Scott Baio was the clean-cut, all-American star of Happy Days. He was so popular with viewers that he even got his own spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, after the main series. But his career hasn’t always lived up to its early promise. Nor has he lived up to his most famous character’s squeaky-clean reputation, as a whole host of accusations and misfortunes have followed him around...
A Big City Childhood
Christened with the full name Scott James Vincent Baio, it’s unsurprising to learn that the actor’s family were Italian immigrants who settled in Brooklyn, New York. His mother, Rose, kept the family home spick and span while his father, Mario, worked every hour to provide for his family, often in several jobs at once.
When stardom came calling, Mario would later act as his son’s manager. Scott has revealed in interviews that his childhood was nothing out of the ordinary but that he loved life in Brooklyn. His school days were spent at Xaverian in Bay Ridge but there was no teenage love of treading the boards. His introduction to show business came earlier in life, through his cousins.
Scott’s Cousins Influenced Casting Calls
When children grow up in a close family, their cousins can almost be like siblings. Family gatherings are a great opportunity to get together and meet members of the family of a similar age who can, consciously or not, influence their behavior. Scott was no different as his cousins set him on the road to acting fame.
Jimmy and Joey Baio were already attending casting sessions for TV commercials and other shows. Not only that, they were passing the auditions and getting parts too; Joey had a role on the Monkees sitcom of the '60s. Perhaps young Scott saw the success of his family members and felt that he wanted a slice of the same pie. Or maybe Rose and Mario had a reason for wanting Scott to follow in his familial footsteps when they saw the other youngsters’ success and they sent Scott to auditions.
Keeping Out of Trouble
In fact, Rose and Mario’s motivation for Scott to act was less about financial gain and more about keeping their boy on the straight and narrow. Scott was starting to make a name for himself in their local area that wasn’t always positive. As he got older, his behavior was becoming more and more anti-social.
Like most teenage boys, he was bursting with hormones and a feeling of wanting to make his mark on the world. Acting would be the ideal expression for him, so his parents encouraged him to go to the auditions and to take lessons where people would take notice of him.
Successful First Auditions
Successful First Auditions
The young actor’s good looks, enthusiasm, and natural ability to portray whoever he was asked to portray were making him hot property. Offers were coming through thick and fast for all kinds of shows and it was only a matter of time before the movie industry sat up and took notice. When it did, it was for the greatest children’s movie of a generation.
Baio the Boy Gangster
Bugsy Malone is a movie still held in hugely high regard, more than 40 years after it premiered in theaters. With his slicked, side-parted hair, Scott looked every inch the 1920s gangster in the Pacino mold, especially with his childhood moll - played by Jodie Foster - on his arm. A unique movie required a unique star.
It was a big ask for Scott to step into the lead role for his first film but he managed it perfectly. His is obviously one of the stand-out roles in the story where adults are played by children and it could have gone horribly wrong. Thanks to swift direction from British director Alan Parker, the flick was a hit, still beloved today.
More Than Two Thousand to One
Legend has it that Baio was one of more than 2,000 young hopefuls who auditioned for the title role in Bugsy Malone. The odds were stacked against him but his sheer force of personality and talent won the day. Award nominations cemented its status as one of 1976’s most creative movies.
It was remarkable that Scott landed the role. He later recounted how in the audition he’d decided he’d already had enough of acting at the tender age of 16 and he wanted to forge another path in life. So, he stormed out of the room. Alan Parker had seen the attitude the character needed in Scott and the role was unintentionally his.
Happy Days Indeed
He’d made his mark in Hollywood, and after Bugsy Malone it was now time for Scott to be beamed into millions of homes on the small screen. Invited to audition for the role of Chachi Arcola in 1950s-themed network smash Happy Days, he was successful and his endearing partnership with Henry Winkler’s character Fonzie began.
It was to be this role above all others that Scott would be remembered for. He became a huge star practically overnight thanks to his character’s quick wit and close friendship with the star of the show. Stratospheric stardom was coming after his first appearance in the show, just a year after his Hollywood debut.
Chachi Makes His Name
Scott’s portrayal of Chachi soon made him one of the most popular stars of the show. Not only was his relationship with his cousin Fonzie an element that gave the show heart, but he also had a budding romance with Joanie Cunningham, portrayed by Erin Moran. Despite his newcomer status, Scott was getting some big storylines.
The Cunninghams were the focal point of the entire series, so for Chachi to be linked with the daughter was quite a coup for young Scott. As well as his character’s romantic interest, the producers also played upon Scott’s ability to hold a tune as they had him sing on several occasions.
