Remembering 'Happy Days' Star Erin Moran

CF Blog | April 24

Beloved Happy Days actress Erin Moran passed away over the weekend at the age of 56. Police received a 911 call about an unresponsive female in rural New Salisbury, Indiana. When responders arrived, it was too late; they determined that the woman, identified as Moran, had deceased. Officials have revealed the likely cause of death to be complications from stage 4 cancer.

Moran skyrocketed to fame when she was cast as Joanie Cunningham, the feisty younger sister of Ritchie Cunningham (Ron Howard), on the 1970's popular sitcom Happy Days. Erin started on the show at the age of 13 and audiences got to watch her grow up amidst a seemingly innocent backdrop of 1950's Milwaukee. The show was a hit, running eleven seasons between 1974 and 1984. And it inspired the short-lived spinoff Joanie Loves Chachi in which Moran starred alongside Scott Baio.

In a 2009 Xfinity interview, Moran expressed a lack of enthusiasm for the latter show, saying, "I don't have any favorite episodes from 'Joanie Loves Chachi.' I liked working with the people. But I didn't even want to do it. I was talked into it. I wanted to stay on 'Happy Days.' They were running them at the same time." Elaborating on her Happy Days costars, she continued, "What happened with all of us was like we were this family. It was so surreal with all the cast members. There was another moment where we forgot we were doing scenes. We forgot we were acting. They were my family, get it?"

Born in Burbank, Moran's mother supported her interest in acting by signing her with an agent when she was just five years old. Soon thereafter, Erin was cast in commercial followed by roles in television shows including Daktari, GunSmoke, and Family Affair.

Kate Winslet Shares Lessons She's Learned Along the Way

CF Blog | April 22

In a recent BAFTA Guru interview, Kate Winslet spoke about several lessons she learned over the course of her career. The English actress has built a celebrated and eclectic resume for over 20 years now. In return, she has received a whopping seven Academy Award nominations, winning one for her portrayal as a former concentration camp guard in The Reader.

The star recollected a lesson she learned from her father the day before she auditioned for what would come to be her film debut. Driving to get the script of Heavenly Creatures, a 17-year-old Kate excitedly said, "'Oh my God, Dad! It's an audition for a film! Wow! Do you think like I might get it?' And he just looked at me and said, 'Yeah, you will.'" This assurance struck the aspiring actress. She continued, "I remember thinking, 'That's it, isn't it? I've got to absolutely believe that I'm going to get this part...And I do remember thinking, 'Okay, I'm going to go in there and I'm going to somehow give them no option but to give me this part.' And of course a part of that is remaining incredibly calm." So she consciously tried to appear "not too desperate." Indeed, Winslet landed the part of the obsessive, fantasy-gripped Juliet Hulme. Kate insists she was lucky to land such a good part so early in her career especially because critics took note of her performance and her name became immediately known in the industry.

The following year, she received much praise for her portrayal as the plucky Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, but it was her role as the passionate socialite Rose DeWitt Bukater in the epic romance Titanic that thrust her into stardom.

In her many roles, Winslet has made a point of accepting everyone in the cast and crew. She admits, "Actors can be quite weird. They all have their sort of ticks and ways, and it's such a privilege to see how odd everyone is. But at the same time, it can really affect your day and how you're playing a role if you allow yourself to be caught up in someone else's stuff or process." Also, to feel like she's part of a team, she goes out of her way to learn the names of all the crew members and makes a point to "really join in."

Winslet's biggest challenge on set is to stay focussed. She says, "You can rehearse, and you can plan everything, and you can think you have a framework that you want to stick with or a few ideas that you want to remember to keep in your back pocket. And sometimes the craziness of an on-set environment can be so intense that you can find yourself forgetting all of those things that you planned." In response, she makes sure to find quiet places to check in with her thoughts amidst the hustle and bustle.