1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, Hello, 2 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:09,960 Speaker 1: and welcome to This Day in History Class, a show 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: that serfs the channels of history one day at a time. 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: I'm Gay, Bluesier, and today we're talking about a notorious 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,600 Speaker 1: TV spectacle that later made the leap into language, inspiring 6 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: a famous expression for when a show passes its prime. 7 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: The day was September twentieth, nineteen seventy seven. During an 8 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:43,560 Speaker 1: infamous episode of Happy Days, Henry Winkler's Phonsie jumped over 9 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:47,559 Speaker 1: a shark while on water skis. The stunt appeared in 10 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: the Last Act of Hollywood, the three part episode that 11 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: opened the show's fifth season. Although Happy Days was typically 12 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: said in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the gimmicky season premiere sent the 13 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: Cares on a trip to sunny California. Along the way, 14 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,559 Speaker 1: Fonsie and his friends cross paths with an obnoxious local 15 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: bully known as the California Kid, who challenges the Fawnds 16 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 1: to a water skiing race. But when the race ends 17 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:18,479 Speaker 1: in a tie, the two decide to settle their differences 18 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: another way by seeing which of them is man enough 19 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: to jump over a caged tiger shark. The outlandish plot 20 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: was a major departure from the show's usual focus on 21 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:34,199 Speaker 1: suburban American life in the nineteen fifties, and while most 22 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: viewers weren't phased by the absurd stunt at the time, 23 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,680 Speaker 1: it since become a defining moment in TV history. The 24 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: phrase jump the shark is now used to refer to 25 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: the point at which a beloved, long running TV show 26 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: or franchise begins to decline in quality. A show's jump 27 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: the shark moment can take many forms, most of which 28 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: don't involve a literal shark, but it generally hinges on 29 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: some kind of outrageous plot choice, gimmick, or casting change 30 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: that feels drastically different from what came before it. The 31 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: expression was coined in the mid nineteen eighties by two 32 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: roommates at the University of Michigan and has since been 33 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: embraced by pop culture fans and critics around the world, 34 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: though not everyone agrees with its usage. Created by prolific 35 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: producer and filmmaker Gary Marshall, the ABC sitcom Happy Days, 36 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 1: centered on the squeaky clean Cunningham family and their circle 37 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: of friends. The series premiered in January of nineteen seventy four, 38 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: and since it was set in the nineteen fifties, it 39 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: served as a nostalgic escape for viewers who were feeling 40 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 1: jaded by the Vietnam War and the other social ills 41 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: of the era. The show's catchy theme song promised charming, 42 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: harmless diversion, and the show delivered it in spades. Take 43 00:02:54,520 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: a listen on the Monday Happy Days. When Happy Days began, 44 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,239 Speaker 1: the de facto lead was modest, upstanding teenager Richie Cunningham, 45 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: portrayed by the ever affable Ron Howard. But as time 46 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: went on, it was Henry Winkler's supporting character, a high 47 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:32,239 Speaker 1: school dropout turned greaser mechanic named Arthur Fonzarelli, who increasingly 48 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: stole the show with his trademark leather jacket, perfectly quaffed hair, 49 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: and slick demeanor. Phonsie came to represent coolness itself to 50 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: a whole generation of young viewers. In fact, Winkler's turn 51 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: in the role was so iconic that Phronsie's jacket was 52 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: added to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in 53 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty, a full four years before the series left 54 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: the air. Happy Days entered its fifth season in the 55 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: fall of nineteen seventy seven, and by that point the 56 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: show more or less revolved around Phonsie. The three part 57 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: season premiere was no exception. Its story began with a 58 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: pair of Hollywood talent scouts who enlist Phronsie's service as 59 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: a mechanic after their limo breaks down in Milwaukee. Believing 60 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 1: he could be the next James Dean, they invite him 61 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: out to Hollywood for a screen test, and since the 62 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: other cast members were still on the payroll, Phonsie asks 63 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: the Cunninghams to tag along on his trip to Hollywood. 64 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 1: Once there, the Fonzi's masculine pride is threatened by his 65 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: West Coast counterpart, the spoiled leader of a bunch of 66 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: teenage beach bums who calls himself the California Kid. Annoyed 67 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,800 Speaker 1: by Phonsie's laid back bravado, the kid challenges him to 68 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: a water skiing competition, an activity which the landlocked wisconsinite 69 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 1: knows nothing about. But since the Fawns doesn't back down 70 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: from adare, he trades his genes for a bathing suit 71 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: and traps on a pair of water skis while still 72 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: wearing his leather jacket. Of course, after a bit of practice, 73 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: Fonsie manages to keep pace with the kid in the 74 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: big race, prompting his rival to up the stakes. He 75 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,480 Speaker 1: suggests that they take turns jumping over a live shark 76 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 1: that's been enclosed in a netted area waiting to be 77 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 1: moved to a nearby tourist attraction, and while the California 78 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: kid ultimately chickens out of his own challenge, the Fawns 79 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 1: follows through and lands the jump unharmed. Afterward, he and 80 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 1: Richie have a heart to heart about the deeper meaning 81 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: of the stunt and why he was willing to risk 82 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,599 Speaker 1: his life on a dare. Take a listen, we didn't 83 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 1: he did the challenge hit, But what did you really win? Oh? 84 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: Come on, Red? How often does a guy like me 85 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: get the bump off a guy like that? I mean, 86 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: he's got the best boat money can buy, he's got 87 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: custom skis, he's got a push, Yeah he does. He 88 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:56,920 Speaker 1: gets everything handed to him on a silver plattern. Yeah, 89 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: everything is you and me, Red with Different with Tours 90 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: with Tours. Yeah. I knew all the time as you 91 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: were going to make it. Huh. Yeah, I did the 92 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,679 Speaker 1: decision to have the Happy Days cast visit California