Chachi’s Popularity Explodes
Like many other characters introduced in the four seasons of the show before his arrival, Scott’s time on Happy Days was only supposed to be brief. Unsurprisingly, his character went on to be much more popular than the production team could ever have dreamed. His handsome looks and easy personality made him especially popular with the teenage girl audience.
Mailbags to the studios began bulging with thousands and thousands of fan letters every week for the new star of the show. The production team knew they had a hit on their hands and so Scott’s role was extended. More and more storylines began to feature him, highlighting his acting range from light-hearted to serious.
Blue Jeans and Good Genes
Baio’s signature look in Happy Days was very of its 1970s time. His tight, powder blue jeans and shoulder-length hair gave him the same kind of image as other teenage heart-throbs in the charts or movie theaters. But there were other factors which he had in his favor too, including the way he talked.
Scott never changed his accent. What the audience saw was very much what they got in terms of the actor’s authenticity and honesty to himself. He didn’t compromise who he was for a character and it lent him a charm, which led to greater respect from the audience. His popularity was cemented.
Following Musical Direction
The turn towards a more musical direction for Chachi was not something Scott was immediately comfortable with. He figured that he didn’t have a great singing voice, so it was a pointless act by the writers to develop plotlines in which he and Joanie sang, played instruments, and made sweet music.
Scott soon had a rethink though. He surmised, not unreasonably, that with the appeal of a pop singer as well as an actor, he could have twice the popularity. That’s twice the magazine front pages, twice the talk show appearances, and, ultimately, twice the fame. He soon changed his tune and went with Chachi’s new direction.
Scott’s Resume Lengthens
Being the newest and brightest star in Happy Days did wonders for Scott’s reputation. Calls from other casting directors were soon flooding through to his manager and despite his filming schedule, he was able to appear in lots of other shows. One such appearance was in 1970s classic The Love Boat.
He also made it onto Fantasy Island and The Runways. However, his most significant part in a TV show that wasn’t Happy Days was the regular appearances in Who’s Watching the Kids? He made strides on the big screen too, as movie castings also followed, including parts in Skatetown, USA, and Foxes.
Not Just the Boy Next-Door
Scott showed off his adaptability even further in 1980 when he appeared in a couple of much more serious roles than those he usually accepted. The first was in The Boy Who Drank Too Much in which he played a student addicted to booze. His next project was Stoned, which acted as a public information film warning of the dangers of drugs.
The ABC special went on to win awards for its frank depictions of the effects of drugs on teenage minds and bodies. It showed how life for users can descend into a downward spiral all too quickly. But there was no such spiral for Scott; his career was going from strength to strength and his reputation was growing by the week.
“And the Winner Is…”
It would have been tempting to pass Scott’s early success off as a fad, built on foundations no stronger than his looks. But his two starring roles in The Boy Who Drank Too Much and Stoned made audiences sit up and take notice. This was no flash-in-the-pan, fly-by-night teen idol. He had something more about him.
The confirmation of this newfound respect came when Scott scooped not one, but two Young Artist Awards. The first was for his hard-hitting portrayal in Stoned while the other reflected his more frivolous, but no less demanding, role in Happy Days. Both acted as the perfect representation of his range.
Here Comes the Spin-Off
In time-honored tradition, the producers of Happy Days and the network chiefs got together to figure out how they could further exploit the success of Scott’s character. The result was the spin-off that was all set to make Joanie and Chachi bigger stars in their own right, as Joanie Loves Chachi went into production.
The show covered how the lovers moved to Chicago to pursue their dreams. With a mix of the comedy of the original show and the music that was fast becoming the characters’ trademarks, there were high hopes from ABC that they’d have another huge hit on their hands in no time at all.
A Great Start
Joanie Loves Chachi had all the ingredients needed for success. The original stars kept their roles, and crucially the chemistry between them. They had a more than capable supporting cast backing them up and giving ample, able support and fans also showed their appreciation at the proposed storylines.
Initially, the spin-off plan devised by the network executives and the production team was running perfectly. Ratings were high and reviews were favorable. This might have been because there was little competition for the show, though, and because in its slot immediately after the original show, one simply melted into the other.
Ratings Tumble
The second season of Joanie Loves Chachi is one of the most cautionary tales in American TV scheduling history. After the first season did well, bosses changed its slot and pitched it against an already successful show that would rightly be seen as one of the 1980s’ most iconic shows. As it was, Joanie Loves Chachi didn’t stand a chance against The A-Team.
