They grew up. That was on the show as well as behind the scenes.

They were drafted by the army.

The Thing with Happy Days is i feel that when Chachi and Joanie left to go do there show that is when Happy Days Slipped not only in ratings but the shows stories werent' great also.If you look at the ratings on Happy's Days season 8 the 1st season without Ron Howard and Don Most did better ratings then season 7 the last season they wear on season 9 slipped a little and did the same as season 7.season 10 Chachi and Joanie leave they added 4 new Characters Happy Days already got Jenny and Roger in season 8 and now they added 4 new ones but i will say that i liked flip(Billy Warlock/Linda Purl(Ashley) and Heather O'Rourke) i like Ted McGinley but he didn't bring anything to Happy Days along with K.C,Jenny was only good when Joanie was there Anson Williams forget about it they did nothing with him it was really the downfall for him when Ron and Don left and again the writing and stories wear not great there wear a few that i liked but when i compare it to season 11.Season 11 was for me so much better then season 10 i would have like for Warlock ,Purl and O'Rourke to be in season 11 cause i think Warlock and Baio would have been a good team but season 11 we got the wedding of Chachi and Joanie,Richie and Ralph coming Back,Fonize has a Brother and more am sorry that i wrote a long post about it but i do wish that Ron Howard would have stayed till the end at the same time he did really good for himself am happy that he is a successful Director.

After nine seasons and the departures of three main cast members "All In The Family" changed its name to "Archie Bunker's Place" then continued for four more seasons. "Happy Days" could have done something similar after the departure of main character Ron Howard and his sidekick Donnie Most. The show could have become "The Cunninghams". I think a lot of fans would have judged "The Cunninghams" less harshly than a "Happy Days" without Richie and Ralph.
Yup yup yup yup. Yup yup yup yup.

Ron Howard has enjoyed a great career after leaving "Happy Days". Howard was a star, Donny Most wasn't.

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I wonder why Donny Most left the show. His career after "Happy Days" was not impressive. He seems like a supporting actor with delusions of grandeur.
Anson Williams stuck around to get paid. Lynda Goodfriend did the same thing. If she wasn't under contract the producers probably would have dropped her like a hot rock when Ron Howard left. I read in TV Guide many years ago that Ron Howard spoke to Goodfriend before informing producers he was leaving the show and advised her to get a contract extension. He didn't have to do that. Howard was a GOOD FRIEND.

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I am glad it ended well. I know it deserved that much stuff.

I concur that season ten was hard to watch. For a lot of shows the last season was the worst season. For "Happy Days" the second to last season was the worst.

Great summary - and I agree with your ratings.
But, you got season 9 wrong - KC & Flip (Rodgers cousin) didn't join until season 10 - which was the season Joannie & Chachi left for their own show.
When they returned in season 11, Flip & KC disappeared.
Big Al also left at the end of season 9 (to join Chachi & Joannie in Chicago in their own show).
The original Arnold retuned for a few episodes to fill the void.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=305106
Season 8
-As this season started, the show had lost Ron Howard and Danny Most so they could grow their careers more and have some directing opportunities, at least in Ron Howard's case. Their characters, Richie and Ralph, had left for the Army at the end of Season 7 so right there it left a big hole that they needed to fill and quickly. A lot of people feel the series should have ended with the end of Season 7 but the ratings were still there enough to go on and ABC chose to renew. In season 8 the decision was made to focus the show around Fonzie and his life. Also, this is the season where we finally actually see Joanie's friend Jenny Piccalo who had only been mentioned by name up to that point. The season deals largely with 3 things: Fonzie and his life and how it's affected when he becomes a teacher, which changed him. Secondly, it deals heavily with Jenny Piccalo since she's still in High School. Third, it deals of course with Joanie, Chachi and their relationship. Season 8 is where it started to deal a bit too much with that and there started to be a lot more drama surrounding that than was needed. Also, about midway through the season Richie's cousin Roger comes to stay with the Cunninghams..who is played by the actor many know from Married With Children. His character stayed through the rest of the series. So, a lot of changes happened that season and some were good and bad. I'd give that season a 7.
Season 9
-It's actually a bit better of a season than 8 is, the few big changes that season were the addition of Joanie and Richie's cousin, KC and Roger's brother got added in too. Outside of that it shifts even more towards focusing on Fonzie and it ends up being a weird mish-mash of going back and forth between Fonzie, Roger and his brother, Joanie and Chachi and to a bit lesser extent Jenny Piccalo. This is where they started to make a lot of changes at once and some things panned out and worked ok, other things just didn't stick to the wall. This is the season Richie's son was born in and Fonzie literally helped deliver him. I'd give that overall season an 8.
Season 10
-This was probably the hardest season to get through honestly. It centers a lot around Fonzie and how he finally gets into a steady relationship with a girl who has a daughter. That part was okay but the HUGE mistake they made that season was they had Fonzie deal with getting older and they almost never showed his bike on screen anymore. Also, there are a lot of points where he isn't wearing the leather jacket anymore. As far as Fonzie goes they made a LOT of poor choices there. Everyone gets older I understand that but a character like Fonzie it's not really necessary or smart to focus on his getting older. The stronger parts of the season dealt with Roger and his brother still. I'd give this season a 6 and that's being generous. It was easily the worst of the 11 seasons I felt.
The 11th and Final season
-You know, all things considered it was a really well done season and I know that's gonna catch hell probably but here's why. The show stopped dealing with Fonzie getting older and just put him back into the character everyone knew. He became a dean at a school in a bad neighborhood and they did well with that. It showed him relating to those inner-city kids and the difference he made for them. Roger became the principal of that school, and Joanie ended up teaching at that school. That whole Joanie-Fonzie-Roger arc worked really well and surprised me. Due to the new school setting, they tried to add in a lot of new characters who they tried to have regularly (It seems like as the season started they were thinking it might get another year). Some of them worked well, others not so much but they tried. Joanie and Chachi got married. Also, Richie and Ralph came back for one final episode, which was surprisingly quite moving. The final scene with Richie and Fonzie summed up those 11 years and the whole thing behind the show perfectly.."You were my protector, the best friend a guy could ever ask for, my confidant, you helped me get married, deliver my son..how do you ever repay someone for all of that?" Fonzie's response? "I think you just did." and he walked out that door for the final time crying. By that point I was too. That scene was perfect and captured those two characters in one damn sentence. As for Fonzie? At the very end he got to adopt his own son which was just fitting..the kid came from a background not much different from his. As I said I think they were trying to get pieces to fit for a 12th year but at that point they knew they were done so they ended it as best they could. They did well. The last line of the show was great, from Tom Bosley: "Here's to Happy Days" as he looks at the camera like he's thanking the audience. Not Newhart brilliant but still very good. The final version of the theme song for the show used in the final season was GREAT, best version of

