Erin Marie Moran was a well-known actress, and the film “Not Another B Movie,” which was released in 2010, featured her in her last credited movie performance. The actress had a long life, surviving for 56 years until her away on April 22, 2017.

The famous actor has contributed to a number of full-length motion pictures, including “How Sweet It Is,” “Watermelon Man,” and “Wayne Newton.” On the other hand, it was her part as Joanie Cunningham in the ABC sitcom “Happy Days” that brought her international recognition.

As the actor performed the role of Joanie, the lively younger sister of the adolescent Richie Cunningham in the series, she established herself as a veteran of the child acting world. Richie was the focal point of the concert, but Moran gained a lot of attention for how well she played her part.

From 1974 and 1984, “Happy Days” aired for a total of 11 seasons. Moran, however, had a tough time getting parts as an adult and did not portray any more important characters throughout her tenure as an actress, which is something that many other child performers in Hollywood at the time experienced as well.

She did, however, appear as a guest on the television show “The Love Boat” and in the movie “She Wrote.” The actress was also a participant in the reality television series titled “Celebrity Fit Club USA,” which aired in 2008.

Moran left Hollywood after finishing up her acting career since her property was going through the foreclosure process. The actress passed away in Corydon, Indiana, and her second husband, to whom she had been married for 53 years, is the only one who will outlive her.

Moran was born on October 18th, 1960 in the city of Burbank, in the state of California. Edward Moran, Erin’s father, worked in finance, and his wife, Erin’s mother, was named Sharon Moran. Edward Moran was Erin’s father. The couple had a total of six children: one boy and five daughters, including the well-known actress.

Her first appearance in a movie was actually in a TV ad in 1967, when she played the role of an unnamed girl riding a tricycle in the comedy “Who’s Minding the Mint.” She attended Walter Reed Junior High School and North Hollywood High School while also pursuing a career as a child actress. Her profession began when she was quite young.

Moran began her acting career in 1968, when she was only seven years old, on the children’s television drama “Daktari,” in which she starred for the show’s last two seasons. The 1965 comedy-adventure film “Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion” served as the inspiration for the film “Daktari.”

At Dr. Marsh Tracy’s Wameru Research Centre for Animal Behavior in East Africa, the actor performed the role of Jenny Jones, an orphan who was taken in and cared for by Dr. Marsh Tracy, a veterinarian and environmentalist.

Before being cast on “Happy Days,” Moran appeared in a number of other television shows and films. The popular program was adapted from the drama-comedy “American Graffiti,” which was released in 1973. It was a celebration of the rock and roll youth culture that existed in the 1950s and early 1960s, during which time young men would roam in their vehicles looking for partners.

Cathy Silver, who played the role of Jenny Piccalo on “Happy Days,” has said that she and Moran were extremely close on set. Silver also referred to Moran as her closest friend and her knight in shining armor, stating that the actress also gave her unconditional love:

“Erin was the embodiment of elegance, poise, dignity, unfathomable strength, and boundless skill, but above all else, she was the one who held my hand for the whole of my existence. The love I have for Erin will never end. There is no other lady who has been as fortunate as I am to be able to name Erin my beloved best friend. Erin is a wonderful person.”

In addition, Silver said that the beginning of her relationship with Moran occurred on the set of “Happy Days,” where the two became fast friends on the very first day:

“As the casting door opened, I went in and leapt on the sofa to read for Jenny Piccalo. After that, we laughed till we were crying, and then Erin flung her arms around me, and that was the beginning of our adventure as friends. Throughout filming, we formed a strong bond, which has only strengthened since then.”

A co-star of Moran’s said that the actress treated those who were close to her with grace and elegance, respected them, were nice, and loved them without condition.

Ron Howard, who portrayed Richie Cunningham on the show and is also Moran’s TV brother, recalled how the actress behaved when she was working. Howard said that the set was like a boys’ club, and that there was a lot of joking about going on, in which Moran would sometimes take part:

“At a certain point, we were in the middle of a rehearsal, still wearing the clothing we wore for the practice, and it had turned into a type of shaving cream brawl. And she did end up getting Henry Winkler by sneaking up behind him with a fairly nice shaving cream pie and getting it on him.”

American actor Henry Winkler portrayed the role of Fonzarelli in the series. Howard continued by saying that Moran was a fantastic talent who has an incredible unstoppable spirit:

“She played the role of the innocent child on the set at all times. I prefer to remember her as this fiery and vivacious little child because that is how I like to think about her when I look back to when she was younger.”

Her Struggle against Mental Illness

Moran had two weddings in her life, and the second one was the one that lasted until the day she passed away. Her first marriage, which took place in 1987 and ended in divorce in 1993, was to Rocky Ferguson. After then, the actress tied the knot with her current spouse, Steven Fleischmann, in the year 1993.

