The actor, whose full name is Albert Francis Molinaro, was suffering from bad gallstones but decided not to have surgery due to his age, reports TMZ. He also appeared in the “Happy Days” spinoff ‘Joani Loves Chachi’.
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Molinaro generally played lovable – if at times bumbling – characters during his career, which also included his time as Officer Murray Greshler on “The Odd Couple”.
Born in Wisconsin, Molinaro was the son of Italian immigrants. Molinaro reprised the role of Al Delvecchio several times, notably in a series of commercials.
Set in midcentury Milwaukee, “Happy Days” followed the fortunes of a group of teenagers, chief among them Richie Cunningham (played by Ron Howard) and Arthur Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler), familiarly known as the Fonz. Marshall then placed him in his next show “Happy Days” as Al Delvecchio.
The episode and alien role was a huge success, leading to the creation of a show called “Mork & Mindy” that ran from the late 70s to early 80s.
He brought Big Al back yet again in 1994 for Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” video, directed by Spike Jonze, with the band performing at the drive-in. “A friend said “‘You should be an actor, ‘ and I said, ‘I’ll do that, ‘” he recalled in 2004.
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Despite his success in television, Molinaro never really hit it big in movies. That was followed by guest roles in such sitcoms as “Green Acres“, “That Girl” and “Bewitched”. Besides his wife, of Glendale, and son, of Encino, California, survivors include a brother and three grandchildren.
