Bob Brunner

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Robert "Bob" Brunner (August 3, 1934 – October 28, 2012) was an American screenwriter, film director, and television producer.

He appeared on film and television with Garry Marshall, the maker of Happy Days.

Arthur Fonzarelli, a Brunner, is credited with the creation of the "Fonzie" nickname for Henry Winkler's character, Arthur Fonzarelli, on Happy Days.

"Sit on it," he wrote of one of Fonzie's most popular catchphrases.

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Life and career

In New York City, Brunner was born on August 3, 1934. As copyboys at the New York Daily News in 1959, Brunner met Garry Marshall.

He joined Louis Armstrong and Tony Bennett in the early 1960s as a publicist.

Brunner began a career in television, collaborating with longtime friend Garry Marshall as a scriptwriter and television producer during the 1970s. Brunner wrote for The Odd Couple, which Marshall was executive producing at the time. Brunner appeared on Marshall's Laverne & Shirley and Blansky's Beauties, which premiered in 1977 and were soon cancelled.

Brunner joined Happy Days' factory team. He wrote or co-wrote fifteen episodes of Happi Days and appeared on thirty-seven episodes. He became an integral part of the company's crew, including stints as its showrunner.

Notably, Brunner contributed to American popular culture by inventing the word "Fonzie" for Henry Winkler's iconic character, Arthur Fonzarelli, who was formerly only a minor actor on the program. "Sit on it," Brunner later used on Fonzie as a comeback on the show. At the time, Fonzie and his catch made Happy Days the nation's number one show.

Brunner also wrote the 1977 Happy Days season premiere script, which inspired the expression "Jump the shark," which is now used by television commentators to criticize a television series that has been on the air for too long. Fonzie flies to Los Angeles to take a screen test and step into acting in the episode, which first aired on September 20, 1977. When he ties with a local Californian in a water skiing competition, Fonzie has to leap over a shark in the water as a tiebreaker. According to reports, radio personality Jon Hein and his former college roommate coined the phrase "jump the shark" to refer to a television show in creative decline. Nonetheless, 30 million viewers tuned in to the episode, making it a hit in the ratings. In an article written by Fred Fox Jr., "I can't remember," I can usually remember a Happy Days episode from any season, hear a quip, and guess who wrote it."

In an article published in the Los Angeles Times in September 2010, Happi Days writer Fred Fox Jr. wrote about the source of "jump the shark" and the episode: "My friend Brian Levant, then a talented new member of the writing staff, and showrunner Bob Brunner at the time, who made the suggestion." But what I do recall is that no one protested vehemently, not one of us, 'Fonzie, jump a shark?'

Are you out of your mind?"

Brunner co-created (with Arthur Silver) and executive produced Brothers and Sisters, a short-lived NBC sitcom. Working Stiffs, starring James Belushi and Michael Keaton, was also released by Brunner in 1979. Arthur Silver and Arthur Silverman co-produced The Bad News Bears' television version, which aired on CBS from 1979 to 1980. Following Love, Sidney, Private Benjamin, Webster, and Diff'rent Strokes, Brunner went on to executive produce a number of television shows, including Love, Sidney, Sidney, Blocked, and Diff'rent Strokes. In 1982, Brunner was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding comedy series for his work as the creator of Love, Sidney.

On several of Marshall's films, Brunner continued to collaborate with a friend, Garry Marshall. He co-wrote the script for Marshall's 1999 romantic comedy The Other Sister, which stars Juliette Lewis and Giovanni Ribisi. He appeared on film in 1991, Frankie and Johnny (in which Brunner appeared on screen in a small role), Exit to Eden in 1994, and The Princess Diaries in 2001.

Bob Brunner died of a heart attack near his Northridge, California, residence on October 28, 2012, at the age of 78. He was raised by three children, Robert Jr., Jennifer and Elizabeth – as well as six grandchildren. Brunner was buried at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery, next to his wife Ann, who died in 1987.

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