Child star Erin Moran who shot to fame as the daughter of Howard and Marion Cunningham on “Happy Days” and its spinoff “Joanie Loves Chachi” has died overnight.
911 dispatchers got the frantic call just after 4pm from someone reporting an “unresponsive female”. When emergency services arrived, they found that Erin was already dead.
Erin Moran was born 18 October 1960 in Burbank California, USA. She is the youngest daughter of Sharon and Edward Moran who have five other children. She attended Walter Reed Junior High School for one year and North Hollywood High School for another year.
She first entered the world of television in a commercial. The was followed with a regular appearance in the television series ‘Daktari’ (1966) and guest appearances in ‘The Waltons’ (1971), ‘Family Affair’ (1966), ‘My Three Sons’ (1960), ‘The Courtship of Eddie’s Father’ (1969), ‘Gunsmoke’ (1955), ‘The Smith Family’ (1971) and ‘The FBI’ (1965).
Moran was just 12 when she signed on to play Joanie Cunningham, the feisty little sister of Richie Cunningham in the popular show ‘Happy Days’. But while child actor Ron Howard has gone on to become a A-listed Hollywood producer and director, his on-screen sister had fallen on much harder times.
Happy Days, started in 1974 and ran for almost a decade. She continued the role in 1982 in the short-lived spinoff ‘Joanie Loves Chachi’ alongside Scott Baio, until its cancellation the following year lasting only one season.
Since then, Moran’s career has all but stalled with the exception of several television guest spots and an appearance in the 2007 independent comedy feature ‘Not Another B Movie’.
Moran was one of six Happy Days actors who reached an out of court settlement with CBS over royalties for the continued use of their images in merchandising.
Moran, Donnie Most, Anson Williams, Marion Ross, and the estate of the late Tom Bosley each received $65,000. Scott Baio opted not to join the lawsuit as he felt the show was very good to him and was happy to keep a good line of communication between him and Paramount Studios.
After loosing her home to foreclosure, she and her husband Steve Fleishmann were forced to move into a run-down trailer park in Indiana with her mother-in-law. There have been reports that her mother-in-law fed up with her partying ways threw Moran and her son out of the trailer and they then began staying in low budget hotels.
According to a publication in The National Enquirer, Moran was reportedly on the verge of a split with her husband of 20 years. The article went on to say that Moran was sick and tired of being the sole breadwinner and that she felt that her hubby was riding her coattails.
Recent photos of a chain smoking Moran did nothing to expel the rumors that she has in fact hit skid row and not aged very well.
It has also been reported that her former Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler was said to be working on getting her a role in his current TV series ‘Arrested Development’.
Moran was 56. An autopsy is pending.