In an interview with People magazine conducted in 2007, the actress from “The Waltons” said that her marriage to Ferguson was a difficult one. She said that her previous spouse had a strong desire for her to remain anonymous to her fans:

“He wanted me to tell a falsehood about who I was and to deny being recognized by anybody who thought they knew me. His objective was to make it so that fans couldn’t recognize me. That was the level of pressure that he applied on me.”

Moran said that Ferguson’s need to be the focus of attention was a source of stress for him as he dealt with the success of her career. On the other hand, the native Californian said that she did not want to talk any more about him:

“I have no interest in delving into his character or the motivations behind the things he did. Since there is no purpose in going there, I don’t even want to go there.”

Prior to moving to Indiana in 2010, Moran and her second husband resided in Palmdale, California. But, as a result of financial difficulties, their home was foreclosed on, and they were forced to relocate.

Donna Woods, Fleischmann’s mother, was the owner of the house in the trailer park, and Moran was the caretaker for her. At this point in time, Fleischman was working as an employee for Walmart despite the fact that her financial status had deteriorated significantly.

The pair continued to reside in Indiana, but they were eventually kicked out of the state in 2012 when the actress from “The Bold and the Beautiful” came home in an intoxicated condition.

In 2009, while the actress was having problems with her finances, she said that she was writing an autobiography with the working title “Happy Days, Depressing Nights,” although it had not been published yet.

By the conclusion of “Happy Days,” as well as after the program had finished, Moran suffered with depression, alcohol, and drug addiction. When Fleischmann’s mother kicked them out of the house, the couple relocated to a Super 8 hotel in Corydon, Indiana, in the year 2012.

In an interview with People, a bartender by the name of Amanda Richard divulged information regarding Moran’s life during this time period. At O’Charley’s pub and restaurant, which is located close to the hotel where they were staying, the bartender would serve the actress. Moran frequented the pub on a near-daily basis and often remained there for the better part of the day.

Richard admitted to Moran that he would tell her that she was angry and despondent because she had lost all of her money and no one cared about her famous any longer:

“I dealt with her like any other client, and it helped us get closer over time. She consistently asked for her vodka to be served neat. She was acting normally, yet all of a sudden, an angry outburst would occur for no apparent reason. More than a couple of occasions, one of our supervisors requested her to leave the premises.”

According to the bartender, Moran would drink at the bar, but she also kept bottles of vodka and gin in her apartment. Moreover, the bartender said that Moran spent the most of her time in the bar by herself.

Richard said that Moran would drink in the afternoon, and if she had sobered up a bit, she would come back in the evening, drink more, and get overly loud while talking to strangers about her days as a star, saying things like “Nobody cares about me.” Richard also said that Moran would say that no one cared about her.

Moran would drink so much that her hands would tremble very severely, her nerves could be seen going down, and she eventually ended up being harsh around the edges, according to the bartender who gave this information. She went on to say that Moran had been kicked out of O’Charley’s but that he would visit the restaurant on occasion:

“Occasionally, there would be a stretch of time during which we wouldn’t see her for a week, but then she’d turn up again. When I asked her where she’d been, she always responded with something about the job that her husband did. He was the only person in her life whom she ever mentioned to me. I never heard her mention anybody else.”

Nevertheless, Richard recalled that Moran would always try to cheer her up when she had difficulties with her mother or when she was attempting to deal with a difficult table, despite the fact that she caused problems at the bar when customers were eating. Richard said this was the case even though she caused problems at the bar.

“Yet, she had a generous and caring spirit. She never failed in her efforts to cheer me up… I would tell her things, and she would place her hands on my shoulder and tell me that tomorrow is going to be better. I would discuss things with her. Just smile, sweetie, just smile.”

Another bartender, Stephanie Thomas, said that the actress was a regular at O’Brady’s pub and restaurant in Corydon. Moran was known to visit both O’Charley’s and O’Brady’s, according to Stephanie Thomas. Thomas observed that Moran was there every Wednesday for “Bike Night” to see bands perform on the back patio:

“It was the live music that drew her in. She virtually never came with anybody else. When she did come in with other individuals, it was never the same ones twice out of the few occasions she did so. She never lost her sunny disposition.”

Thomas continued by saying that Moran was well-known in the area because whenever people heard that an actress was in the vicinity, they would rush over to snap photographs with her.

Thomas claims that Moran was the most gregarious person in the pub and that he was usually the first person to get up and start dancing once the band started playing. The bartender continued by saying that the actress always had her money with her when she came in for drinks:

“She never stopped engaging in conversation with others and seemed to enjoy herself thoroughly at all times. Sometimes, she would place an order for a takeout burger and claim that she was going to eat it on the way back to her spouse.”

