Happy Days Writers Recall Ron Howard's Return for Show's 250th Episode: 'The Crowd Went Wild' (Exclusive)

The Happy Days cast enjoyed a lot of memorable moments together, but there's nothing quite like coming home again.

Brian Levant and Fred Fox Jr., producers and showrunners for the beloved series, talk about some of the show's biggest moments in a new book they co-authored together, 50 Years of Happy Days: A Visual History of an American Television Classic .

One milestone the two look back on fondly is the cast's reunion for the show's 250th episode, which aired in a two-part special in May 1984. Meant to be the series finale, in it, the whole gang gathers for Joanie ( Erin Moran ) and Chachi (Scott Baio)'s wedding.

"The 250th episode we did, after Ron Howard ... left the show, and his contract with NBC expired, he came home," Levant recalls, nodding to the plot line that sees Howard's Richie Cunningham and his love Lori Beth (Lynda Goodfriend) say goodbye.

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Howard's return to the show nearly three years after his departure came as a surprise to viewers. It was especially a thrill for the live studio audience who got to watch the scene unfold.

"To see [the cast] reunited, and having such joy in playing the characters and playing with each other, that's what was really memorable. It's like, the teammates were reunited," says Levant.

"The audience went wild when they saw Ron come back," Fox Jr. notes.

"We didn't tip it," Levant adds with a laugh.

Happy Days ran for 11 seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1984. Set in 1950s and '60s Milwaukee, it followed the Cunningham family, as well as Richie Cunningham's friends. The chemistry and camaraderie from the Happy Days cast continues to this day: Henry Winkler, 78, who played Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, spoke about reuniting with Howard onstage at the 2024 Emmys on the Oct. 14 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark .

"We are connected," the actor shared of his bond with Howard, 70, which began when their series premiered in 1974. "When we met, he was 18, I was 27. You dream for a chemistry with your fellow actor, and either it's there or it's not."

For Winkler and Howard, who played close pals, it was there. "So 50 years ago, we could do a three-page scene in 20 minutes," he said. "We could rehearse it and memorize it and shoot it in 20 minutes and it was like we were on a thread together."

When it came to their September 2024 reunion, Winkler was happy to find that decades later, things hadn't changed. "We're at the Emmys, we had 45 seconds, they said, 'Action,' and that chemistry came like a thunderbolt. Right into that space."