'Happy Days' Dad Tom Bosley Dies At 83

Tom Bosley, whose long acting career was highlighted by his hugely popular role as the understanding father on television's nostalgic, top-rated 1970s comedy series Happy Days, died Tuesday. He was 83.

Bosley died of heart failure at a hospital near his Palm Springs, Calif., home. Bosley's agent, Sheryl Abrams, said he was also battling lung cancer.

TV Guide ranked Bosley's Happy Days character, Howard Cunningham, No. 9 on its list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time'' in 2004. The show debuted in 1974 and ran for 11 seasons.

After Happy Days ended, Bosley went on to a recurring role in Murder, She Wrote as Sheriff Amos Tucker. He also was the crime-solving priest in television's The Father Dowling Mysteries, which ran from 1989 to 1991. LINK