The Last Days of Her Life Before She Passed Away from Cancer
Moran passed away on April 22, 2017, having fought cancer for a significant portion of his life. The actress was told that her throat cancer was in the stage 4 advanced stage. She passed away due to difficulties brought on by this malignancy, and an autopsy report obtained from the Harrison County Coroner’s Office revealed that there was no involvement of illicit substances in her passing.

It was also said in the statement that the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department issued that there were no illicit drugs discovered in Moran’s apartment. She passed away peacefully in her sleep as her husband was at her side. Prior to her passing, her husband disclosed the actress’s illness had progressed in a heartbreaking open letter:

“Erin was unable to talk, eat, or drink after her injury. I had to feed her six to eight times a day via an implanted feeding tube that she had. As she passed away, the coroner reported that her cancer had progressed further. It had also migrated to her spleen, and she had a significant amount of fluid in both of her lungs. Moreover, a portion of her brain was contaminated.”

Even if she had been getting therapy for her illness at the hospital, Moran would not have been able to beat it, according to the findings of the coroner. Fleischmann included an explanation in his letter as to how Moran knew she had cancer, including the fact that she was bleeding from her lips, which they assumed was due to tonsillitis.

Moran was residing in the trailer park house that she and Fleischmann’s mother had occupied when they first relocated to Indiana. At the time of her death, she was alone in the home. A few photographs taken of the actress when she was unwell show that she had lost a significant amount of weight and that she had also shed a portion of her hair.

Inside Edition went to see the house where Moran had been residing before she passed away. They had a short conversation with the actress, who said that she preferred not to speak with the media.

Some stated it was “difficult to watch,” which was one of the many comments left on the video after it was uploaded on YouTube. According to the observations of a different user, Moran did not like to be videotaped: “She made it quite clear that she did not want to be filmed. When I saw it, I decided to stop watching.”

An individual’s response to the film that Inside Edition uploaded on YouTube showcasing the actress Erin Moran’s house in a trailer park | Source: YouTube.com/Inside Edition

A user’s reaction to the footage showing actress Erin Moran’s house in a trailer park that was uploaded to YouTube by Inside Edition | Source: YouTube.com/Inside Edition

Fleischmann, who was 49 years old at the time of the actress’s death, was reportedly seen looking exhausted and unkempt outside their trailer park home in New Salisbury a few days after Moran’s passing.

Moran remained in touch with her pals by texting, despite the fact that she was unable to talk. Co-star and close friend of the deceased actress, Anson Williams, expressed his disbelief at the news of her passing, citing the fact that she seemed to be winning her battle with illness.

“When I received the word that Mom had died away, I was absolutely in complete disbelief. I was really unprepared for how terrible that was. She stayed extremely quiet. In order to show respect for Erin, we all maintained our silence. She was unable to verbally communicate, but her messages were quite upbeat.”

Williams lauded Fleischmann as well, stating that he and Moran through a great deal together but emerged victorious: “She found a nice person in Steve, who really truly loves her and really really is there for her. ”

Williams went on to say that despite the fact that Moran was battling her own problems, she was always the one to bring light into a room. “She was a really nice and kind lady, and she always gave before she took,” he added. “She never took before she gave.”

In the same statement, he said that he would be sad to see Moran go: “Erin was the kind of person who could improve the mood of everyone she was with. She was a genuine angel because she put the needs of others before her own.”

The other cast members and friends of the “Gunsmoke” actress delivered touching eulogies after her passing. Don Most, who appeared on the television show “Happy Days,” described Moran as a “beautiful, kind, loving, and brilliant lady” and expressed how difficult it was to lose her.

Winkler, Moran’s co-star, also paid tribute to her, describing her as a “woman whose wonderful smile never faded” and tweeting his sympathies with the following message: “Oh Erin… Now you will at long last be able to enjoy the tranquility that you have worked so hard for here on earth. It is not the time to be tranquil; it is too soon.”

A statement was also made by co-star Howard following Moran’s passing, in which he said that the news of her death was tragic and unexpected. With a tweet, he communicated, “RIP Erin. I will chose to remember you on our program as the one that made the moments better, brought the audience laughter, and lit up the tv screens.”

The actress’s friends and co-stars remember her as always compassionate, loving, and lovely, despite the difficult and stressful times she had when she moved away from Hollywood. Despite this, the friends and co-stars characterize Moran as having a pleasant disposition. They go on to say that Moran left a legacy of positivity and brightness for everybody who saw her on television at any point in her career.