Date of Birth: August 8, 1953 in Brooklyn,
New York
Famous For: The role of Ralph Malph on
"Happy Days"
Info: Originally he auditioned for the part
of Potsie on "Happy Days," but was immediately ruled out because of his hair
color. Ron Howard, a redhead, had already been cast in the lead role and the
producers did not want another redhead to play the best friend.
But the producers liked Donny too much to simply ignore him. In
the original script, the character Ralph Malph was a football
jock. Garry Marshall decided to cast Donny as Ralph and, playing
off his comic ability, he changed the dumb jock into the class
comedian.
Donny, decided to leave "Happy Days" when his contract came to
an end in 1980. He began to audition for more challenging roles.
His first would come in the comedy-drama "Leo & Loree" just
months after leaving "Happy Days." For the next two years, he
acted where he could, and found himself on the theater stage.
The early 1990s found Donny Most auditioning for and earning
critical roles in movies like "Sliders," "Acting On Impulse,"
and "Dark Skies."
Family Life: Married to Morgan Hart in 1982 and still married.
They have two daughters.
What is He Up to Now...
Donny and his wife live in California, where they are raising two
children. He continues to work behind the camera, on the stage,
and in major motion pictures.
In 1995, he began touring with the musical "Grease," taking on
the part of a disc jockey named "Vince Fontaine."
He made his feature directing debut a few years back with the
independent film, "The Last Best Sunday," which starred former
Happy Days cast member, Marion Ross. "The Last Best Sunday"
picked up a feature film award at the Telluride Indiefest.
Donny still gets together with former cast mates on both a
professional and personal level. He can often be found on talk
shows discussing life as a child actor or working closely with
one of his "Happy Days" cohorts.
Trivia: Donny graduated from Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School, which
also includes former alumni of Barbra Streisand and Eli Wallach.
He also appeared in a famous Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial
("Hey, you got chocolate in my peanut butter...")
Other Roles:
Thundering 8th, The (2000)
Edtv (1999) .... Benson
Dead Man's Island (1996) (TV) .... Burton Andrews
Hourglass (1995) .... Andre
Acting On Impulse (1993) (TV) .... Leroy
Hägar the Horrible (1989) (TV) (voice)
"Teen Wolf" (1986) TV Series (voice) .... Stiles (1986-1989)
"Stewardess School" (1986) .... George Bunkle
"Dungeons & Dragons" (1983/I) TV Series (voice) .... Eric the Cavalier
Leo and Loree (1980) .... Leo
With This Ring (1978) (TV) .... James Cutler
Crazy Mama (1975) .... Shawn
Huckleberry Finn (1975) (TV) .... Tom Sawyer
"Happy Days" (1974) TV Series.... Ralph Malph (1974-1980)
"Century City" (2004) playing "Pudge McNeil"
"Biography" (1987) playing "Himself"
"Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (1996) playing "The White Rabbit"
"Star Trek: Voyager" (1995) playing "Kadan"
"Yes, Dear" (2000) playing "Professor Rhodes"
"I Love 1970's" (2000) playing "Himself"
"Crow: Stairway to Heaven, The" (1998)
"Diagnosis Murder" (1993) playing "Emerson Horn"
"Mad TV" (1995) playing "Himself"
"Dark Skies" (1996) playing "Dr. Timothy Leary"
"Sliders" (1995) playing "Host Skip Collins"
"Baywatch" (1989) playing "Roger Clark"
"Murder, She Wrote" (1984) playing "Ozzie Gerson"
"Charles in Charge" (1984) playing "Lottery Winner"
"Murder, She Wrote" (1984) playing "T.J. Holt"
"Happy Days" (1974) playing "Ralph"
"Love Boat, The" (1977) in episode:
"CHiPs" (1977) playing "Moloch"
"Fantasy Island" (1978)
"Police Story" (1973) playing "Arthur Kane"
"Emergency!" (1972) playing "Fred Wilson"
