One of the all-time great TV dads, Tom Bosley passed away today at the age of 83.

Bosley had been battling lung cancer, but it’s said that the actor passed away due to heart failure at a hospital in Palm Springs.

The actor did many things over his career, but he is and always will be remembered as Howard Cunningham on the hit ’70s TV show, Happy Days. The show ran for ten years from 1974 to 1984 and spanned 255 episodes, all of which featured Bosley. Only his TV wife Marion Ross and the Fonz, Henry Winkler, appeared in every episode.

Apart from Happy Days, Bosley also had notable runs on Murder She Wrote, where he played Sheriff Amos Tupper, and in 44 episodes of Father Dowling Mysteries, his own series where he played the title character. Later in his career mainly consisted of smaller roles. He had a voice cameo as Howard Cunningham in the Church of the Fonz episode of Family Guy, and had 1-episode stints on shows like One Tree Hill and That ’70s Show.

Keep in mind that these are just a few of the many things Tom Bosley did over the course of his 50+ years in the business. He has over 140 credits to his name, and 50 appearances as himself on various game shows and talk shows.

Younger generations may not be so familiar with Mr. Bosley, but the world surely lost one of the best TV dad’s we’ll ever know, and an all-around beloved talent.

Tom Bosley
1927 – 2010

[Source: Yahoo!]