Al Molinaro, the loveable character actor with the
hangdog face who was known to millions of TV viewers for playing Murray the cop
on “The Odd Couple” and malt shop owner Al Delvecchio on “Happy
Days,” died Friday at Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, his son Michael
Molinaro said.
Molinaro, retired from acting since the 1990s, died of
complications of gallstone problems, his son said. He was 96.
The Kenosha, Wisconsin, native was a journeyman performer
well into middle age when a comedy improv class led to his breakthrough.
Producer Garry Marshall heard about Molinaro and hired him for the part of
police Officer Murray Greshler on “The Odd Couple,” the TV version of
Neil Simon’s play about feuding roommates. It starred Tony Randall as
photographer Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as sports writer Oscar Madison and
featured Molinaro as one of their buddies, a simpleminded policemen who at
times seemed as much a threat to his friends as he did to any crooks.
“The Odd Couple” ran from 1970-75 and not only
demonstrated Molinaro’s knack for goofiness, but exploited his most distinctive
feature – his plus-sized nose. In one defining scene, Murray attempts to enter
his friends’ apartment, but the door is locked. Murray instead sticks his nose
through a peephole.
“Oh, hi Murray,” Oscar calls out.
His son Michael said that Molinaro “was good friends
till the end with all of the group of people involved in ‘The Odd Couple.'”
His next long-running role was that of Al Delvecchio in
“Happy Days,” the 1974-1984 nostalgic sitcom about 1950s life that
starred Ron Howard and Henry Winkler. Molinaro joined the cast in 1976,
replacing Pat Morita as the owner of Arnold’s Drive-In, and remained until
1982. In ABC’s 1992 “‘Happy Days’ Reunion Special,” Molinaro defended
the show from criticism that it sentimentalized the 1950s.
“In the industry, they used to consider us like a
bubble-gum show,” he said. “But I think they overlooked one thing. To
the public in America, ‘Happy Days’ was an important show, and I think it was
and I think it still is.”
Molinaro built on his “Happy Days” success for
years after he left the show. He brought the character of Al to “Joanie
Loves Chachi,” a short-lived “Happy Days” spinoff that aired
from 1982-83. In 1987, he and Anson Williams, who played Potsie on “Happy
Days,” started Big Al’s, a Midwestern diner chain. He brought Al back for
a brief appearance in “Buddy Holly,” a 1995 music video for the group
Weezer that was directed by Spike Jonze. Molinaro played a grandfather in
“The Family Man” sitcom that aired from 1990-1991, and continued to
make guest appearances on other series through the early ’90s. He also filmed
commercials, notably for On-Cor frozen dinners.
Molinaro came to acting late in life. He had a brief
teenage stint as a clarinet player with a band, then worked at a variety of
jobs after graduating high school. He moved to California in the early 1950s on
casual advice from a friend who suggested he pursue acting.
“I said, ‘I’ll do that,'” Molinaro told the
Kenosha News in a 2004 interview. “I get on the Greyhound bus and I’m in
Hollywood.”
His first TV job was in production, when he talked an
independent TV station manager into hiring him. Then it was on to TV
commercials and ads, including a Los Angeles billboard that featured him in a
chef’s cap. The producers of “Get Smart” spotted it and hired
Molinaro to play Agent 44 for a few episodes in 1969. That was followed by
guest roles in such sitcoms as “Green Acres,” ”That Girl” and
“Bewitched.”
“I spent 20 years here before I got anything going,
and from that I got lucky,” he said.
Molinaro had a son, Michael, from his first marriage. He
and his second wife, Betty Farrell, married in 1981.
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