Don Most

Don Most is an American actor born on August 8, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, where he grew up in the Flatbush neighborhood. He graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in 1970 and enrolled at Lehigh University, where he studied for three years beginning that same year. He initially pursued engineering before switching to business after his first semester. During his junior year, he planned to spend the summer of 1973 seeking acting work in Hollywood before returning to finish his degree, but landing the role of Ralph Malph on Happy Days on his third audition led him to relocate to California and abandon his studies entirely.

Most is best known for portraying the jokester Ralph Malph on the ABC television series Happy Days. During the show's first season, he received secondary billing alongside Henry Winkler in the end credits, but by the second season both actors were elevated to primary billing. Most remained a regular cast member through the seventh season, departing in 1980 along with Ron Howard when their characters were written off as having joined the Army and been stationed in Greenland. Both actors returned as guest stars in the series' final season. One of his earliest television appearances came on the 113th and final filmed episode of Room 222, which was never broadcast, in which he played Louie, a red-headed class wisecracker.

His television guest appearances span several decades and include Emergency!, Fantasy Island, CHiPs, The Love Boat, Baywatch, Sliders, Star Trek: Voyager, Diagnosis: Murder, Yes, Dear, and Glee. He appeared on Charles in Charge alongside former Happy Days co-star Scott Baio, and had a cameo as himself in the fifth-season Family Guy episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One" in 2007. His film credits include Leo and Loree (1980), EDtv (1999), Planting Melvin (2005), and The Great Buck Howard (2008). Most also worked as a voice actor on several Saturday morning animated series, voicing Ralph Malph on The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang in 1980, Eric the Cavalier on Dungeons & Dragons beginning in 1983, and Stiles on Teen Wolf from 1986 to 1989.

Most made his Broadway debut in 1994, appearing in Grease. His stage work has also included The Sunshine Boys with Robert Wuhl at Judson Theatre Company in 2017 and Middletown at Bucks County Playhouse in 2019.

United Artists released his pop album Donny Most in the fall of 1976. A single from the album, "All Roads (Lead Back to You)" backed with "Better to Forget Her," spent three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1976, peaking at number 97, aided in part by Most performing the song on an episode of Happy Days. A second single, "One of These Days," was distributed as a radio promo only. Two additional singles followed on other labels: "Here's Some Love" backed with "I'm Gonna Love Loving You" on the Venture label in 1978, and "I Only Want What's Mine" from the Leo and Loree soundtrack on Casablanca Records in 1980, neither of which charted. Most also contributed vocals on several Happy Days episodes, where Ralph performed in a band alongside characters played by Anson Williams, Ron Howard, and Scott Baio, with Most singing solo in episodes including "They Shoot Fonzies, Don't They" and "Be My Valentine." As of 2016, Most shifted his musical focus to swing, releasing the Christmas album Swinging Down The Chimney Tonight on Summit Records and touring the United States in a show called "Donny Most Sings and Swings," performing 1950s material with a seven-piece band. The singles "Ooo Baby Baby" and "Smoke from a Distant Fire" were released in 2021, and in 2023 he released the full-length album New York High.

On April 19, 2011, Most joined four Happy Days co-stars — Erin Moran, Marion Ross, Anson Williams, and the estate of Tom Bosley — in filing a $10 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against CBS, alleging the network had failed to pay merchandising revenues owed under their contracts. The items at issue included comic books, trading cards, games, lunch boxes, dolls, toy cars, and DVDs featuring the actors' likenesses. Their contracts entitled them to five percent of net merchandising proceeds when their sole image was used and half that amount when appearing in a group. CBS maintained it owed each actor between $8,500 and $9,000, largely from slot machine revenues, while the plaintiffs argued the total owed was in the millions. In October 2011, a judge dismissed the fraud claim, eliminating the possibility of the largest potential damages. A subsequent CBS motion to have the case dismissed entirely was denied in June 2012, and in July 2012 the parties reached a settlement under which each actor received $65,000 and a commitment from CBS to continue honoring their contractual terms.

Most married actress Morgan Hart, daughter of burlesque performer Margaret Hart Ferraro, in 1982. They have two daughters and reside near Mead, Colorado, north of Denver.