#110 Happy Days with Anson Williams

Announcer 0:00

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Jeff Dwoskin 0:16

All right, Gary, thank you so much for that amazing introduction. You get the show going each and every week and this week was no exception. Welcome, everybody to Episode 110 of live from Detroit, the Jeff Dwoskin show. As always, I am your host, Jeff Dwoskin. Great to have you back for what's sure to be one of the happiest episodes ever produced here at live from Detroit. How happy I'll tell you. Your day is about to be made so happy when you hear my conversation with Anson Williams. That's right. Potsie from Happy Days is here. Oh, he's dishing out happy days. A great story about the birth of Mork from Ork an absolutely mesmerizing tale about the Heimlich maneuver. And Anson Williams as an entrepreneur. He created a product called ney a revolutionary product called alert drops, saving lives left and right. I can't wait for you to hear about that. So yes, happy days are upon us. MY CONVERSATION WITH Anson Williams is coming up in just a few minutes.

Thank you all for the kind notes and DMS about episode 108 with Ricarlo Flannigan, it was nice to finally share that interview with you such an amazing person such a hilarious friend. So sad that we lost him so young, but glad there's comedy left behind and the shows he was on for everyone to still enjoy the work he did while he was with us check out episode 108 With my pal Ricarlo flanigan, you will not be disappointed head over to Jeffisfunny.com for that episode and all episodes streaming at your fingertips. I make it so easy for you.

And now it's time for the social media tip! all right buckle up. This is a part of the show where I share a little bit of my social media knowledge with you a little 411 I picked up on the street, a little tip to make your social life a little easier. I believe if we all work together, we can all raise our social games together. today. I want to talk about Twitter DMS they introduce pins conversations. That's right now you can pin your five favorite DMS never miss a DM from your mother in law again, or miss a DM from your mother in law. However you want to use the feature. It's totally up to you. But the cool part is on mobile you just swipe right on a DM that you're part of and you can pin it and on desktop. There's little three dots when you're in the inbox next to the DM before you click into it. Click on that and you can pin it you can pin five conversations to the top they'll just stay there. I love it because I'm always searching for certain DMs that I can never find because I get buried by other DMs but no Ma. Alright, go check it out. Enjoy. Send me a DM and let me know how much I love that. And that's the social media tip.

I've been taking singing lessons you probably can sell. Thank you very much. Speaking of thank you so I want to thank everyone in advance for the support of the sponsors. When you support the sponsors. You're supporting us here live from Detroit, the Jeff Dwoskin show and that's how we keep the lights on today's interview sponsor is alert drops that's alert drops.com The amazing life saving product created by Anson Williams drowsy driving, no more check out alert drops.com We talked about it during the interview that's coming up in just one second. If you thought you loved Potsie Weber before, you're gonna love answering Williams even more now, all this happy days and alert drops. His dedication to making the world a better and safer place will inspire you. I'm excited to share my conversation that I had with Anson Williams with you, and that's coming up or right now.

Alright everyone, I am so excited to introduce to you actor, entrepreneur, Director, author. You loved him as Warren Potsie Webber on Happy Days. Let's Rock Around the Clock as we welcome Hansen Williams to the show. Welcome to the show. How are you?

Anson Williams 4:23

I'm thrilled to be on the show. Really is wonderful being here, man. really seriously.

Jeff Dwoskin 4:31

It's so exciting.

Anson Williams 4:32

I'm so excited.

Jeff Dwoskin 4:33

I appreciate it. It means a lot. It does. It really does. Like many, many people I grew up on Happy Days and I'm really excited to talk to you about that and all the cool stuff you've done. I think one of the cooler things you've done I want to kind of talk about it right up front and I want to kind of lead into it with your uncle, his Heimlich, Dr Heimlich.

Anson Williams 4:52

Oh correct that he's actually my second cousin. But ever since I was born like 21 years ago. That's a joke. I always call him uncle Herrick, so it's always been uncle.

Jeff Dwoskin 5:05

Cool. We all Yeah, it's all will close relative. We all have those relatives that are, like honorary aunt and uncle, where

Anson Williams 5:12

we've been very tight for decades. He passed three and a half years ago, but my whole life we've been, he's been my uncle.

Jeff Dwoskin 5:20

That's so cool. And so I think everyone's heard of the Heimlich maneuver.

Anson Williams 5:25

You mean, wait, wait, let me see the Heimlich maneuver created by one individual in the Guinness Book of Records that has saved more lives in the history of the world documented than any one individual? Yes. Yeah. This way. Oh, cool. Yes, doctor. I'm like, Yes, that's him.

