My Days: Happy and Otherwise

by Marion Ross, David Laurell, Ron Howard, Henry Winkler Narrated by Marion Ross, David Laurell, Anson Williams, Don Most, Gwen Behron, Henry Winkler, Jim Meskimen, Maxine "Max" Andrews, Scott Baio, Scott Marshall

Overview

For eleven seasons, Marion Ross was head of one of America's favorite television households. Now meet the lovable real-life woman behind the Happy Days mom . . .

Before she was affectionately known to millions as “Mrs. C.,” Marion Ross began her career as a Paramount starlet who went on to appear in nearly every major TV series of the 1950s and 1960s-including Love, American Style, in which she donned an apron that would cinch her career. Soon after came the fateful phone call from producer Garry Marshall that made her an “overnight” success, and changed her life . . .

In this warm and candid memoir, filled with loving recollections from the award-winning Happy Days team-from break-out star Henry Winkler to Cunningham “wild child” Erin Moran-Ross shares what it was like to be a starry-eyed young girl with dreams in poor, rural Minnesota, and the resilience, sacrifices, and determination it took to make them come true. She recalls her early years in the business, being in the company of such luminaries as Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Noel Coward, yet always feeling the Hollywood outsider-a painful invisibility that mirrored her own childhood. She reveals the absolute joys of playing a wife and mother on TV, and the struggles of maintaining those roles in real life. But among Ross's most heart-rending recollections are those of finally finding a soulmate-another secret hope of hers made true well beyond her expectations.

Funny, poignant, and revealing-and featuring Garry Marshall's final illuminating interview-as well as a touching foreword from her “TV son” Ron Howard, and a conversation with her real-life son and daughter, Marion Ross's story is one of inspiration, persistence, and gratitude. It's also a glowing tribute to all those who fulfilled her dreams-and in turn, gave us some of the happiest days of our own lives.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

01/15/2018
In an autobiography as cheerful and straightforward as the author’s character on Happy Days, Ross uncomplainingly recounts a life filled with more melodrama than comedy. For 11 years the actress regularly entered American households as the iconic TV mother Mrs. Cunningham, but here she shares the struggles that preceded that success. Growing up in Minnesota during the Great Depression, Ross dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star. With her supportive mother’s help, Ross scraped together the money to study drama and speech (losing, in the process, her heavy Minnesota accent when it was pointed out to her). A move to California and a Paramount Studios contract seemed to mark the fulfillment of Ross’s dreams—until the contract wasn’t renewed. Neither an impulsive marriage to an alcoholic nor having to work while raising two children dimmed Ross’s dream, but these circumstances did force her to abandon hopes of film or theater stardom and focus on television. Following her divorce, Ross took a small part in the 1970 film Airport, which role led to her being cast in the Happy Days pilot. Interviews with the series’ cast and crew, including Ron Howard and the late Gary Marshall, add insight into Ross’s contributions to the show’s success. While lacking in the behind-the-scenes gossip readers might expect, this book will please fans with its down-to-earth account of the dedicated actress behind an adored character. (Mar.)

JULY 2018 - AudioFile

This warm and candid memoir of the talented and ambitious actor best-known as Mrs. Cunningham on “Happy Days” is a listening delight. While emotionally revealing in its more poignant sections, the audiobook and its performance overall remain happy and entertaining. The narration by the 89-year-old Ross is stellar. Her voice reflects her precise diction and warm, winning inflections. Additionally, her collaborator conducts interviews with several members of the “Happy Days” cast, as well as with her son, which reveal other perspectives on Ross: the person who dreamed of stardom at an early age, loved her real-life role as a mother, and cherishes her acting career. Be good to yourself and luxuriate in getting to know a special actor a bit better. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173665775
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	03/27/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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