2. American Graffiti Helped Make Happy Days a Reality
Photo: ultraswank
George Lucas had a film come out around the same time Happy Days was in the works called American Graffiti. It was based on the same time period and even starred Ron Howard playing a similar role to Richie Cunningham. However, technically both the show and the film were in the works at the same time. But it was the success of American Grafitti that eventually led network executives to green-light the show.