The end, when it came, was brutal. ABC pulled Joanie Loves Chachi at the end of only the second season. Just 17 episodes of the show, which was going to be one of ABC’s great hopes, were broadcast as Face, Hannibal, B.A. Baracus and Howling Mad Murdock became the icons of the decade instead.
A Full and Frank Admission
Scott went on record after the cancelation and was refreshingly honest about his feelings towards the flop. He admitted that he felt he should never have made the show in the first place. However, he said that he agreed because it was initially going to be made by the same team behind Happy Days.
The backroom staff on the show soon changed - and not for the better, in Scott’s opinion. The new writers didn’t have the same feeling for the characters as their original creators which frayed tensions, as did some of their recreational narcotics use on which Scott shone an unflinching light. He said, simply, that if he had his time again then he wouldn’t make the show.
Scott Rolled His Sleeves Up and Went to Work
Undeterred by the disaster that was the Happy Days spin-off, Scott set about reinforcing his reputation. Keen to show that he wasn’t defined by either the original or the canceled show, he went to audition and work on a variety of different projects. Again, these highlighted his ability to play many different parts.
Looking back, some of these might not have been the wisest career decisions. Take, for example, Zapped! A screwball teen sex comedy that even Porky’s would look down its nose at, Scott’s presence in the movie at least showed that he had what it took to pass an audition. His music career also took off as he recorded his debut long-player.
Scott’s in Charge
His body of work and regular role in one of the world’s most beloved sitcoms paid off in 1984 when Scott was named as the main character in CBS’s Charles in Charge. His experience in the Happy Days spin-off must have seemed like a recurring nightmare in his new show’s early days, as ratings weren’t great.
Maybe this was because it was up against both The Fall Guy and Highway to Heaven. The network permitted the broadcast of every episode that had been made of the sitcom so far, but while the show was by no means a disaster, something wasn’t quite right. Changes needed to be made.
A Fresh Start
CBS believed in Charles in Charge and they also believed in Scott Baio. They kept only him and Willie Aames from the cast of the show’s first season and totally refreshed the rest of the cast. It proved to be an inspired decision as the actors gelled and the show began its terrific run of 126 episodes over five seasons.
The break that Charles in Charge was given after its first season saved the show. Things didn’t look great when it was replaced on Wednesday evenings by Double Dare, but the addition of James T. Callahan and Nicole Eggert gave the comedy the fresh start and the chemistry that the network felt it needed.
Actor, Director, Writer
Being the main name in the credits of his all-conquering sitcom, Scott could now call the shots a bit more and do things he’d never previously had the chance to do. For more than 35 episodes of the show, he was the man who yelled “ACTION!” as he sat in the director’s chair. One episode even flowed from his fingers as he wrote it himself.
But there were always other roles in front of the camera too. He scored several other roles while he was still contracted to Charles in Charge, including Out of This World, of which he also directed several episodes. He was also seen in My Two Dads and Full House and he appeared in many episodes of Baby Talk.
Serious Acting Calls
After his time on Baby Talk came to an end, Scott decided it was time to take a break from the world of comedy into the arena of serious acting. He auditioned for a new show called Diagnosis: Murder in which the successful actor would be starring alongside acting royalty, Dick van Dyke.
Viewers weren’t put off by an actor who had made his name in sitcoms transferring to a hospital-based whodunnit. His character, Dr. Jack Stewart, proved very popular in his 41 appearances in the show. Scott’s decision that he wanted to be taken more seriously proved to be the right one.
The Final Few Roles
Despite the favorable reaction to his character in Diagnosis: Murder, it proved to be Scott’s final significant role in front of the camera. Guest roles in various shows followed, as did minor roles in TV movies, but it wasn’t until 2012 that he got his mojo back in another TV comedy.
See Dad Run aired on Nick At Nite and the producers gave the former teen idol 55 episodes to show his mettle. It was a successful stint as he also progressed into the position of executive producer of the show. However, a return to the glory years hasn’t happened - and there are some unfortunate reasons for that.
There Was A Lot Going On
The reasons why Scott has never been quite able to recapture the success of his younger days are many. He was the man who had it all, but the reason why his parents wanted him to get into acting in the first place seemed to be buried deep inside Scott’s psyche. He had something of a self-destructive streak.
It became clear from stories in the press that Scott wasn’t an easy man to be in a relationship with. He was accused of sexual misdemeanors by a former co-star and his personal political views have also attracted criticism. Added to this are stories of tragedy in his family. They all combine to form a sad picture of Scott Baio.
