Albert Francis "Al" Molinaro (born Umberto Francesca Molinaro; June 24, 1919 – October 30, 2015) was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Al Delvecchio on Happy Days and its spin-off show Joanie Loves Chachi, and Murray Greshler on The Odd Couple. He also starred in commercials for On-Cor frozen dinners.

Life and career

Molinaro was born and raised in the Kenosha, Wisconsin, neighborhood of Columbus Park, the son of Italian immigrants Raffaele and Teresa Molinaro. His father was a prominent tavern/restaurant/hotel owner, and a leader of the Kenosha Italian community who financially sponsored hundreds of Italians to immigrate to the United States.[citation needed] Molinaro was the youngest of 10 children. His brother Joseph was Kenosha County's longest-serving district attorney and retired as a municipal judge, and his brother George served 30 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, including one session as Speaker.

In 1948, Molinaro married Jacquelin Martin, with whom he had a son, Michael. The couple divorced.

Molinaro moved to California in the early 1950s and worked odd jobs, finally saving enough money to start his own collection agency. He eventually sold his business and became interested in southern California real estate speculation. His investments paid off when one of his properties was purchased by a conglomerate which used the land to build one of the largest retail shopping malls of its day. As a result, Molinaro was already financially independent when he decided to pursue his longtime dream of being an actor.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Molinaro studied acting and was offered guest roles on TV sitcoms, including Bewitched, Get Smart, Green Acres, and That Girl.

He took an improvisation class, in which Penny Marshall was one of the other students. In 1970, Marhsall introduced him to her brother, producer Garry Marshall, who offered Molinaro the role of police officer Murray Greshler on the TV sitcom The Odd Couple, which starred Jack Klugman and Tony Randall. The show aired until 1975.

In 1976, Molinaro was then hired by Garry Marshall to replace Pat Morita on another sitcom he produced, Happy Days. Molinaro's character was the owner of Arnold's malt shop, Al Delvecchio, who was known for the catchphrase "Yup-yup-yup-yup".

In 1981, Molinaro married Betty Farrell.

He left Happy Days in 1982, but then was tapped by Garry Marshall again to play the Al Delvecchio role on the short-lived Happy Days spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, starring Scott Baio and Erin Moran.

In speaking about his acting career, Molinaro said, "I spent twenty years here before I got anything going, and from that I got lucky. It takes a lot of luck in show business. You've just got to be lucky and in the right place at the right time."

Later career

In 1987, Molinaro and fellow Happy Days cast member Anson Williams opened a chain of diners called Big Al's. The business went defunct.

He revealed in 1990 that he declined acting roles in movies offered to him by Garry Marshall. Molinaro said at the time, "I can’t work in movies with Garry because I’m so square that I won’t be in a movie that has four-letter words in it. . . . That puts me pretty much totally out of films these days. . . . You get to a point where you don’t want to do just anything for the career. You gotta live with yourself".

In 1992, at age 73, he retired from acting in film and television but continued to appear in TV commercials until the early 2000s. He appeared in 42 On-Cor commercials between 1987 and 2003.

Molinaro appeared in Weezer's 1994 music video of the song "Buddy Holly", which was set in Arnold's diner. He introduced the band as "Kenosha, Wisconsin's own Weezer."

In 2004, Molinaro announced plans to write a book about his childhood in Kenosha and his acting experiences.

He did not appear in the Happy Days Reunion which aired on ABC in 2005.

Molinaro was a frequent guest on the Don and Mike Show, a nationally syndicated radio show that aired from 1985 to 2008.

Death

Molinaro died in a Glendale, California, hospital on October 30, 2015, at the age of 96. He is survived by his wife Betty and son Michael, who said his father's death was the result of complications from an infected gall bladder. Other survivors include a brother and three grandchildren.