Monday, November 02, 2015

2015 ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas Schedule; Remembering Happy Days Star Al Molinaro

ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas

ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas," cable's biggest programming event of the year, returns with 25 continuous days of holiday-themed entertainment for the whole family. From December 1 - 25, viewers can ring in the holidays with holiday specials, classic holiday movies, and returning favorites. As you all know, ABC Family is becoming Freeform in January 2016. This year, "25 Days of Christmas" will feature classic Jim Henson Christmas specials The Bells of Fraggle Rock and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, which have been remastered and are returning to television after several years. Additionally, December 13 features a marathon of Disney·Pixar's Toy Story films. Also, the network will air Beyond the Shadows: The Making of Shadowhunters, which gives an inside look at the upcoming saga series.

Other faves airing this year include The Polar Express, The Santa Clause, Mickey's Christmas Carol, A Very Brady Christmas, Home Alone: The Holiday Heist, Holiday in Handcuffs, Christmas Cupid and Snowglobe. View the full 25 Days of Christmas schedule, so you don't miss any of your favorites!


Al Molinaro

Actor Al Molinaro, who was best known for his roles as Al Delvecchio in Happy Days and Murray Greshler in The Odd Couple, has died. He died on October 30 in a Glendale, California, hospital. His son, Michael, said his death was the result of complications from an infected gallbladder. Mr. Molinaro was 96.

Al Molinaro - The Odd Couple - Murray the Cop

Molinaro played the supporting role of Murray the cop in The Odd Couple from 1970-1975. Murray Greshler was one of Oscar's (Jack Klugman) poker partners. He appeared in 73 episodes of the series. His early sitcom guest appearances included Get Smart, Green Acres, That Girl and Bewitched.

Al Molinaro

Garry Marshall hired him to replace Pat Morita in Happy Days in 1976. Molinaro played Al Delvecchio, the owner of Arnold's drive-in, beginning in the fourth season. He appeared in 146 episodes of the series. His character was known for the catchphrase "yep-yep-yep-yep." He married Chachi's mother, Louisa (Ellen Travolta).

Molinaro left Happy Days in 1982 to star in the spin-off series Joanie Loves Chachi, which aired for 17 episodes. He returned to Happy Days to make three guest appearances in 1983 and 1984. In 1987, Anson Williams and Molinaro opened a chain of diners in the Midwest called appropriately enough, Big Al's. He appeared in the Happy Days Reunion Special on ABC in 1992.

He starred in The Family Man in 1990-1991 on CBS. He played the grandfather, Joe Alberghetti, in the sitcom which aired for one season. Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included Love, American Style, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, Punky Brewster and Step by Step. His film credits included Freaky Friday and Gridlock. He also starred in TV commercials for On-Cor frozen dinners for 16 years from 1987-2003.

In the 1995 Weezer video, "Buddy Holly" directed by Spike Jonze, vintage Happy Days footage was intercut with shots of Weezer performing on the original Arnold's drive-in set. The introduction of the video was delivered by Molinaro as Al Delvecchio and seizing the opportunity to ad lib, Al plugged his hometown--and his words "...from Kenosha, Wisconsin: Weezer!" ended up in heavy rotation on MTV for weeks during 1995.

Survivors include his wife, Betty; son, Michael; a brother, Oliver; and three grandchildren.

Mr. Molinaro was a talented character actor. His roles as Murray the cop and Al Delvecchio were very funny and memorable. He was great at playing the second banana. We thank him for the many laughs and memories he brought us. He lived a long and good life. Big Al will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our Happy Days message board. View photos in our photo galleries.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, March 13

Happy's Place - "Social Discontent" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Steve and Isabella begin shooting marketing content for the tavern, they quickly realize Bobbie has a case of camera madness, causing them to recast her with a local influencer.

