'Big Al' Molinaro dies at 96
October 30, 2015 7:53 PM   Subscribe

meanwhile, Abe Vigoda is still kickin' it. Albert Francis "Al" Molinaro was an American actor in television and films, most notably as Al Delvecchio,[1] the owner of Arnold's on Happy Days and its spin-off show Joanie Loves Chachi. He was 96 years old. The cause of death was gallstones Molinaro had decided not to have surgically removed due to his age, Molinaro’s son told TMZ. Molinaro died in a Wisconsin hospital.

Al Delvecchio, the owner of Arnold's on Happy Days and its spin-off show Joanie Loves Chachi, Murray the Cop on The Odd Couple television series, as well as starring in commercials for On-Cor frozen dinners and with former NFL defensive lineman William "The Refrigerator" Perry for Mr. Big toilet paper. He also starred in a 1982 situation comedy called The Ugily Family, about an unsightly Italian family whose last name is constantly mispronounced as "ugly".
posted by shockingbluamp (29 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:09 PM on October 30, 2015


RIP
posted by jwest at 8:14 PM on October 30, 2015


Yep yep yep
posted by NoMich at 8:38 PM on October 30, 2015 [23 favorites]


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posted by mosk at 8:45 PM on October 30, 2015


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I didn't watch Happy Days much so he'll always be Murray the cop to me.
posted by octothorpe at 8:46 PM on October 30, 2015 [4 favorites]


He also famously played Al in the Weezer video Buddy Holly, lending the video a further aire of Happy Days authenticity.

And, I hate myself for pointing it out, but Happy Days (itself a 70's show about the 50's) ended its run in 1984, ten years before the Buddy Holly video. And the Buddy Holly video is now 20 years old.

Time is a flat circle.
posted by dirtdirt at 8:54 PM on October 30, 2015 [25 favorites]


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posted by valkane at 8:58 PM on October 30, 2015


*kicks jukebox*

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posted by oneswellfoop at 9:07 PM on October 30, 2015 [3 favorites]


Vigoda knows all too well the only rule: There can be only one.

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posted by Pope Guilty at 9:09 PM on October 30, 2015 [5 favorites]


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posted by LobsterMitten at 9:28 PM on October 30, 2015


And please, try the fish.

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posted by jonp72 at 9:49 PM on October 30, 2015 [7 favorites]


For taste and more, it's On-Cor... RIP.
posted by newper at 9:56 PM on October 30, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by discopolo at 10:40 PM on October 30, 2015


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posted by mikelieman at 12:05 AM on October 31, 2015


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posted by pt68 at 1:16 AM on October 31, 2015


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posted by NordyneDefenceDynamics at 1:58 AM on October 31, 2015


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posted by disclaimer at 3:50 AM on October 31, 2015


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posted by fairmettle at 4:23 AM on October 31, 2015


He knew he was nearing the end of his life when Ted McGinley appeared to him.

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posted by dr_dank at 5:06 AM on October 31, 2015 [2 favorites]


Perhaps now he knows the answer to the biggest question of them all:

What happened to Chuck?

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posted by TedW at 6:06 AM on October 31, 2015 [2 favorites]


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posted by mumimor at 6:21 AM on October 31, 2015


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posted by lord_wolf at 6:27 AM on October 31, 2015


Fuck.
To me he is "Original Al" (where I came in), but the WTF stakes: gallstones Molinaro had decided not to have surgically removed.

Man.

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posted by Mezentian at 7:05 AM on October 31, 2015


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posted by Spatch at 7:32 AM on October 31, 2015


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posted by Seekerofsplendor at 8:01 AM on October 31, 2015


WTF stakes: gallstones Molinaro had decided not to have surgically removed.

Invasive surgeries like that can often have potentially lethal complications as one gets along in years. If you're in your 90s and the choice is either 'live with a condition that will probably get progressively worse over the next several years' or 'rectify it now with a procedure that may very well lead to you dying much sooner' the choice isn't always so clear-cut.
posted by FatherDagon at 12:57 PM on October 31, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by lordrunningclam at 6:43 AM on November 1, 2015


I thought it was cool "Hey - at least he was still representin' WI - dying in a WI hospital..." but googling, I'm seeing statements he died in Glendale, CA? Did he die in WI or Glendale?
posted by symbioid at 9:44 AM on November 1, 2015


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posted by On the Corner at 12:45 AM on November 2, 2015


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