Happier Days: Watch the Late Al Molinaro in Weezer's 'Buddy Holly' Video
Today is not a happy day. It’s just been announced that Al Molinaro – aka “Big Al” Delvecchio, the lovable fry cook and later proprietor of fictional Happy Days hangout Arnold’s Diner, has passed away from complications of a gall stone ailment. He was 96.
Molinaro was adored by sitcom-addicted children of the ‘70s, but he was introduced to a whole new generation – and also rode a wave of Generation X nostalgia – in 1994, when he guest-starred in Weezer’s Happy Days-themed “Buddy Holly” music video.
While the other Happy Days characters in the Spike Jonze-directed, VMAs-nominated landmark clip only appeared via expertly sliced-in archival footage from the original TV series, Molinaro’s cameo was the real deal. He even amusingly introduced the cardigan-sweatered band as “Kenosha, Wisconsin’s own Weezer!” – a nod to his real-life hometown.
Today, “Buddy Holly” stands as one of the most iconic videos of the entire '90s, and has racked up almost 21 million YouTube views. "That was a surprise and joy to see how that [video] succeeded,“ Molinaro’s son, Michael, told CNN.
We will miss you, Big Al. Keep on dancing in that big diner in the sky, where everybody always tries the fish.