Jeff Dwoskin 5:43

Amazing. And in my research, this may I may have, I don't remember I read this in your book, or if I picked it up somewhere else, but is that one of the reasons most of us know about it, is when you're having success with happy days, you went on Merv Griffin Show with Drew, Dr. Heimlich. And that helped really kind of gain a ton of exposure for this

Anson Williams 6:07

very interesting life. Everybody out there. Whoa, whoa, so many things connect to a major event really growing up, um, a number in the world, whatever, blah, blah, blah, blah. You're working in this you get jobs. I get a job. Happy days. I get this amazing mentor Gary Marshall. You know who created the show? An amazing group of friends, Henry Winkler, Ron Howard. Donny Marin Ross is that the combination made a huge successful show. Without that show. I don't think the Heimlich maneuver. I can't say I don't think the Heimlich maneuver at the at the moment of time was what made the motivation to bring it to the public was happy days, much more than me. And not many people know about this. And this is kind of a personal story here. Happy Days really was the catalyst to blast off the Heimlich maneuver. Here's why. There's Happy Days and all these creative people, and I'm on it. And I happen to saying and I happened to go on the Merv Griffin Show a few times. So I'll bring you back to the morning on stage. 19 Dr. Heimlich is there visiting me and he was really sad because he was explaining to me he created the maneuver and he got some regional publicity. He had a political problem with the Red Cross at the time. And literally the Red Cross was stopping the Heimlich maneuver from moving forward telling everyone used to slap on the back slap on the back slap on the back. Actually, today, you will see hug for life, not the home maneuver on the Red Cross. They had a huge blue, whatever it was conflict, but it was stopping saving lives. And it was really irritated. And we're talking and a call came on the set from The Merv Griffin Show. They wanted to talk to me. The producer said that you know someone that dropped out that night. Are you available the last minute we'd love to have you on he'll sing a song we'll talk to you blah, blah, blah. I'm thinking divine intervention. Holy cow. I go sure I'll be there only I'm off of so and so. And I could make I literally could make it. I went back to Hank but oh god egg is a hey, listen, The Merv Griffin Show called maybe we can get the Heimlich maneuver on national television. As an idiot. I'm sitting here I have no like, usually when you do a talk show. It's like what are you talking about all approvals, all this all that? And I'm just thinking we'll get on the air. Come there. And you'll get on the air on the Merv Griffin Show like an idiot. So it's going whatever. Okay, fine. I get released early on the show. I shall Rob he comes up with me. I get everything I need for the band, you know, and we get down there to the Merv Griffin Show. I have to rehearse with the band with my charts and whatever. And I Hey, is moving around. No, he's not around. Oh, okay. He's busy. Okay, I rehearse the song, blah, blah, blah, Associate Producer comes in. Here's what you're going to talk about. What would you like to talk about? I'm going oh, the Heimlich maneuver. We don't know that. We don't know about that. We don't we don't know about that. What about we want to talk about happy days, and I go, Okay, so anyway, but I'd really like to like to talk to her if he's not available. Finally, it gets to the point where it looks like it's not going to happen. I'm not going to be talking about Heimlich maneuver. Dr. Heim like nothing. So they put Dr. Hyman in the audience as a guest. And the show starts I wasn't the first guest out I might have been the second or third. I don't know. So I'd start since I'm introduced sing a little song. And then there's this delay, as they take you to the chair next to MERV to be interviewed. I had about a 92nd elevator pitch Hey, merb, my uncle Doctor homeless in blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. He stopped me. You know, he says, you know, something? I heard about that. I actually heard about that. Well, I read something. It's very interesting. It's in fact, and did Carson, Johnny Carson, his brother, and this comes into play later. is directing The Merv Griffin Show lights come up Hansen great finger. Unbeknownst to anybody, he tells the audience Anson told me something interesting. Is there a doctor Heimlich in the audience? Yeah. Hi. And they find a lie. Can you stand up please, I understand. I've read something about the Heimlich maneuver. Can you tell me more about it Dr. Hilux telling the country about when over and then merge said these words. We try it on me. And Dr. Heimlich comes on stage and does the hunt and I have the picture. This does the Heimlich maneuver. A Merv Griffin that must have had amazing impact your thank you think I did well, in America, by the way was delayed at night or something with it wasn't like went on lots of like, whoa, three weeks later because of Johnny Carson's brother, who happened to be directly in the Merv Griffin Show who happened to talk to the producer at the Tonight Show, Dr. Heimlich is on Johnny Carson three weeks later, and they're on the Johnny Carson Show. He's doing the Heimlich maneuver on Johnny Carson. Okay. At that point, the Heimlich maneuver went crazy, like blew out. God knows how many 1000s of lives have been saved because of let's backtrack Gary Marshall creating a show yada yada yada yada. And I'm just one small part of it. But my small part of it was connected to Dr. Heimlich. Right? And you get on the Mirga position. And then oh, coincidentally, Johnny Carson his brother's directing it

Jeff Dwoskin 11:37

to amazing how the universe works, huh?

Anson Williams 11:39

Isn't that amazing?

Jeff Dwoskin 11:40

What year was that? What year was that? Roughly? What do you think? Swag? Gosh,

Anson Williams 11:43

I would say 1975 76.

Jeff Dwoskin 11:48

Okay, so that's 1975 1976. This is December 2021. You're getting ready to talk to you. Yes, this article ran. In the paper, a McDonald's worker saw a woman choking on a chicken nugget a hopped through the driving window and saved her. She was 15 a 15 year old person working at McDonald's. She learned the Heimlich maneuver in a Red Cross babysitter class when she was 11. Wow. There you go. Flash forward all these years still huge, huge, amazing.