First, the Women
Scott’s fondness for the fairer sex was evident from the very start of his career. With the teen magazines taking a keen interest in the heartthrob from his first appearances in Happy Days onwards, he was always going to have the most beautiful women in his sights. Brooke Shields was one of the first.
The two dated before they had even hit their 20s, while Scott’s character Chachi was making them roll in the aisles in Happy Days. Shields understood the pressure of being a teen actor as well, having starred in Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, so in many ways they were well-matched.
The Inevitable Co-Star Relationship
The chemistry between Scott and his Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi co-star Erin Moran was there for all to see. It was therefore almost inevitable that the two would become romantically linked. So it proved, as all those screen kisses started to be replicated in real life, off-set when the camera stopped rolling.
Their coupling was the talk of the gossip columns, and with good cause. Some over-zealous fans were distraught at their favorite stars finding love, but most were delighted, but the fling was just one of many for Scott. It fizzled out almost as quickly as it began as the two moved on to new partners - with whom they didn’t have to work every day.
Controversial Comments
Erin Moran fell on some hard times after Joanie Loves Chachi was canceled - hard times that exhibited themselves through reported 'hard-partying' that supposedly was the cause of her being removed from her home. But when she passed away in 2017, the cause was stage 4 throat cancer; no illegal substances were found to have been involved.
And yet, Scott made comments saying he was, "...not completely shocked that this happened. My thing is, I feel bad because her whole life, she was troubled, could never find what made her happy and content. For me, you do drugs or drink, you’re gonna die. I’m sorry if that’s cold, but God gave you a brain, gave you the will to live and thrive, and you gotta take care of yourself." He later walked these comments back after the cancer diagnosis was made public, but said that the backlash he received on social media was from liberal people 'attacking' him "because I'm a conservative."
Scott, the Ladies Man
The breakup with Moran seemed to flick a switch in Scott’s head. He embarked on doomed relationship after doomed relationship with a host of beauties. Heather Locklear was one of the women he dated but he found a way to destroy their time together, which he later admitted he regretted in a moment of candor.
He described Heather as the first person he ever fell in love with: "She is the greatest chick in the world and I just ruined it." He schmoozed through the US TV party scene as he tried to mend his broken heart, with the most disastrous move he made being on his Charles in Charge co-star Nicole Eggert. Their 11-year age difference was the least of his worries.
Allegations Made Against Scott
Nicole Eggert played one of the three children looked after by Scott’s character in Charles in Charge, so the relationship between the two was already on strange psychological ground. In 2013, she gave an interview that seemed to confirm the dynamic between the two that had been picked up on by the press.
She boldly claimed that Scott had behaved improperly towards her in a sexual way back in the days when they worked together and she was just a minor. Scott was quick to deny the allegations made against him by the actress, who went on to have a successful career in shows such as Baywatch and in movies.
More Details On Nicole’s Twitter
The 2013 interview given by Nicole was a revelation but she largely shunned requests from the media for more in-depth answers. That was until 2018, when she decided to tell-all, but chose to do it on her own terms, on Twitter. In a series of tweets, she referred to herself as a “molested child” and said that "It was strange and it was in a weird way okay — or I thought it was okay...I didn’t tell anybody at all. He also had conversations with me being very clear that nobody could know, and that it was illegal, and that everybody could lose their job, including myself."
She also went into detail about the encounters that she claimed to have been subjected to by Scott. Allegations were made about abuse committed on her when she was aged 14, 15, 16 and 17, as well as full sexual intercourse when she was still under the age of consent. The tweets were later deleted.
More Allegations From a Co-Star
After Nicole Eggert made her claims about Scott public, one of their Charles in Charge co-stars also felt that the time was right to speak up. Alexander Polinsky was a child star in the show. He claimed to have witnessed and been subject to wholly inappropriate behavior from the show’s star with regards to Eggert, and said that Scott "hazed" and "tortured" him with homophobic taunts: "He said I’d never be loved by a woman because I was so effeminate."
Polinsky also took to Twitter to add his voice to those against Scott. In fact, he reached out to Baio and said that he wanted to talk to him, specifically about the things that happened to him and the things that he saw on the sitcom’s set. Like Nicole’s tweets, Alexander subsequently deleted his posts as well.
All Allegations Denied by Scott
Scott came out fighting against these lurid allegations and has denied them all on more than one occasion. He even harnessed the power of social media himself when he started a live stream in 2018. In real-time, and broadcast to the world, he went through the allegations against him and said they were false, one by one. On Nicole specifically, he said the two had only entered a physical relationship after she was 18.
