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Don Most

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Don Most
Don Most as Ralph Malph in 1973.
Born (1953-08-08) August 8, 1953 (age 70)
Other namesDonny Most, Donald Most, Donnie Most
Alma materLehigh University
(dropped out)
OccupationActor
Years active1973–present
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
SpouseMorgan Hart (1982-present)
Children2

Don Most (born August 8, 1953; Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor best known for his role as Ralph Malph on the television series Happy Days.

Early life

Most lived in Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY, and graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in 1970. He attended Lehigh University, but dropped out before his senior year and moved to California to pursue acting full-time.[1]

Acting credits

Following his role as a regular cast member on Happy Days, Most has appeared in other film and television work. Film credits include EDtv (1999), Planting Melvin (2005) and The Great Buck Howard (2008). He also made guest appearances on many TV shows, including CHiPs, Baywatch, The Love Boat, Sliders, Star Trek: Voyager, Diagnosis Murder and Glee. He also made an appearance on Charles In Charge, alongside his former Happy Days co-star, Scott Baio. He plays a man who has just won the lottery, and as part of the cameo joke, runs up to Scott Baio and waving the winning ticket shouts, "It looks like Happy Days are here again!" He also receives several looks from Scott Baio that suggests familiarity throughout the episode. He is sometimes credited as "Donny Most".

Voice acting

Most performed as a voice actor on several Saturday morning cartoon series. Among these roles were: Ralph Malph on The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (1980); Eric the Cavalier in Dungeons & Dragons (1983); and Stiles on Teen Wolf (1986–1989). Most makes a brief appearance 3 minutes into the 17th episode of the fifth season of Family Guy titled "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One".

Personal life

Most is married to actress Morgan Hart. He has two daughters and lives near Los Angeles, California.

Happy Days lawsuit

On April 19, 2011, Most and four of his Happy Days co-stars, Erin Moran, Marion Ross, Anson Williams and the estate of the late Tom Bosley, who died in 2010, filed a $10 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against CBS, claiming they had not been paid for merchandising revenues owed under their contracts. The cast members claimed they had not received revenues from show-related items, including comic books, t-shirts, scrapbooks, trading cards, games, lunch boxes, dolls, toy cars, magnets, greeting cards and DVDs where their images appear on the box covers. Under their contracts, they were supposed to be paid five percent from the net proceeds of merchandising if their sole image were used, and half that amount if they were in a group. CBS said it owed the actors $8,500 and $9,000 each, most of it from slot machine revenues, but the group said they were owed millions.[2] The lawsuit was initiated after Ross was informed by a friend playing slots at a casino of a "Happy Days" machine on which players win the jackpot when five Marion Rosses are rolled.

In October 2011, a judge rejected the group's fraud claim, which meant they could not receive millions of dollars in potential damages.[3] On June 5, 2012, a judge denied a motion filed by CBS to have the case thrown out, which meant it would go to trial on July 17 if the matter was not settled by then.[4] In July 2012, the actors settled their lawsuit with CBS. Each received a payment of $65,000 and a promise by CBS to continue honoring the terms of their contracts. [5][6]

References

  1. ^ Don Most (biography) – Genesis Creations Entertainment.
  2. ^ Zamost, Scott (April 20, 2011). "'Happy Days' actors claim fraud, money owed for merchandising". CNNMoney.
  3. ^ Gardner, Eriq (June 5, 2012). "'Happy Days' Actors Win Key Ruling in CBS Lawsuit". The Hollywood Reporter.
  4. ^ Scott, Zamost (June 5, 2012). "'Happy Days' cast members' lawsuit heading for trial". CNN.
  5. ^ Daley, Sean (August 6, 2012). "Chachi done with broke Joanie". New York Post.
  6. ^ Zamost, Scott (July 7, 2012). "'Happy Days' actors settle lawsuit with CBS". CNN.

External links

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