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Anson Williams, who played Potsie, is running for mayor of Ojai COURTESY PHOTOSActor and director Anson Williams (“Happy Days”) said he’s running for mayor of Ojai to give back to a community that helped him heal after his battle with colon cancer.
When asked to run for mayor of Ojai, “Happy Days” star Anson Williams knew he had to say yes.
“Honestly, Ojai saved my life,” Mr. Williams, who played Potsie on the ABC series set in the 1950s, told the News-Press by phone from his Ojai home.
“A little over five years ago, I had colon cancer. There were some serious complications from it,” Mr. Williams said. “At the same time, I had some really horrible personal challenges and situations.
“After I was released from the hospital, I came back to my house in Ojai, and I began to heal and started venturing out,” he said. “I was embraced by the most caring people in Ojai, who helped me to heal.
“Then out of the blue, I was asked to run for mayor,” said Mr. Williams, 72, who’s running against Ojai Mayor Betsy Stix. “I had to say ‘yes.’ I want to give back.”
Anson Williams enjoyed his role on “Happy Days” and his directing career that began after the show.Mr. Williams, who met his fiance Sharon MaHarry in Ojai, announced his candidacy at an Ojai City Council meeting on June 28. This week he talked to the News-Press about his extensive platform, his time on “Happy Days” and a directing career that included “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”
He said he wants to maintain Ojai’s unique character while promoting businesses and making tourism a better experience for the small community and tourists alike.
“Ojai has 7,400 folks and 900,000 tourists,” Mr. Williams said.
Ojai is known for major events such as the Ojai Music Festival, which attract many visitors. Mr. Williams wants to establish a “base camp” during events outside the downtown area, where tourists and tour buses could park and pay a fee. Shuttles would take visitors to locations such as the Libbey Bowl (the central location of the Ojai Music Festival and other festivals), trail heads, the Arcade on Ojai Avenue (the city’s main street) and other tourist areas.
“Tourists will enjoy it more and will buy more goods,” Mr. Williams said. “Ojai is a special place, and it will keep it a special experience.”
He also said he wants to support the small businesses in Ojai, including the mom-and-pop businesses in the Arcade. He said one way to do that is by creating an Ojai catalog, a free publication that could be handed to tourists and would list products they could buy online anytime from businesses.
And he told the News-Press he favors restoration, not replacement, of the old buildings that contribute to Ojai’s special architectural character.
“There’s so much we can do together to thrive and not change the character of Ojai, but to only improve the spirit of Ojai,” said Mr. Williams, who has talked to five mayors he considers to be successful for ideas.
“We can improve our parks; we can improve so many things,” he said. “All it takes is not being a politician. It takes being a caring person.”
Mr. Williams also wants to get the community involved in making decisions.
“I don’t want to see eight people attending a city council meeting. I want to see several hundred,” he said. “What are your ideas? What’s frustrating you?”
His platform also includes what he calls a “commonsense approach to climate change,” including solar power for schools, recreation facilities and the Ojai Hospital and incentives for solar power in office buildings and condos. He calls for eliminating plastic straws and packaging and making all governmental vehicles electric.
But in dealing with issues such as the drought, Mr. Williams stressed the need to tell people facts.
“Here in Ojai, there’s definitely a drought,” he said. “People look at Lake Casitas, and it’s really scary. The water’s way down.
“But guess what? The city of Ojai doesn’t get its water from Lake Casitas,” hesid. “We have an aquifer where we get 99% of our water. The sky’s not falling.
“We need to do our diligence, do our recycling and catch water, and there are ways to do that,” he said. “But we can’t be using false scare tactics.”
Mr. Williams said he learned much about the importance of helping others from Garry Marshall, creator of “Happy Days.”
“One reason I’m running for mayor is Garry,” Mr. Williams said. “He taught us to ‘use fame as a light and put it on something else and give them that stage. It’s not for you; it’s for someone else.’ ”
Mr. Williams and Ron Howard first played Potsie and Richie Cunningham respectively in “Love and the Happy Days,” a “Love, America Style” episode that served as a backdoor pilot for ABC’s “Happy Days.” The episode also featured Marion Ross as Mrs. Cunningham or “Mrs. C,” Richie’s mom, and Ms. Ross told the News-Press she still embraces the TV show with a “Happy Days” theme at her home in the Los Angeles area.
“We have had parties there. It’s the ‘Happy Days’ farm,” Mr. Williams said. “What a positive, fun, wonderful person. She is so giving. We’ve had such a blast through the years. She’s 93 now.”
Harold Gould played Mr. Cunningham in the “Love, American Style” episode, but Tom Bosley got the part when ABC, inspired by the success of the 1973 movie “American Graffiti,” decided to pick up “Happy Days” as a series.
“Ron and I just didn’t get the parts again. We had to have a screen test. They thought we might be too old,” Mr. Williams said.
Obviously Mr. Williams and Mr. Howard passed the screen test with flying colors, and “Happy Days” was a hit TV show that ran from 1974 to 1984.
Mr. Williams said Mr. Marshall created a collaborative environment where the cast and crew were encouraged to contribute ideas with the attitude, “If it’s good, let’s use it!”
Mr. Williams said he, Mr. Howard; Henry Winkler, who played the always cool Fonzie, and Donny Most, who played Ralph, had a brotherly connection on the show and are still like brothers to this day.
Mr. Williams said when Mr. Howard heard he was running for mayor, he asked Mr. Williams, “What do you need, Anson? You’re going to be a great mayor.”
And he added that Mr. Winkler “has the nicest heart, the biggest heart, the kindest heart. And he’s so talented.”
Mr. Williams noted his favorite memories of “Happy Days” included what happened away from the set.
The experience included a “Happy Days” softball team that Mr. Marshall assembled and sent to play teams from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The “Happy Days” team played at places such as Dodgers and Yankees stadiums.
Mr. Williams’ extensive directing career after “Happy Days” included the “Star Trek: Voyager” episode in which The Doctor, the hologram played by Robert Picardo, got the experience of having a family on the holodeck. He starts with a textbook-perfect family, then ends up with a more realistic family with flaws — and a deeper love for each other.
“It becomes a real family where the daughter dies,” Mr. Williams said. “When I was reading the script, I was crying.
“It’s one of my favorite episodes I’ve ever directed.”
email: dmason@newspress.com
Editor’s note: The News-Press emailed Ojai Mayor Betsy Stix Wednesday evening and is working to arrange an interview with her.
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