Tom Bosley Remembered by "Ralph Malph"
Fans of the hit sitcom "Happy Days" are mourning the loss of Tom Bosley. He died Tuesday at the age of 83.
'Happy Days' Beloved Dad Tom Bosley Dead At 83
For 11 years back in the '70s, he played Howard Cunningham.
On "The Early Show" Wednesday Don Most, who played Ralph Malph on the hit show, said Bosley was like a father to him in real-life.
"That was the case for the cast," Most, who's stll an actor, said. " ... Especially for me, I think I had recently moved to California. I was 20 years old. My family was on the East Coast. So, to a large degree, the 'Happy Days' gang became my West Coast family, and what better dad figure to have than 'Mr. C.,' in Tom Bosley. Unbelievable."
Most continued, "The four (main young male characters), when we first started the show, we were all single, single men, and then he saw us go through getting married, getting our first homes, and he loved to sit down with us sometimes before the day's work and find out what was going on in our lives and offer us some sage advice. And, you know, it really was -- he really was our dad in so many ways."
Most said he recently had a chance to speak to Bosley.
"I'm really happy that I got to spend some time with Tom not too long ago, about a little more than a month ago," he said. "I knew he had been diagnosed recently with lung cancer and I went out, my wife and I went out to visit him and his lovely wife, Patty, in the Palm Springs area, and we had a wonderful visit. We went to one of his favorite restaurants and just had a chance to really catch up and just be with each other, and I'm really glad I got to spend that time with him."
Most said Bosley was "doing pretty well" at the time. "He was undergoing treatment. But he had a great attitude and he was strong. He was fighting. I think he had a good overview of where he was at, but he was hopeful and he was doing great. It was great to see him that way."
Most added that Bosley would probably would like to be remembered as a "wonderful father and a terrific husband, a great friend, and an actor who really cared, cared about his work and cared about his fellow actors."
Most, now a father, says he has tried to imitate Bosley's Mr. Cunningham character.
"There are times when, you know, I was at a loss of words of what to say to (my children) in certain situations, and I think I would harken back to some of the episodes where he would just say just the perfect thing to Richie and I would try to emulate that. I don't think I was quite as successful as he was, but I tried."