RIP

[Kobi]

Erin Moran, best known as Ron Howard’s kid sister in the classic sitcom “Happy Days,” has died. She was 56.

Moran was just six years old when she was cast in the TV series “Daktari,” where her most unusually costars were a chimp named Judy and Clarence the Lion. During that three-season run, she made her film debut in the Debbie Reynolds comedy “How Sweet It is!” As a child, Moran also appeared in Melvin Van Peebles’ “Watermelon Man” and made guest appearances in “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” “My Three Sons,” “Family Affair” and “Gunsmoke.”

But Moran was best known for playing Ron Howard’s feisty kid sister, Joanie Cunningham, on the sitcom “Happy Days” from the time she was 12 until 22 (1974-1984). Her teaming with Scott Baio proved to be so popular that they spun off into their own short-lived series, “Joanie Loves Chachi.”

She later went on to make appearance on “The Love Boat,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Diagnosis: Murder” and “Arrested Development.” In 2008, she was a contestant on VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club.”