One of the most loveable character actors in television history, Al Molinaro, died on Friday in Glendale, California. He was 96 and died from complications related to gallstone problems. His most famous television roles were those of Murray the Cop on “The Odd Couple” and diner owner Al Delvechio on “Happy Days”.

A Wisconsin native, Molinaro, already into middle age, was working at an actors inprove situation when legendary television producer Garry Marshall saw him, reports USA Today. Marshall was casting a new television show in 1970 that was based on the Neil Simon popular play called The Odd Couple which was, also, made into a successful movie. For Marshall, Molinaro was the perfect guy for a bumbling and loveable cop character he wanted to see in the show. Molinaro’s huge nose was always worked to his, and any character’s advantage, especially during The Odd Couple run. The Odd Couple appeared on television from 1970-1975.

His most famous television role, however, was when he replaced actor Pat Morita as the owner of a diner in one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, Happy Days. The show ran from 1974-1984 and Molinaro joined the show and the cast in 1976. He replaced Morita, of The Karate Kid movies fame just as the show was finding its feet and its audience. Happy Days had taken some heat during the 1970’s as being too quaint, too sugary, and too simple as it depicted life for some high school teenagers during the 1950’s. The show’s stars were current film director Ron Howard and Henry Winkler who played one of TV’s most legendary characters, Arthur Fonzerelli or, simply, The Fonz.

Molinaro stayed on at the show until 1982 and defended the show later on as one of the most important television shows of all time despite the fact that the critics at the time considered it rather lightweight. This was during a turbulent and mythical time when television began to change forever with the advent of such shows as M*A*S*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and All in the Family.