Anson Williams 12:18

Well, no, you want to talk about a legacy. People talk to me about what's it feel like being you know, you know, well known all that all that we were huge at one time when you go down all that promote all that publicity, all that visibility of being so called Special Oh, who would your legacy want to be being a television star? Or knowing generations are continuing because you save the life? What legacy would you want? I would love that legacy. It's like using your platform of celebrity to truly bring focus on someone that's really doing a more important job, which is keeping families together and future generations that never would have happened unnecessarily people haven't passed that. And believe me, I get crazy with that. And celebrities not using their platform properly. Truly,

Jeff Dwoskin 13:07

yeah, it's I imagine it evokes many goosebumps. Just even just think about the people that are around and that you've helped, but you created something also with the help of Uncle Hank alert drops, which I gotta say alert, although you describe it in more detail, but basically a lemon based thing that you can squirt your mouth while you're driving, keep you from falling asleep on your, on your tongue on your tongue to keep you from falling asleep. I when I heard about this, I met I hadn't heard about until as you know, as I was getting ready to talk to you. But I can't tell you how many times I've been driving and you're like, you can kind of feel yourself starting to doze a little bit. And you have to really kind of talk yourself out of it or, you know, really kind of snap yourself out of it. Or all of a sudden you're like, huh, and you're like what just happened? You know? Yeah, so describe the product a little better than I did. But this is another life saving product that that was inspired by Dr. Heimlich and the Heimlich maneuver and so carrying on the legacy, but I'm gonna let you explain it for a minute. You went

Anson Williams 14:05

through this kind of oh my god, I'm exhausted. Well, way before any of this decades ago, I was directing a television show in California. We were a little bit out of LA and in a desert area called Palmdale. It was very difficult shoot, you know really hot dehydrated anyway and get back in the car. I'm driving home and I've been up for 17 hours or whatever it was. I fell asleep at the wheel for like seconds but enough to like enough to almost have killed myself or someone else and it scared me. I had a conversation with Dr. Heimlich not that much longer, whatever. And I brought it up. He said Ansan for God's sakes cut up some lemons. Keep it in the car. If you're ever exhausted bite into the lemons. It needs to sort of improve in its old science. Citric acid Sour Lemon. When hits the top of your tongue hits the lingual nerve and the reflex reaction no different than when you go to a doctor and they do read you know the chest your reflexes, your arm, your knees, your legs. He said there's it's the same thing with the tongue. There's a reflex reaction of tongue and brain. And the reflex reaction is adrenaline. You put Sour Lemon citric acid on your tongue, your put your up your what? It's not installed on your system. It's reflects your actual body to wake up. And what really, because yes, so for years in your, you know, yourself being in the entertainment business, it's exhausting. It's hours. I mean, it's just so I had cut up lemons, and it was wonderful. I never had the problem again. Okay, let's cut two years later, I have an equal desire aside from show business to get into the product business. I love creating products that are helpful to people. Also, I was reaching about researching drowsy driving at that time, there were more deaths, more tragedies, more accidents than drunk unmedicated, driving combined through drowsy driving, and they go, Oh, my God, I think we can help with that. And then I went further. exhaustion is a major problem in America, probably the world, but exhaustion, the workplace, kids having to study all night, taking caffeine or whatever the hell it is, to the finals, you know, tired mothers, whatever. I mean, there's so many exhausted situations where people have to be immediately sharp and clear, and not take all this crap that's going to cause ill health, and really trips to the hospital. overdosing on caffeine, energy drinks, whatever that is. And by the way, caffeine, people with drowsy driving, they say, oh, a cup of coffee, a take it takes 20 minutes to take effect. And you need so much It like makes you you're jittery. You're not clear you're not concise and excused up your sleep pattern. It's a merry go round for exhaustion. So I had this idea and I call Hey, Dr. Heimlich and I said, you know, I've been doing these cut up lemons for years. But I have an idea. What about a spray drop, a spray drop on it with the right amount of citric acid, the right amount of Sour Lemon water and a bit of preservative for shelf life or whatever. He goes, Oh my god, he got excited. You went, Oh my God. He said not only is it more powerful than a lemon, he said it will be more effective. Because it's going directly on the top of the tongue directly on the lingual nerve, boom, you're awake, you're alert, nothing in your system nothing or to immediately stop a tragedy. So together, we developed other jobs and if people go to alert jobs.com That's an alert jobs calm and please God go to alert jobs calm because you will absolutely stop yourself or a friend or your child or your husband from having an unnecessary tragedy, whether it's a car crash, whether it's being disabled, whether it's being killed, whether it's killing someone else, listen to me go to alert jobs.com And there you will find Dr. Heimlich. Oh, by the way, the clinicals the science on this is over 50 years old MIT had done studies on citric acid sour limit we're not creating all we're doing some better scooter we're not creating anything new we're making it convenient for people to just use and stop unnecessary tragedies so please go to alert jobs.com and get a call from your friends that you give an alert jobs to they're going on a long trip they're gonna call you and they're gonna thank you and they're gonna they're gonna say oh my god, we were so tough. It got us there safely. Oh my gosh, thank you instead of your friend calling about a tragedy go to alert jobs calm and when I tell people to we create an alert jobs and made it incredibly reasonable to use and I tell me if you can't afford alert jobs then absolutely have cut up lemons. And if you're going on a long trip or you're at work have cut up lemons with you but if you're feeling bite into one, it's a little mist here but it will do the same thing. But more importantly Dr. hammock and I we just want to say unnecessary tragedies. That's it. That's the whole enchilada