He showed his own documents on the stream which he was adamant proved his innocence. He also made claims about the other two stars of the show ganging up against him and using the allegations against him to promote their own interests. It’s a spat that continues to this day.
More and More Famous Partners
Scott’s reputation as a ladies' man was enhanced as time went on and he dated more and more of his fellow stars. The female lead from the National Lampoon's Vacation series of films, Beverly D’Angelo, was seen on Scott’s arm and he also entered into a fiery relationship with Liza Minelli.
Despite being almost 15 years his senior, Minelli was keen to have Scott’s children. Being relatively young at the time, this didn’t appeal to him and the relationship drew to a close. After that, he was seen with more famous women including Pamela Anderson and her Baywatch co-star, Erika Eleniak.
Love and Marriage at Last
In 2007, Scott was offered a route back into the spotlight as part of the newfound craze for reality TV. He was given the chance to be the star of a show which looked at his relationship breakdowns and, with the help of an expert, see where he went wrong. Scott Baio is 45… and Single aired the same year.
Scott obviously had his eyes opened by the show. At the time, he was in a relationship with Renee Sloan, who he had met in the '90s at the Playboy Mansion. When his life coach showed him how his behavior had led to the title of the show, he pledged to change his ways - starting with a proposal to his partner.
More Responsibilities - And Sadness
The all-new Scott Baio didn’t just take a wife when he married Renee. He also embraced Renee’s 18-year-old daughter Kalyn into his life as his stepdaughter. And as well as that, Scott became a father himself for the first time as Renee gave birth. It was, however, a pregnancy with a huge element of sadness to it.
Initially expecting twins, one of the babies that Renee was carrying died less than three months into the pregnancy. The surviving baby was named Bailey by the couple, after she was born more than a month early. She continues to live a healthy life to this day after she was born in 2007, the same year her parents married.
Giving Hope Through Charity
The condition from which the twin died was incredibly complex, but doctors feared that Scott and Renee’s heartbreak wasn’t over yet. They thought that Bailey was living with the same condition, which led to her having to spend a considerable amount of time in the hospital. However, it was discovered that the diagnosis was a mistake and Bailey continues to live a healthy life.
The death of Bailey’s unborn twin hit Scott and Renee hard. They realized though that with their showbusiness profiles, they could raise awareness of similar conditions and help other parents who were going through the same thing. This led to the formation of the couple’s charity, the Bailey Baio Angel Foundation.
Further Illnesses for the Family
The years following Bailey’s birth haven’t always been kind to the Baio family. In 2015, after a period of sickness, Renee was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She was then diagnosed with a second cancerous growth in the same area before in 2017 she was given the news that she was suffering from another complex, brain-related illness.
Faithful Renee has constantly been by Scott’s side as he’s fought to clear his name against the allegations he’s faced. Now he's returned the favor as a doting husband during his wife’s illnesses. He regularly told his social media followers how she was doing and asked them to keep his wife in their thoughts and prayers, saying "Renee is forever my rock, my life & my soulmate! Toughest person I know."
Politically-Charged Comments
Scott has never been shy about displaying his political leanings. Even as a young man, he endorsed Ronald Reagan’s Republican bid for the presidency and he even attended the former president’s funeral. He also threw his weight behind the ultimately successful candidate for the White House in 2016 too.
He sparked outrage in the left-leaning press with comments about Barack Obama and his religious faith. His views weren’t helpful for the prospect of fellow Americans living shoulder to shoulder in peace and harmony. They even led to him getting into physical altercations with opponents, including the wife of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ drummer.
Taking an Alternative View
Scott has also been an outspoken critic of TV news too, saying that what they present as fact isn’t always the case. Perhaps his most notable scream of “It’s a conspiracy!” was related to a school shooting, after which he shared on social media claims that the entire incident had been falsified.
After his critics turned on him for sharing these views after such an upsetting incident, Scott was typically bullish. He responded by saying he wasn’t interested in what those with a different viewpoint to his felt about anything. Even if it meant he never acted professionally again, he stood by his opinions as a proud patriot.
The Full Picture of Scott Baio
It’s quite clear that Scott Baio is a very complex man. Life hasn’t always been easy for him and he’s occasionally taken a wrong turn that has led him to some places where he might not necessarily wish to have gone. He’s even admitted that childhood, which is the foundation of our personalities, wasn’t always easy for him.
Whichever twists his life has taken, there’s a body of work he can look back on with pride. He gave joy to millions in his teenage years as Chachi in Happy Days and it was his presence that led to its spin-off. He’s worked ever since and he has a family who cherish him. Despite his ‘love him or hate him’ nature, he can’t be ignored.