Erin Moran, best known as Joanie in Happy Days, has died at the age of 56.
Moran had been battling substance abuse in recent years and was living in a trailer park in Indiana before moving to a Holiday Inn in Corydon.
Harrison County Indiana Sheriffs Department issued the following statement:
“On April 22, 2017 at approximately 4.07pm, the Harrison County Sheriffs Department received a 911 call that referenced an unresponsive female.
“Upon the arrival of first responders, it was determined that Erin Marie Moran Fleischmann was deceased and an autopsy is pending.”
Erin’s Happy Days co-stars have tweeted their condolences:
OH Erin… now you will finally have the peace you wanted so badly here on earth …Rest In It serenely now.. too soon
— Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) April 23, 2017
Such sad sad news. RIP Erin. I'll always choose to remember you on our show making scenes better, getting laughs and lighting up tv screens. https://t.co/8HmdL0JKlf
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) April 23, 2017
So incredibly sad to hear about Erin. A wonderful, sweet, caring, talented woman.I can't really comprehend this right now.Very painful loss
— Don Most (@most_don) April 23, 2017
Erin Moran was a 6-year old when she scored her first television job as Jenny Jones in Daktari. Her first film was ‘How Sweet It Is’ with Debbie Reynolds in 1968. She became a regular on The Don Rickles Show and appeared in My Three Sons, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father and Family Affair before scoring her best-known role as Joanie Cunningham in Happy Days. She was 13 when she started on Happy Days.
Moran was Joanie for 11 seasons and 255 episodes of Happy Days.
Erin Moran first married Rocky Ferguson in 1987. She married her second husband Steve Fleishmann in 1993.
In 2010 her home in California was foreclosed and she moved to Indiana to live in a trailer park with her mother-in-law. Earlier this year she was evicted from the trailer park because of her “hard partying”.