Jeff Dwoskin 19:06

Thank you. It's always nice when someone was celebrity and can use it for such good thanks. Thank you for that and I can't even imagine how many people are still around from your product from the Heimlich maneuver from everything you got quite a family they're saving lives well it's a blessing it

Anson Williams 19:25

feels like a mission and it feels right it honored to be to have a platform to make sure families stay together in generations go forward Thank you be a little little bit part of that more important than any stardom or anything else.

Jeff Dwoskin 19:39

It's an amazing legacy. So how do we find so let's start I think we just have to do a hard pivot to Happy Days. Trying to think of like an easy way it it kind of kind of molded combo go.

Anson Williams 19:50

I really screwed you up.

Jeff Dwoskin 19:54

We're just gonna we're just gonna rip the band aid off and

Anson Williams 19:57

hey, you know something you have a platform you work hard you have people watching right now, you're part of this. Do you realize what we just talked about? I guarantee you, you stop an unnecessary tragedy.

Jeff Dwoskin 20:10

It's a good feeling. It's a good feeling.

Anson Williams 20:12

And that you that your startup mature platform is everything you've I can't do this alone, ever. It's collaborative. It takes people working hard and other areas, and you're giving yourself you just gave so many minutes of time to help people. And that's what it's about.

Jeff Dwoskin 20:28

Yeah, absolutely. And I'd say it's my pleasure to to aid in that if we together can save even just one life totally worth it.

Anson Williams 20:36

Well, guess what? I will guarantee you did.

Jeff Dwoskin 20:38

Oh, thank you. All right. Well, you I was going into that hard pivot and you pull the right back, but now I have to go. Oh, you know what, when I you know, it just popped up while I was getting ready to talk. This was from a retro thing they posted when you and Lydia Cornell hosted New Year's Rockin Eve and there was a picture of the of the ad from TV. Three. I think it was let's see what it let me click on it. It was Oh, yeah. 8319 83 Yeah, it might have been 82 No, it was 82 to bring in 83. But yeah,

Anson Williams 21:14

fine.

Jeff Dwoskin 21:16

That's cool. That was fun. Awesome. So let's talk happy days. So you were with happy days? The entire time. And by that I mean the first pilot and the second pilot when you can is a part of love American style, which

Anson Williams 21:31

I gotta get that correct. It was not part of love American style. It was not no I thought it was an episode I thought it was an episode aired love American style. Okay. It was a pilot they did. It was cool finance they knew they would get so in the money's back by airing it back. I love American style is paramount when Paramount Studios also did happiness. So it was a pilot that then they aired on love American style, because it helped finance the pilot. Got it. Got it. It wasn't like love American style. Oh, that's cool. Let's do a show. It was a separate pilot that they put on love American style two.

Jeff Dwoskin 22:10

Got it? How would you describe the difference between what that pilot was and then the second 101 80

Anson Williams 22:14

degrees different and the first pilot was wonderful. There was no fuzzy created no Ralphie created. Mr. Cunningham was played by Harold Gould. Marion Ross was on a different journey. Ron was on it I was on. So basically, there was no Henry Winkler no Don most No. Tom Bosley? No. Aaron Moran. And the show is more based on summer 42. Ron played a Hermie kinda. And I play more of an OSCE that the Moteino that get him in trouble get and it was a much softer show and beautifully done by the way, but the network they didn't pick it up in an era love American style and it was over so I went back to playing the concern boyfriend parts that was my life before happy days. Yeah, it'd be five pages of dialogue and I'm waiting for my line you know, and I was the best reactor until young reactor and television they're all be going along and they cut to me. Oh, finally I got I'm waiting for my line. I understand and then it's back to everybody else. Anyway, so I'm doing that part in outside of San Francisco and Marin County was a big Hallmark Hall of Fame special called Lisa Brighton dark starring Kay lens and I played her boyfriend and ever every everyone hot at the time was in that show and I got a call that AB just just to backtrack American defeated come out that year big hit Greece on Broadway big hit ABC network thinking did we have a 50s pilot doing whatever so he decided to do another pilot of Happy Days more like graffiti a little more edgy all that right but yet this time and I got this call hey they want to do it again great but this time you and Ron after screen test now this is after Ron started metaphor feeding right? They think you might you guys might be too old. So anyway, we got I won't get get into those stories. But we go in all that love of the screen tests again, however, one of the one and when we screen tested, there were all these duels screen testing once you're done most auditioning for my part. Potsie whatever Ron and I got the parts again, they loved on so much. They created Ralph mouth for him. That's awesome. They he was not in the script. They literally created the part for him Fonzie character Fonzie was between Mickey Dolenz and Henry Winkler because he was written more like kind of a cartoonishly meaning Connor comedically, and he and Henry came up with a total different attack on the character. Thank God Henry got it. People ask me through the years, they asked me if I was ever Joseph Henry being so popular. And I would say, Are you kidding me but me a house actually bought me two houses? going, man. Yeah.

