Tom Bosley (1927 - 2010)

Tom Bosley died today and it makes me feel sad.

An actor, his iconic role was playing Howard Cunningham, patriarch of the Cunningham family in "Happy Days," the ABC sitcom that ran from 1974 - 1985.  "Happy Days" was right in my wheelhouse and one of my favorite shows as a kid, debuting when I was 8 years old and ending, long after I'd stopped watching it, when I was 19 years old and a sophomore in college.  Mr. Cunningham or "Mr. C.," as Fonzie (Henry Winkler) called him, was stern but kind, always fair and always ready to dispense a dose of common sense, fatherly advice to his children, Richie (Ron Howard) and Joanie (Erin Moran). 

I think, in some ways, Howard Cunningham, as played by Tom Bosley, was the father I never had and maybe the father I wanted to have, if that makes sense.

Here's a link to the obituary from today's New York Times -

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/arts/television/20bosley.html?ref=television