most lives close to him, and they are all reachable by phone.
“Don Most, he’s 15 minutes away from me,” William commented. “All of us have stayed very, very close. We’re always a phone call away.”
Anson Williams considered himself the ‘best reactor’ on ‘Happy Days’
Williams was used to taking on supporting roles when he landed the part of Potsie Weber, and wasn’t looking to be the star of the show.
“I was playing the concerned boyfriend parts,” he told Smashing Interviews in 2017. “It was great. I was the best reactor in television. There’d be five pages of a scene and I had five lines, one a page. They’d cut to me nodding my head and smiling, waiting for my line, and the line would be, ‘I understand.’ Then I’d react on another page.”
The Happy Days alum took his place behind the camera for a while, serving as director on several television projects.
“I’ve been directing since 1985, but the last full-time directing job I did was The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” Williams explained. “I directed a third of all the episodes. Since then I stopped doing segment television. I have some really nice projects in development right now. … Once in a while I’ll do motivational talks around the country. Don Most and I have a concert kind of video series thing. We’ll do these fun, cool shows for civic centers maybe six or seven times a year. That’s a lot of fun.”
