In the 1970s, Erin Moran was a blossoming American talent: signed by her talent agent when she was just five-years-old, she had appeared in 14 TV shows before the age of 14. Born on October 18, 1960, in Los Angeles, Erin was the second-youngest of six children born to Edward, a finance manager, and her mom Sharon, who encouraged her daughter's interest in acting.
That passion didn't spring from nowhere, however: two of her brothers also became actors, John and Tony, the latter of whom played the unmasked Michael Myers in the movie Halloween (1978).
© CBS via Getty ImagesBig break
In 1974, at the age of 13, Erin joined the cast of a new ABC comedy, Happy Days. Set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the 1950s and 1960s, the series followed teenager Richie Cunningham (played by Ron Howard) and his family, including younger sister Joanie, played by Erin, and friends, such as the high school dropout, mechanic Fonzie (Henry Winkler).
Thanks to a renewed interest in the 1950s, with audiences falling in love with films such as Grease and American Graffiti, the show became a huge hit for the network.
© Disney General Entertainment ConErin was a recurring character for the first two seasons – she won the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a New Television Series for her role – but was upped to a main character for season three onwards. Joanie was a fan favorite, largely due to her relationship with character Chachi Arcola (Scott Baio), which became one of the show’s most beloved storylines.
Hollywood pressure
However, behind-the-scenes, Erin was feeling Hollywood pressure: in a 1983 interview, Erin claimed that by the time she had turned 15, producers "suddenly wanted me to lose weight and become this sexy thing".
© Getty ImagesBut she was supported by her cast, and in 2008, she told Today Show that Ron, Henry, and Scott "made it better, they made it easier".
"It was so much fun with these guys," she said. "I loved it. I had such a good time."
In 1982, after eight years with the series, producers asked Erin to appear in the new spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi. It was not a decision Erin took lightly, and she later claimed that she would have preferred to stay as a cast member of Happy Days. "I liked working with the people. But I didn’t even want to do it," she said. "I wanted to stay on Happy Days. They were running them at the same time."
© Getty ImagesJoanie Loves Chachi was critically and commercially panned and canceled after 17 episodes. Erin returned to the main show for its final season.
Life after Happy Days
In the years that followed, Erin made guest appearances in shows including The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, and Diagnosis: Murder, but she became estranged from the Happy Days cast and battled with depression and addiction, leaving Los Angeles and moving to the California mountains.
She married her first husband, Rocky Ferguson, in 1987, but they divorced in 1993. Later that same year, she married Steve Fleischmann.
© GettyOver the following years, Erin reconciled with the Happy Days cast, and they made several reunion appearances together.
Lawsuit and eviction
However, in 2012, it emerged that her California home had been foreclosed on in 2010, and Erin had been served eviction papers.
At the same time, Erin joined co-stars Marion Ross, Anson Williams, Donny Most, and Tom Bosley's widow Patricia in filing a a $10m lawsuit against CBS, alleging that they had not been given owed money from merchandising; in 2012, they were each awarded $65,000 after settling out of court.
© FilmMagicIn 2012, it was confirmed by Erin's publicist that Erin and Steve had moved to Indiana to live with her mother-in-law: "Erin and her husband did in fact move in with her ailing mother-in-law over a year ago. They are helping take care of her, as any loving family would do."
2017 death
On April 22, 2017, Erin died at the age of 56. Police in Harrison County, Indiana, confirmed that they had been called to her address, where Erin was found unresponsive.
An autopsy confirmed the cause of death to be complications of stage four squamous cell carcinoma of the throat, and "no illegal narcotics were involved in her death".
© WireImageThe clarification came after speculation around her cause of death was amplified by comments made by Scott, when he said: "For me, you do drugs or drink, you're going to die. I'm sorry if that's cold, but God gave you a brain, gave you the will to live and thrive, and you gotta take care of yourself."
Heartbreak for husband
Erin's husband Steve, who was with the star for 25 years, later shared that her health had been rapidly deteriorating after being diagnosed with cancer just months prior to her passing.
"It got so bad so fast. By the middle of February, Erin could no longer speak or eat or drink," he shared in a heartbreaking statement. Of the day she passed away, he said: "I laid down next to her, held her right hand in my left. I fell asleep, woke up about an hour later still holding her hand, and she was gone, she was just gone."
© Disney General Entertainment ConHappy Days tributes
"OH Erin... now you will finally have the peace you wanted so badly here on earth ...Rest In It serenely now.. too soon," Henry tweeted.
"Such sad sad news. RIP Erin. I'll always choose to remember you on our show making scenes better, getting laughs and lighting up TV screens," added Ron, while Donny, who played Ralph Malph on the hit sitcom, said: "I am so incredibly sad to hear about Erin. She was a wonderful, sweet, caring, talented woman. As I write this I can’t really comprehend this right now. A very painful loss. It gives me some comfort to know that she’s with Tom, Al, Pat and Garry. Rest In Peace, sweet Erin."
