Who Was Fonzie’s Cousin Spike from ‘Happy Days’?
During the 1970s, I really loved Happy Days. Life with the Cunningham family seemed quite surreal — as was Fonzie’s younger cousin, Raymond “Spike” Fonzarelli, who was played by actor Danny Butch and served as Fonzie’s (Henry Winkler) very own little “Mini-Me. Many fans wonder what happened to Butch; it turns out, the character’s disappearance was a result of audience disinterest.
During Seasons 2-4, we got a pint-sized version of Fonzie. His name was Spike, and he idolized the Fonz, and tried to be just like him. There were some things getting in his way, though. The lack of a driver’s license meant that he was riding something decidedly less cool than Fonzie’s motorcycle, but you can’t fault him for trying. And he wasn’t shy with the ladies either. I think it was during his first appearance on Happy Days that Spike made the decision to start dating an older woman. Yep. I’m talking about 13-year-old Joanie Cunningham (Erin Moran).
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A lot of folks think that Chachi Arcola (Scott Baio) and Spike are the same character, but they’re definitely not. There are some similarities, however. First, they were both related to Fonzie, and second, they both had eyes for Joanie. But unfortunately for Spike, that’s about where the similarities end. You see, while Chachi became a beloved character on the show, Spike never really became an audience favorite.
I have a theory about that. I don’t think audiences really needed or wanted a miniature version of the Fonz, and that’s why, at the end of the day, Chachi would be the character that got the girl.
So, what in the world did happen to the character and the actor who played him, Danny Butch? Well, sadly, the answer to the first question is that I don’t ever remember hearing Spike’s name mentioned again on the show. It was just like Chuck Cunningham all over again. He was gone and forgotten; that’s the way the folks at Happy Days worked.
Regarding the actor Danny Butch, after Happy Days, Danny found work on shows like Big John, Little John and Bret Maverick. His final onscreen appearance was in the 1981 Luciano Pavarotti flick, Yes, Giorgio. After that, it would seem that Danny decided to step away from the limelight.
Now, there aren’t many pictures of a grown-up Danny available on the internet. There’s a Happy Days fan site out there that has a photo of another, completely different person up, but that individual stepped forward and said, “Hey, I’m not Spike.”
Tracking down Danny, it turns out, is no small feat. Back in 2009, entertainment columnist David Inman, was asked about his whereabouts and sadly, he was only able to offer up a tepid joke about Spike changing the oil in his car recently.
My own personal research has led me to believe that Danny has taken a hard left and chosen a very different career path. From everything I can tell, Danny has become a successful interior designer. Not quite the florist that Spike aspired to be, but I think it’s fair to say that Danny is making the world a more beautiful place, one room at a time.
Additionally, on the YouTube channel where I publish stories, I received this comment from a former high school classmate: “We used to park (our Camaros) by each other. He would joke with me about the cool people who parked by us. He was a down-to-earth guy – didn’t let it go to his head he was a star at the time, in fact, he was shy about it.”
End of the day, I didn’t come up with much more than Mr. Inman. But, you know what? That’s okay. There’s a part of me that really respects Danny’s desire to turn away from the bright lights of the entertainment industry, and as appealing as the world of show business might be to some, I suspect that he is every bit as happy, or perhaps even happier, than he would’ve been if he’d continued acting. But that’s just my two cents.
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1974 (50 Years Ago)
January 2024
In this time capsule issue of ReMIND Magazine we look back 50 years ago to 1974!
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