Jeff Dwoskin 25:17

How close did Mickey Dolenz actually come to getting the role? Was it even like, did he just have an audition? Or was it even close? extremely close, extremely close

Anson Williams 25:28

to people live? Really what direction you want to go with the show? I mean, it was down to the one and Mickey's like incredibly talented, but it was just a different. It's just a different way to Henry created something original. And honestly, Fonzie, I have to give Henry credit there. He 100% created that character. It was not written that way. Once he created it, they wrote it for him.

Jeff Dwoskin 25:51

That's really, really cool.

Anson Williams 25:53

You know that hey, and whoa, that's all he created that they didn't know. And no one created, He created that. And the writers use that and created the character off his creation. So that's Henry, and he deserved the he got the Emmy a couple of years ago for Perry for Barry. But let me tell you, I mean, he's great. And Barry, he's not we want to talk about creating something that you're not just that just a total like amazing creation as an actor. That's Fonzie. He deserved that me 40 years ago.

Jeff Dwoskin 26:28

Absolutely. Yeah, that was a long time comment. That was definitely a long time comment. Yeah,

Anson Williams 26:32

yeah. And and various phenomenon. But I don't think it's difficult to character create as Fonzie, which is 189 him. That is not Henry. He created that thing. 100% opposite of him. And so anyway, I was so bad that he It finally got that recognition for an enemy. But honest to God, that should have been to at least 140 years ago.

Jeff Dwoskin 26:57

Absolutely. You were nominated. Well, you you're nominated as well, right.

Anson Williams 27:00

I was nominated for a Golden Globe called God. They have no taste. They nominated me.

Jeff Dwoskin 27:07

That's fine. So I so American Graffiti comes, there's a little myth out there that make American Graffiti Happy Days was created because American Graffiti, but really, as I'm hearing the story, and helped re energize an idea that was their base in the 40s brought it to the 50s.

Anson Williams 27:24

But it did help create America for you. It didn't know it was it wasn't. We had, again, we had happy days, it was just Yes, happy days, was a much softer version of the 50s. Like kinda like 742 American Graffiti change the toe when they went back to rewrite the pilot, or make a new pilot. It was much more inspired by graffiti. And by the way, do you know who wrote the pilot, the second pilot, I do know, Rob Reiner. And his writing partner at the time, wrote the pilot of Happy Days, the one that sold Rob Reiner, really that's that's an honor. And and I can't miss I can't remember his writing partner, but they look it up. They wrote the pilot the soul of happiness.

Jeff Dwoskin 28:11

I believe that that crew that came out of the Smothers Brothers writing team seemed to be right, everything after

Anson Williams 28:16

that was huge, very, and very few people say, Yes, Gary created Gary what you know, but the second pilot, whatever reason, Rob Reiner, and gosh, I wish remember, I wish I remembered his writing partner. They wrote the pilot, and it was much more graffitis than the first one. Yeah. And it created the characters that made the show a phenomenon around the world. Potsie Fonzie, majorly, the change of relationship with Ron with him and hit and Ron and Donnie and, and then Harold Gould wasn't available for the second pilot, who played Mr. Cunningham in the first panel, but Tom Bosley was, and Tom I mean, what he gave to the show incredible,

Jeff Dwoskin 29:01

the entire cast is it. I mean, it's it. Yeah. I can't imagine it without Tom Bosley. I looked it up real quick. Phil Michigan, Rob Reiner and Phil Michigan.

Anson Williams 29:09

Rob Reiner. Phil, Michigan. That was it. He didn't know that is you know, I

Jeff Dwoskin 29:13

didn't know that. That's that was that's like a bit of trivia that I think would be more well known.

Anson Williams 29:20

They don't know. Here's another good attribute when I was doing least to brighten dark. Remember I told you when I was called. They wanted to do another happy days. But I had a screen test as well. Katie Lance had a sister in Lisa Brighton dark, this dark movie. I just loved her and she was great. And and when I got back and we got the parts. They were still casting Joni and I said we can't find a Joni. I said, you know Well, I worked with this wonderful little actress on this thing. Oh, was it and they brought her into audition with her. And she got her name was Erin Moran.

Jeff Dwoskin 29:56

That's awesome. I only knew that because I've read it in your book which I by the way I keep mentioning, it's called seeking to a bulldog, from Happy Days to Hollywood director and the unlikely mentor who got me there for anyone listening that wants to check it out. It's available on Amazon. Lots of great stories. Sorry for the quick plug there for you.

