The Day I Interviewed Ralph Malph
In what seems like forever ago, and it may be, I hosted a talk show with my buddy Phil. We were lucky enough to interview one of our TV idols from the 80’s: Ralph Malph from Happy Days. Better known to his family as Donny Most —actually I think he goes by Don now. While some will say, "So ... ?" You have to remember, when someone was that big during your childhood, it's a big deal. Bigger than almost any other celebrity not named Bill Murray.
"Don" was with us to promote a new independent film he had just directed, but I quickly changed gears and shifted the conversation to his TV days as Ralph Malph on “Happy Days.” He obliged, knowing that it came with the territory.
But he really came alive when I asked him about his guest appearance on “Chips” as Moloch, the KISS imitated rock star. In my world, it was the greatest Chips episode in history, even though it didn’t include Jon Baker. He loved talking about it and said it was a blast filming the show. He also couldn’t believe I remembered it. You can see it here — and it’s worth the effort. Just priceless.
Now that I look back, I wish I would have pressed him on his guest appearance as “Billy Williams” on “Fantasy Island.” I always wanted the inside scoop on Ricardo Montalban.
The happy days gang
(photos courtesy of Wiki Commons)