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Sunday, April 6, 2008

Do You Remember Joanie Loves Chachi?

Neither do I but Lee Mazzilli sure does.
Mazzilli appeared in 130 episodes of Happy Days from 1977 to 1984 and 17 episodes of Joanie Loves Chachi from 1982-1983. At first he was able to deal with the dual role of ball-player/actor. He was an All-Star in 1977, his first year on Happy Days. He hit .303 with 15 Home Runs and 32 stolen bases.
Mazzilli went on to star in Charles in charge from 1984-1990 while he baseball career deteriorated to mostly pinch hitting and fill-in work. His career highlights include a 1986 World Championship, several young actor awards, and the honor of being banned from the Playboy mansion. Apparently Hugh didn't like him dating the girls he was also "dating".

Seriously, doesn't Lee Mazzilli look like Scott Baio. Mazzilli actually did take up acting. He performed in the Off Broadway hit, Tony n' Tina's Wedding. He now works as an analyst for the Mets cable network while Baio is on yet another reality show about himself.
My brother thinks maybe Lee took over for Scott, causing his acting career to fade. At the same time, Scott must have taken over for Lee, causing his batting average to plummet. Or are they the same person???

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for Mazzilli. He's 45 and single, and his girlfriend is expecting. Such a sad story.

capewood said...

All I remember about Lee Mazzilli is that a girl I was with at a Phillies-Mets game in the 70's thought Lee had a nice a**.