Anson Williams 30:15

Let's go. Let's do you understand the reason for the book promoting Willie Turner foreword. To me, it was a motivational book, more than, you know, an iconic like little celebrity book. It was like I wanted everybody to have the same life lessons that I was fortunate to receive from a janitor who is African American, and a functioning alcoholic and not well educated. But he had the magic for me, I wouldn't be talking to you now without Willie Turner. And when I want to know, tell people, it's not going to be some movie star, some billionaire, that's going to find the magic in your life, it's going to be something that's going to be connected to you. It could be a grocery clerk, it could be an engineer, could be a doctor could be whoever. But if you have a feeling of connection, go Stop, listen and go with it. And that was really turned into me. 15 and a half years old, insecure, whatever. This what many people would consider a number in the world was the whole reason we're talking today. He cared about me or understood me connected with me. And the life lessons Willie Turner gave me was just

Jeff Dwoskin 31:19

Yeah, I think it's amazing that you wrote the book as to kind of as an homage to Willie Turner. i A lot of people that I talked to, there's like this one thing when we're talking there's like this one thing that changed their lives. It was one interaction. And that set them out there. Like I was talking to comedian John Heffron, he won Last Comic Standing. And the waitress said, you should try an open mic. He thought the waitress was cute. He goes to do an open mic. And that becomes his career award winning comedian. You know, he tried, but everyone seemed to have like these little stories. I think it's great that you wrote a book to encapsulate it because I think that's what people need to look for in their lives. And I think sometimes they miss it is those those special people that come in and out that change your life forever and set you on a path and are there for maybe just a short time, but plays such an important role in who you become,

Anson Williams 32:11

but it's almost like it's the foundation of your house took so much time to build up, but the house would fall down without it. You want to respect that foundation, right? And you really want to give credence to that. And that's it's one thing even today, everybody, everyone's so involved with Tik Tok and Instagram and influencers and all this really bunch of icing. It's kind of a, it takes you away for a minute, but it doesn't really help your life very much. And the book to me was it's maybe look a little deeper, and maybe be a little just be a little more open to that bigger connection. You know, it's not going to be some influencer honestly, is you're not going to get it from the internet, you're not going to get it from some quote or some great, you're going to get it from a heartfelt individual that cares about you or they connect with you, as a human being. That's the recipe that's going to really give you direction and kind of solidify maybe what you knew all along, but didn't have the clarity to see a

Jeff Dwoskin 33:12

lot of gems in this interview. I got it. Okay, let me let me ask you a question. With happy days when when Happy Days started out, it was kind of your Enron show. I mean, the focus was a lot on on your relationship and your characters. But then at some point, they decided to turn the show and focus more on Henry Winkler and the Fonz. And how I'm sure you embrace it, because you mentioned how thankful you are for Henry Winkler and all that. So how was it though, to kind of just take that in and kind of retool that show, too. So a lot of it, I say what, what I know it to become, but only because of how old I was. And when I started watching it was after the first seasons, but how was it for you? I'm sure I get the impression you were happy to be along for the ride. You know, how was it there were all of a sudden it's like it's you and Ron. And then now it's really gonna be Henry Winkler. And as a

Anson Williams 34:08

moment, I'll be truthful, because it kind of happened pretty quickly. It sort of threw me back a little bit like Garry Marshall had a talk with me. And we talked through it. I understood. I mean, basically, what's important is the show, not you, it's the show and the world connected to Henry. And they wanted more of Henry. And honestly, it was a amazing combination of having these really polar opposites together, yet both in in each other. And at the same time, Gary had given me the opportunity to sing on the show, and to actually be in charge of what I've sung on the show and being able to write songs to the show. So I I already had kind of a another part of the show. That was my responsibility. And and Gary inspired us the importance of the shows first, so it didn't bother me The most. I absolutely understood why. And it was right in the audience really informed us what they want. And in terms of the show nothing against Potsie or anything. They wanted to see those guys together, but they also wanted to see me sing. So guess what? I'm going okay, I get it. Okay, ego wise or whatever. But I have my place too. So Ron and Henry, they bring that up. The show goes on for 10 and a half years, right, right at the same time I'm making back then you did not make the money today on shows like money then like they do today. People are making a million dollars in episode today. Of one I got paid $1,200 In episode four, with three times the ratings, okay. However, yes, but at that time, I've always been one and I and everyone out there my books about this. See what you have now what you don't have you talk about Oh, my God, you're not. You're getting less stuff on the show. Well, I might, what do I do have? What's positive? Let's do what's positive. Instead of putting all this negative crap in there. Oh, what's positive? And I found music blah, blah, blah. So I'm making Okay, fine. $1,200 An episode. And we tried it. We sang on the show loved it started singing every third show. Chelsea records David Cassidy's label comes to me. Oh, so not long later, I am getting $1,200 in episode. Yes. I don't have as much to do with Ron. But I'm making $17,000 a night doing concerts themed show St. platfor. And Gary Marshall came up to me and said I am so proud of you. You don't bitch, you found opportunity. Ya know what's good for the show? You know, and the singing is good for the show you. I love that. So what happened? We have a greater good for everybody. By doing it, it motivated me to do something else I was good at. And you know, the whole show became better. So I hope that's a lesson everyone out there. To no matter what the hell happens to you. You think there's always something there? That's good. Always grab it and nurture it and move forward with it, man.

