Actor and '70s TV superstar Don Most celebrated his 73rd birthday on August 8, and marked the occasion with a pair of high-profile performances that add to his legacy.
The star is best known for playing jokester Ralph Malph in the beloved sitcom Happy Days, debuting in the show's inaugural season as a recurring character in 1974, staying with the cast until its seventh season in 1980.
After season seven, both Don and Ron Howard (who played the series' original lead, Richie Cunningham) left the show to pursue other opportunities, with the latter finding success as a filmmaker and the former branching out into music.
© Getty ImagesWhile Don actively released music during his time on the show, and even provided vocals for the in-universe band with Potsie, Richie and Chachi, he made a big switch to swing music in the 2010s, releasing a slew of swing albums and EPs from 2016 onwards.
How did Don Most celebrate his 73rd birthday?
And on August 7, Don achieved a historic milestone that many a musician aspire to – his debut at the famed Grand Ole Opry. Not only that, he followed it up with a performance the next day in Columbia, Tennessee's Mulehouse, the night of his actual birthday.
For the birthday boy, the gravity of the moment is not lost. "The history of that place is amazing, and so many greats have performed there through the years," he told Yahoo!'s Robin Raven. "I've heard about it my whole life. I've never been there, but certainly its legacy is immense."
© Getty ImagesDon Most's latest acting role
Despite being most associated with Happy Days, though, fans need not fear. Don continues to actively appear on screen and on the stage, most recently starring in a production of On Golden Pond for The Big Bear Theatre Project.
However, instead of watching the 1981 movie that brought Henry Fonda Oscar gold, Don told the publication that he made the choice to create his own version of the character, independent from the original. "I hadn't seen the movie," he noted.
"I've seen clips, that sort of thing, but I'd never seen it. And then when I knew I was going to be doing it, I made the decision not to watch it, because I didn't want to be unduly influenced."
He explained of his process: "If you start imitating, then it's not as organic. I wanted it to come from that place where you absorb the material, and then when you're working with the other actors and interacting with them, you feed off that, and it's all your original interpretation."
And the entire rehearsal and production process was only two weeks long, so it didn't really leave Don much time to absorb from a reference. "It really came together in those last couple of days. By opening night, we had a great show."
Why Happy Days still means so much to Don Most
To this day, though, Happy Days remains one of his fondest memories. And over five decades since making his debut as Ralph, he still finds fans who experienced not just joy but also catharsis with the show.
© Getty Images"So many people come up and want to talk about the show, the character," he shared, looking back on a fan convention he'd attended with co-stars Henry Winkler and Anson Williams just days prior.
He continued: "There's a large amount of people that come up and say how much that show helped them through a rough time. They were going through a tough time in their childhood or at home, or physical problems being in the hospital, and how much it could help them escape from the things that they were dealing with that were so difficult."