makes 93 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,479 Speaker 1: sense as a rating stunt. TV shows often use vacation 94 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: getaways as a way to grab attention for a season premiere, 95 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: but the choice to center a three part episode on 96 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,280 Speaker 1: a water skiing race is a bit more baffling. However, 97 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: it wasn't as random as it seems, as Henry Winkler 98 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: was an avid water skier and used to be an 99 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:37,719 Speaker 1: instructor before getting into acting. According to him, his father 100 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: had pressured him into telling the producers about his unusual 101 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: skill in the hope that they'd find a way to 102 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 1: write it into the show. The Hollywood episodes finally offered 103 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: a suitable excuse, so they wrote several scenes where Phonsie 104 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: practices the sport, culminating in his daring leap over a 105 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: tiger shark. As Winkler told Oprah Winfrey in twenty fifteen, quote, 106 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: I did all the water skiing except for the jump. 107 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,359 Speaker 1: They wouldn't allow me to well. I also couldn't do 108 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: the jump. I don't know how to do that. On 109 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: September twentieth, nineteen seventy seven, thirty million viewers tuned in 110 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: to watch Phonsie jump the shark, but there was very 111 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: little commentary about it afterward. For most, it was just 112 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: a pleasantly silly stunt, not a harbinger of doom for 113 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: their favorite TV show. In fact, Happy Days was only 114 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: at the halfway point of its run. At that point. 115 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: The show would continue on for another six seasons after 116 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: the Shark Jump, coming to an end in nineteen eighty four. 117 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: It wasn't until a few years later that Phonsie's aquatic 118 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 1: escapades began to take on new meaning. As the story goes, 119 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: a group of undergrads were having a late night bull 120 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 1: session at the University of Michigan, discussing the inevitable dip 121 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: in quality of long running TV shows. A student named 122 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: Sean Connolly argued that Hollywood Part three was a tipping 123 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,239 Speaker 1: point for Happy Days, and that similar off the wall 124 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: moments in other shows should be considered examples of jumping 125 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: the shark. Connolly's friend group latched onto the expression and 126 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: used it for years, but it was later popularized by 127 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: his roommate, comedy writer and radio host John Hayne. In 128 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety seven, Hayne started a website called jumpthshark dot com, 129 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: which logged hundreds of examples of times when beloved TV 130 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 1: shows Jump the Shark. The website is long gone by 131 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:34,439 Speaker 1: this point, but the phrase and the idea of pinpointing 132 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:39,079 Speaker 1: a show's moment of decline lives on. Of course, assessing 133 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: the quality of a TV show is a subjective act. 134 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: Not everyone agrees on which episodes or storylines should be 135 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:50,080 Speaker 1: considered jump the Shark moments. Ron Howard, for example, doesn't 136 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:52,719 Speaker 1: think the Hollywood arc was when Happy Days went off 137 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: the rails, though he readily admits the story had its flaws. 138 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,440 Speaker 1: When asked about it decades later, the filmmaker said, quote, 139 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: the Hollywood episode was really a jumbled mess from a 140 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: writing standpoint. I remember thinking, creatively, this was not our 141 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 1: greatest episode, but I thought it was a pretty good stunt, 142 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: and I understood why they wanted to do it. But 143 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 1: the thing that has to be remembered about the Jumping 144 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: the Shark idea is that the show went on to 145 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: be such a massive success for years after that, So 146 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:24,559 Speaker 1: it's a kind of fun expression. And I get a 147 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,319 Speaker 1: kick out of the fact that they identified that episode 148 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: because granted, you know, maybe it was pushing things a 149 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: little too far, but I think a lot of good 150 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: work was still done after that show, and audiences seemed 151 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:40,359 Speaker 1: to really respond to it forever. The shark Jumper himself, 152 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 1: Henry Winkler, is of a similar mindset. In a twenty 153 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 1: eighteen interview, he told reporters that he wasn't embarrassed in 154 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: the slightest by the phrase or the episode that spawned it. 155 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: Every time they mentioned it, and it was in the newspaper, 156 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: he said, they had a picture of me water skiing, 157 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,439 Speaker 1: and at that time I had great legs. I didn't 158 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:03,199 Speaker 1: care for one minute. We were number one for five 159 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: years after that. What did I care that there was 160 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: a phrase. One person who very much did care, though, 161 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: was Fred Fox Junior, the man who wrote the much 162 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 1: maligned episode. In twenty ten, he penned an op ed 163 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: for the La Times, objecting to the idea that his 164 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 1: episode marked the show's downturn. He argued that the phrase 165 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: jumped the shark was reductive and misguided, especially since in 166 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: the case of Happy Days, the show continued to be 167 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: a ratings juggernaut for years afterward. Whether or not you 168 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:39,559 Speaker 1: agree that strong ratings indicate high quality, Fox was right 169 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: to point out that the strangeness of his episode had 170 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 1: been overblown. In fact, Phonsie's shark jump wasn't even the 171 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,840 Speaker 1: weirdest thing to happen on Happy Days that season. Nineteen 172 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:55,600 Speaker 1: episodes later, the once grounded sitcom introduced Mork from Orc, 173 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:01,200 Speaker 1: an alien visitor played by comedian Robin Williams. It's probably 174 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: too late to ditch the phrase jumping to the shark, 175 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: but if you ask me, meeting Morc would be much 176 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 1: more appropriate. I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now know 177 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,480 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 178 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,200 Speaker 1: You can learn even more about history by following us 179 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and 180 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: if you have any comments or suggestions, you can always 181 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:32,319 Speaker 1: send them my way by writing to this Day at 182 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 183 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 184 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:52,960 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in history class.