Jeff Dwoskin 37:19

I hate to say it. But the first thing that pops in my head is when you're handed lemons make lemonade.

Anson Williams 37:27

But that's true. Yeah. And it by the way, it's very hip explanation. That should be it should be regenerated every generation, you know.

Jeff Dwoskin 37:36

Absolutely. Do you have time for one more question? Sure. You were there when the birth of Robin Williams, you better was and Mork from Ork. And this was the moment that on Happy Days where Robin Williams became right was the the seeds for what became everything we know of Robin Williams. What was that? Like? Just him being there and witnessing this. It must have been incredible. It was

Anson Williams 38:02

honest. That's that's a moment in time that's I actually saw divine intervention with literally a light from light from the sky. On this situation, the odds of all this are impossible. We've talked about it I don't know. Many people know that. The original Mork from Ork script was the worst script in the history of happiness. Awful, worse and awful. God awful. Like what the hell. And it all started when Star Wars came out. And Scotty Marshall, who's Garry Marshalls son, who was 10 at the time, they saw Star Wars, and they came out and Gary was, was a tremendous family man. And Scotty came and said, Daddy, please, please, please write it. Write a spaceman episode for happiness. Right? Please, please bet and Gary's go well, oh my god, you know, well, Star Wars. Maybe we can figure out a spaceman episode for happy days. So on Mondays at the time, were three camera live audience show on Mondays. You go in and you first read the script for the next week. So the writers could rewrite. And then you would write read the scripts for that week that they they'd already reread. We read this this first script that's going to be a week away more or more, and we're barely reading it barely getting through it. It's so awful. And Henry, who's like such a kind, really gentle soul. Those are scrubbed down. What the heck? This is. Are you kidding? It was so bad. And Gary Marshall says, Don't worry. We will rework it. We'll fix it. We'll do whatever, we'll do it. And then we Okay, fine. Then we read the script. We're going to like do that week, right? And it's fine. So the next Monday comes we read the script that's going to be the next week and it's fine. And we now we read the one we're going to do more from work. It's worse. It's worse. It is so bad and corny, like what? But when we get it, we have to do it. And they hired a guy to play Mork, not Robin Williams. By the way, everyone out there had a very talented actor at the time. I know. He's really it's like, it's embarrassing. The parts embarrassing. Monday, we rehearse Tuesday, rehearse Wednesday, we rehearse Wednesday, we're rehearsing. We're supposed to have a run through Wednesday night. Like when at yet the actor quits before the limb through, says I'm not doing this. What he said. And every time we go with the helmet, we're shooting Friday night, by the way, Thursday, the next day, it's just camera blocking. It's like you go there and camera blocking through camera me means the actors go through it people they mark, they do marks for cameras, we go back, and then they coordinate the cameras scene by scene by scene, right? And then we'll do it all together with other artists. And the writers will come at that point for last minute notes. But rehearsal is over. It's done. So here it is. Wednesday night. We don't have them work. Gary Marshall comes down. To this. It says Does anybody know a favorite? Does anybody know a funny Martian?

Gary Mars. I'm not sure. Excuse me out my mouth. Molinar Monroe goes, there's this kid in my Harvey lindbeck improv class. And even I think there's this professional improv class a lot of actors go to his name's Robin Williams. I think he was on some laughing show the redo of laughing or success, but he's a very funny guy. And then Ronnie Helen, who's Gary sisters, Cassius. So Oh, yes, I heard of him. Gary goes. He's funny. think oh, he's funny. Get him in here. Okay, that's Wednesday. Phil. Okay, cut to Thursday morning. Now, Donnie and I Domino's tonight. We're not in the first few scenes. So we don't have to be there for camera blocking. So we get a little later. So we come in. Now there's never a writer on the set on Thursdays why camera blocking? No, but the world is on the set. Every writer ever like this writing like Jerry Paris, our director, wonderful director, comes running up to me. He's a genius. He's a genius. He's a genius. What the hell is going on? And I walk down and there is Robin waves nananana standing, making up all this stuff on the spot, literally improving the whole show. And the writers are like the writing. Everything's down. He's doing just coming out of his head. And I swear to God, I saw I'm looking at this. I'm looking at genius. I'm looking at nothing I've ever ever witnessed spontaneously ever. I swear there was like, there's this light shining down on the sky Robin, we're literally alike. Well, guess what? So that's Thursday camera as their camera blog. There's sort of a run through Thursday. And then Friday with a anyway, you're talking about one and a half days from the worst script that happened is history to a historic moment of entertainment. A day and a half later and there we and there we are Friday, he blew up the state blew up the stage. There's 300 people in the audience you know average that have never seen this guy. By the way the world doesn't know Robin yet at all. At the end of the show. There was this a roar of these people. They were on their feet. I don't know how many minutes yelling and screaming and over over Robin Williams and by the way, the kindest, gentlest, shyest guy you meet in your life. I mean, just a wonderful human being. And after that night, literally get Gary Marshall to pieces of the happy days that we just shot and he did a pilot with Pam dobra and somehow commingle this in a little present. Didn't even go in the office sent Fred Silverman at ABC, this any so 13 on the air before this episode even aired.

