HAPPY DAYS (Season 11 Clip) - Richie Says Goodbye To Fonzie And The Cunninghams (1983)

This clip is from "Welcome Home: Part 2", the second part of the fifth episode of the final season (and 238th overall) of the ABC hit sitcom "Happy Days". The original airdate was November 1, 1983. After three years in the Army, Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) has returned home to Milwaukee with his pregnant wife Lori Beth (Lynda Goodfriend), son Richie, Jr. and friend Ralph Malph (Donny Most) in tow. Fonzie (Henry Winkler) and the Cunninghams are ecstatic to have them back, but Richie is in turmoil. He desperately wants to follow his dream of becoming a screenwriter in Hollywood, but Howard (Tom Bosley) and Marion (Marion Ross) pressure him to settle down in Milwaukee. His angst boils over as he punches Fonzie, who quickly gets to the bottom of Richie's problem. He encourages hi friend to pursue his dream. The next morning, Richie gathers his parents and his sister Joanie (Erin Moran) to inform them that he is leaving home. Disappointed as they are, Howard gives Richie a blank check to help out. Richie embraces his family and says his goodbyes as he prepares to leave. Before he leaves for the airport, Richie says his most poignant goodbye for Fonzie. Richie tells him hiw much he appreciated him through the years and gives Fonzie a letter he wrote. Touched, Fonzie admits that he loves his best friend very much as he walks out the door. Richie looks around the house one last time before he walks out the door for good. This episode was written to give the characters of Richie Cunningham and Ralph Malph, and "Happy Days" fans, a sense of closure that was not given to them when both Ron Howard and Donny Most left the show at the end of the seventh season (1979-80) in 1980. For myself and others, this is considered to be the true series finale of "Happy Days"