Stumble - "Daytona" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The Buttons experience the cheerleading championships, competing on cheer's biggest stage; as the ragtag team attempts to win the title, they first must overcome not only Sammy Davis Senior Jr. College, but a surprising foe from Courteney's past.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 9)

Friday, March 13

  • Kym Whitley (Act Your Age/Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) and Dustin Ybarra (Ghosts/Us & Them) - Kym and Dustin are guests on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie talks about The Faithful with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin talks about Stumble on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Alexandra Breckenridge (Save Me) - NBC's Today catches up with Alexandra in the 10am hour.
  • Lauren Graham (The Z-Suite/M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Lauren talks about Reminders of Him on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Melba Moore (Melba) - Melba shares stories from her new memoir on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Michelle Pfeiffer (Delta House) - Drew sits down with the cast of The Madison - Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Beau Garrett, Patrick J. Adams and Elle Chapman to talk all about their exciting new tv series, and a play a round of memory bank on >The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local iistings.
  • Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael talks about Apple TV's Shrinking on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

03/13 - NBC Summer 2026 Schedule; Malcolm in the Middle Revival Series Trailer
03/12 - Season 9 of Rick and Morty This May; Fox Entertainment Studios Lines Up Frankie Quiñones for Comedy Series
03/11 - Antenna TV's Hazel 65th Anniversary Marathon; Kountry Wayne Prime Video Comedy Special
03/10 - XO, Kitty Season 3 Trailer Released for April 2 Launch; The Drew Barrymore Show Talker Gets 2 Season Renewal
03/09 - Beef Returns April 16 on Netflix; Remembering Jennifer Runyon of Charles in Charge
03/08 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 9, 2026)
03/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Scrubs Returns to Big Ratings; New Garfield Series Coming to Paramount+
03/06 - The Four Seasons Returns on May 28; More Details on I Suck at Girls
03/05 - COZI TV Pairs Up Al Bundy and Hondo at Last; ABC Renews Abbott Elementary for Season 6
03/04 - ABC's Scrubs Returns Big; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Renewed for Season 2
03/03 - Prime Video's Kevin Premieres April 20; Fox Renews Best Medicine
03/02 - Running Point Returns April 23 on Netflix; A Different World Sequel Starts Production
03/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 2, 2026)
02/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Warner Now Set to Merge with Paramount, Not Netflix; X-Files Reboot Given Greenlight
02/27 - The Comeback Returns for Final Season on March 22; Animal Control Renewed for Season 5; Remembering Lauren Chapin of Father Knows Best and Robert Carradine of Lizzie McGuire
02/26 - AspireTV Gets First Ever Original Sitcom; Sullivan's Crossing Returns for Season 4 in April on The CW
02/25 - Scrubs Returns Tonight, Sneak Peek at Title Sequence; Stranger Things: Tales From '85 Reveals Odessa A'zion as Nikki Baxter
02/24 - Netflix's Wednesday Season 3 Adds to Cast; Wonder Pets: In the City Returns March 20
02/23 - Celebrities for ABC's Celebrity Jeopardy! All-Stars; Hallmark's Mistletoe Murders Renewed for Season 3
02/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 23, 2026)
02/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Hulu Orders New Adult Animated Comedy From Creator of Bluey; Casting News for Upcoming CBS Comedy Regency
02/20 - ABC Wednesday Comedies Find Valentine's Magic; Netflix Announces Dang!
02/19 - The Golden Girls Coming to MeTV in March; Adult Swim Announces My Two Cars
02/18 - Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special Coming to Disney+; Fox Spring 2026 Schedule and Finale Dates
02/17 - New Animated Comedy from Big Mouth Creators Coming May 22; Scottish Comedy Returns to Hulu February 25
02/16 - Saturday Night Live Returns Following the Olympics on February 28; Fox Pays Tribute to James Van Der Beek on Wednesday
02/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of February 16, 2026)
02/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Trailer Released for Scrubs Reboot; Tubi to Add 100 Cartoon Series from Warner and Cartoon Network Library
02/13 - Remembering James Van Der Beek of Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23; The Way Home Returns for Final Season in April on Hallmark