Jeff Dwoskin 44:29

That's amazing. Thank you. I can't thank you enough for sharing that with me.

Anson Williams 44:33

That's there was no development. No, it was divine intervention, man. It was a moment and honestly, all this stuff now and there's 18 levels of network and all this everything I've seen. That's classic today. It's been. It's not at two people, if anything, waters it down. It's the moment it's telling the people that understand the moment. It's all those initial instincts, and it works.

Jeff Dwoskin 44:56

That episode aired February 28 1978. The first Mork from Ork episode

Anson Williams 45:02

there you go and then next year they have more committed yep incredible and then Robin became a superstar

Jeff Dwoskin 45:11

huge

Anson Williams 45:11

Yeah

Jeff Dwoskin 45:12

wow I could talk to you forever but I know I know you got to go the this is so much fun million questions I didn't ask but so much great stuff I really enjoyed this conversation what do you what are you up to these days? And how can people keep up with you on the socials or

Anson Williams 45:26

do bear with the socials? I can't stand the socials. So such bullshit. I mean, I do Facebook and I'll put things on account but I don't like people knowing you know what you're having breakfast. You know, which I just it's like there's so much more to do in life. But so I am on Facebook thing I'm at this public, other people do things so I'm very involved in entertainment we have some pretty entertaining things coming up that is that are in development and still creating products you know, they're important for people so it's still a very productive life and but I'm not so sure I mean, I don't you know, it's just I just can't do it man. I just can't do it. I can't sit there and go to put on Instagram. Gee, oh my god, you know

Jeff Dwoskin 46:13

alert drops probably has alert

Anson Williams 46:15

no alert. And I probably don't do an honestly maybe I don't even do enough social media on that because but alert drops good alert, jobs calm. I hope you do and I hope hopefully it becomes bigger. Actually. Hope becomes like Kleenex and toilet paper where it's bigger than social media. It just needed your daily life because have a have an alert drops in your pocket can pick your friends. And honestly everyone stop unnecessary tragedies. Since it's such a simple way of keeping your family together, your husband coming home, coming home safe for kids coming home safe, your friends coming home safe, being safe on the road, being safe in the workplace, being safe at school, please go to learn jobs, calm and stop unnecessary tragedies.

Jeff Dwoskin 46:58

That's a great place to end. I think I can't thank you enough for hanging out with me. So it was so much fun. Thank you.

Anson Williams 47:04

You're great. Thank you wonderful guy. Thank you so much for having me. Really appreciate it. I wish you nothing but success.

Jeff Dwoskin 47:10

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Anson Williams 47:12

You bet. God bless. God bless you. Bye bye.

Jeff Dwoskin 47:16

All right, how amazing was Anson Williams love those stories from Happy Days. Finally got the whole story straight on the love American style thing hearing about the birth of Mork from Ork. I love that, that whole Heimlich maneuver story and of course don't forget to check out alert drops.com We've all been there where we kind of fall asleep at the wheel for even a half a second so amazing to know that such a great product is out there. Well with the interview over that can only mean one thing. That's right. It's time for another trending hashtag in the family of hashtags add hashtag or round up all of us on Twitter at hashtag roundup download the free hashtag roundup app always free now because up any at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store get notified every time a hashtag game goes live tweet along with us and one day one of your tweets may show up on an episode of live from Detroit, the Jeff Dwoskin show fame and fortune away to this week's hashtag is from a fun weekly Game about tags on hashtag ground up keeping with a classic sitcom theme. I chose a funny mashup hashtag cereal sitcoms. That's right, the ultimate mashup between your favorite sitcoms and cereal mashing notes together what can result only hilarity. All right here's some of my favorite hashtag cereals sitcoms. Everybody hates Cookie Crisp Murphy, Bran, Chico and the bran flakes. Ready bunches of O's of facts of life. Eight is a puff these are some amazing hashtag cereal sitcoms. Apple Jack Reacher Big Crunch Theirry Lucky Charms, the Brady crunch, the honeycomb ARS, golden gram girls, and a final hashtag serial sitcom checks in the city. Whoa, those are some of the area's mashup tweets, all of them are retweeted at Jeff Dwoskin show on Twitter head over there. Give me a follow like retweet all the tweets I just read show him some love to eat your own hashtag cereal sitcoms. Tag me at Jeff Dwoskin show and I'll check it out. All right, well Basha games over the interviews over I can only mean one thing. That's right. The End of Episode 110 is upon us. How does this creep up on so fast, so exciting every week and then suddenly it's over? Well being over means we just now have something to look forward to Thursday's bonus episode and next Monday's interview. Let me thank once again my amazing guest, Anson Williams and of course All of you for showing up week after week. I can't thank you enough. And I'll see you next time.

Announcer 50:07

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Jeff Dwoskin show with your host, Jeff Dwoskin. Now go repeat everything you've heard and sound like a genius. Catch us online at the Jeff Dwoskin show.com or follow us on Twitter at Jeff Dwoskin show and we'll see you next time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai