Very early in Happy Days' run, there was a crossover of sorts with Howdy Doody, which we'll look at another time. However, in season 9, it was clear that the writers were running out of ideas, and thought to take advantage of a 50's icon still airing in syndication.
That would be The Lone Ranger.
However, due to ongoing litigation at the time with the rights holders to the franchise, Clayton Moore was no longer allowed to portray the Masked Man. John Hart (ex-Hawkeye & The Last of the Mohicans), who had filled in for Moore for a time, was brought in for the episode, "Hi-Yo Fonzie, Away!". See, Fonzie (Henry Winkler) is a big fan of the Ranger, and Chachi (Scott Baio) & Howard (Tom Bosley) decided to surprise Da Fonz for his birthday........
Seeing as how this came a year after the critically panned "Legend of the Lone Ranger", this should've been a shot in the arm to get interest in the Ranger revived. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened, more than 35 years later, after 2 more poorly received movies, one for television.
No rating. I didn't see this one.
I remember watching this at the time it aired originally and I was disappointed Clayton Moore wasn't there! I had been aware of his litigation against TPTB to wear the mask in public appearances, but to me HE was The Lone Ranger. No offense to John Hart, as he was doing what was asked of him, but I never enjoyed him in the role. Then again, I wasn't crazy about Happy Days by this point in the show. With Ron Howard gone, and other fill ins trying to close the gap that left, the show was running out of steam in a hurry. It's sad to (re)watch.
ReplyDeleteHart was also wearing the mask in an episode of The Greatest American Hero. Once again, he was as The Lone Ranger who was a childhood hero of Ralph Hinkley.
Hmmmmmm, give me the episode title of "Greatest American Hero" w/Hart, and I'll see if I can dig that up.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, it makes me think ABC was thinking of bringing the Ranger back with Hart in the role, perhaps training a successor........
The episode was, "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" (1981).
ReplyDeleteI think someone at ABC (or its parent company) was trying to foster goodwill for the character even though they were dumping on Moore via the lawsuit. Plus, they had to eat crow when the 1981 film failed (and it deserved to!).
There was also an episode of Night Court which took inspiration from this real life event: "Who Was That Mashed Man?" (1987). Same basic format (beloved cowboy star is sued to prevent his wearing his mask in public due to big screen release of a modernized version of his old TV character), except this time, the cowboy threatens to kill himself and the gang have to get him to see things differently. Trust me, it's funnier than it sounds.
I wonder if that "Greatest American Hero" episode title wasn't inspired by a certain Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson duet......!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it was!
ReplyDeleteI'll see if I can find that "Greatest American Hero" ep and put it up here.
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