Actor

Born: June 24, 1919

Died: October 30, 2015

AL Molinaro, who has died aged 96 following a gall bladder infection, was in his fifties when he finally got the break that made him one of the most familiar faces on American television in the late 1970s.

Between 1974 and 1984 he appeared in 146 episodes of Happy Days as Al Delvecchio, the avuncular owner of the diner in the nostalgic sitcom. It was set in the 1950s and starred Ron Howard as the clean-cut Richie Cunningham and Henry Winkler as The Fonz, a leather-jacketed rebel modelled on the young Marlon Brando.

Molinaro went to acting classes with actress Penny Marshall, whose brother Garry Marshall was a producer. He was working up a television series based on The Odd Couple, which had already been a hit on stage and on the big screen with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

Tony Randall and Jack Klugman were cast as the mismatched flatmates in the TV version and Molinaro landed the scene-stealing supporting role of the hapless policeman Officer Greshler after Penny Marshall introduced him to her brother.

The Odd Couple was Molinaro's first big break and he appeared in more than 70 episodes between 1970 and 1975. "I spent 20 years here before I got anything going," said Molinaro. "You've just got to be lucky and in the right place at the right time."

Molinaro was a distinctive figure, with his fleshy face, a nose that looked like that of The Penguin in the Batman comics and a relish for the ridiculous. Discovered dressed as a woman in a park after dark, he reveals he is under cover and remarks: "This time of night, the muggers don't get a great selection."

Happy Days was another of Marshall's shows. Pat Morita was the original owner of the diner but when he left, Marshall brought in Molinaro as the new owner. His character was always ready to share the wisdom of his years with his young customers. He had a positive philosophy and catch-phrase – "yep, yep, yep, yep", though it would often trail off in a sigh.

Molinaro in turn suggested the then-unknown Robin Williams, whom he had met at an improv class, to play the guest role of an alien called Mork. The character proved so successful that he got his own show and Williams went on to become one of Hollywood's biggest stars.

One of ten children, Al Molinaro was born Umberto Francesca Molinaro, in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1919. His father had a successful restaurant business and was a leading figure in the Italian-American community. One brother became a judge and another a member of the State Assembly.

Molinaro worked for the city authority and then moved to California to pursue an acting career. However it was tough going and he ran a debt collection agency and was involved in real estate before his fortunes changed with The Odd Couple.

As well as Happy Days, Molinaro also played the character of Al in the spin-off series Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-83). Meanwhile Penny Marshall appeared in Happy Days as Laverne DeFazio and starred in another spin-off Laverne and Shirley (1976-83). Her brother Garry went on to direct Hollywood movies, including Pretty Woman (1990) and would have liked to have taken Molinaro with him.

"I can't work in movies with Garry," Molinaro said, "because I'm so square that I won't be in a movie that has four-letter words in it. That puts me pretty much totally out of films these days… I told him, 'I don't want to do a movie that I couldn't watch with my mother if she were still alive.' "

He was in his mid-sixties when he finished with Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi. Although he appeared in only a few more TV shows, he made numerous adverts and opened a chain of diners with former co-star Anson Williams.

He is survived by his second wife and a son from an earlier marriage that ended in divorce.

BRIAN PENDREIGH