Anson Williams beat out 400 other actors for the role of Potsie

Williams fought hard to be called a Potsie!

CBS Television Distribution

While many spend years struggling to make acting into a career, Anson Williams was lucky enough to fall into the hobby by accident.

During an interview with The Columbia Record, Williams explained that he originally had no interest in acting. He simply took an acting class in an attempt to raise his grade average when he was a student.

"My grades were low and I wanted to improve my average, so I took a basic drama class. I got an A in the class and got hooked on acting and singing...Then I started checking the trade papers for auditions regularly."

But winning a role on Happy Days would take more than just sheer luck. In order to win the role of Potsie, Williams auditioned against four hundred other actors. "I just came in for the audition off the street after my car had broken down," he said. "I picked up the script and read it like the part was written for me - the rest is history.

Of course, Williams emerged victorious and found that the nostalgic tone of a show like Happy Days only helped it on the road to success. "I think it's terrific," he said. "I feel it's healthy because people are having fun and that's what life is all about."

While the actor may have stumbled into the profession, he found that theatre was a great way to connect with an audience. As both an actor and a singer, this idea appealed greatly to Williams. "I am a communicator, and the best way to reach the people is through television," he said. "It's a terrific vehicle for communicating with the masses."

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16 Comments

AnnieM 17 days ago
Who remembers this exchange from 'Bosom Buddies':

Isabelle (to Kip & Henry as Buffy & Hildy): "We're going to dinner and a show and you're coming with us!"
Kip (as Buffy): "Oh golly, golly, cheese & crackers, we'd *love* to go, but there's this special on that we don't want to miss, 'Anson Williams In the Holy Land'."

Every time I see or hear Anson Williams, that line comes back to me. I don't know why, other than I found it hilarious at the time.

Yes, I am a bit weird. 😆😉
Lantern 1 month ago
Fun fact about Anson Williams: His real last name is Heimlich, and his second cousin was the doctor who perfected the Heimlich Maneuver for saving choking victims.
sagafrat69 1 month ago
He had great chemistry with Ron Howard. Can't imagine anyone else other than Williams playing the role of Potsie. Still I can't to this day understand why he thought, or anyone else thought, he could sing? There are people in this world who are actual singers who can carry a tune and there are people who want to be or think they are singers but aren't. Is one of the most puzzling story lines of that show.
cperrynaples sagafrat69 1 month ago
Williams is STILL ALIVE! However, just like Howard he works behind the camera!
sagafrat69 cperrynaples 1 month ago
Right. I know he's currently living and breathing and directing. But...and this is a big but.. he still can't sing! It's a shame nobody gave him the bad news in the '70's lol.
Avie cperrynaples 1 month ago
Why do you draw the conclusion that the article says or implies that he's not alive?

This website seldom, if ever, conducts new interviews; their articles, like this one, cull old press articles, so everyone, and every quote, is -- or should be -- is in the past tense.
Kramden62 cperrynaples 1 month ago
I remember he directed a CBS Schoolbreak Special in 1986 called "The Drug Knot." An edited (for time) print can be seen on YouTube. David Faustino of "Married with Children" had a small role in that telefilm.
WordsmithWorks 1 month ago
And he was never heard from again.
Check his IMDB listing; he's directed a ton of movies and TV, just like Ron Howard.
Runeshaper 1 month ago
Good for Potsie! Taking the acting class really changed his life (-:
Bapa1 1 month ago
Those 400 other actors must have been really bad.
cperrynaples Bapa1 1 month ago
I wonder if any of them became famous later! I know Mickey Dolenz was up for Fonzie!
justjeff Bapa1 1 month ago
I was just thinking the same thing... If Anson Williams won the role (and I was no fan of his acting), how much *worse* were the other 399 auditioners???🙄
Wiseguy70005 Bapa1 1 month ago
Or maybe the producers didn't think others were right for the part not that were necessarily "bad" actors. Lots of variables in auditioning actors.
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