Here's why Don left in (some of) his own words. August 15, 2014 :
When Most left Happy Days after seven seasons to pursue film opportunities, he was surprised to find that the character who had made him famous, also lingered in the minds of Hollywood decision makers.
The actor describes Ralph Malph as a real cut up, the class clown, a very rambunctious and sort of outgoing character. Admits Most, The truth of the matter is that it was very different than who I was. I was pretty introverted, and kind of shy, and not that way at all. And I was an actor and I felt that, Well this is a role Im playing.
.And I wanted to play many, many different kinds of roles. But then it became, because of the perception, it became very difficult to break away from that.
Still, Don Most has enjoyed wonderful film and television roles including those on EDtv, Glee, Star Trek: Voyager and directing opportunities. Although he is currently focused on his big band performances, he insists his acting and directing projects wont be taking a backseat.
To read the whole story go to :
http://parade.com/328265/nancyberk/showbiz-analysis-with-happy-days-don-most/
Title : Showbiz Analysis with Happy Days Don Most

I don;t recall when the issue was bujt i rememebr i first read about Ron howard leaving in TV Guide. (For those who recall) it was on that yellow page with black typing, when they had TV news out of hollywood.
It stated that Ron was leaving and had signed a contract with
NBC to make some Tv movies for them. (Not star in) but direct and create.
The first of which was "Skyward". A drama with (ironically) Marion Ross. Also , Bette Davis, Lisa Welchel (Blair of Facts of Life) and Howard hessman (Of WKRP IN Cincinatti.)
That aired on 11/20/1980. The rest from that point is well known history.
Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13
arf,man!

Anson Williams appearances became sporadic in the later years. Potsie appeared in only six episodes apiece for the final two seasons. Although he is credited during the opening credits of the series finale, he does not appear in the episode other than archive footage.

I used to watch that .
Confused me a bit then.
How was Richie & Ralph on that show but away in the army other?
( I was a very naive' kid.)
)
Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13
arf,man!

Ron Howard and Donny Most didn't really leave Happy Days totally that season.
They continued playing Ritchie Cunningham and Ralph Malph that season.
Here's the proof:
Several people said that also explains why Ritchie's brother Chuck was never seen again.

Ron Howard and Donny Most didn't really leave Happy Days totally that season.
Here's the proof:
Several people said that also explains why Ritchie's brother Chuck was never seen again.

Yes but you implied in an above post that fans may have been bitter because Most left Happy Days and thus could be why his career wasn't better after having left. Ron Howard left too and most fans liked the Richie character better than the Ralph one and were thus more upset that Ron Howard had left the show.

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Leaving the show didn't hurt Ron Howard's career.

An actor leaving a hit show can rub some fans the wrong way. Ron Howard was considered a star and Donny Most a supporting actor. I bet a lot of fans thought "Ralph Malph has a lot of gall leaving Happy Days". He could have taken acting jobs totally different from Happy Days during his off time. But I guess he couldn't wait. His part could have grown after Ron Howard left, but it didn't work out that way for Potsie.