The actor died at his home just outside Palm Springs, California on Tuesday, his family said. Bosley's everyday manner and looks helped him forge a career in Hollywood as a character actor and guest star in a number of popular 1960s television shows such as "Route 66," "Dr. Kildare," "Marcus Welby, M.D." and "Bonanza."

But it was on the long-running "Happy Days" that he enjoyed his biggest success, playing the father of the show's central character Richie Cunningham, who was a teenager growing up in the 1950s. "Happy Days" ran from 1974 to 1984 and was a smash hit series that made Henry Winkler (Fonzie) a major Hollywood star and sparked the adult success of Ron Howard, who played Richie and would later go on to a career as a film director.

Winkler told a local Los Angeles radio station that the cast and crew were "a family" and that Bosley was "one of the dads on set." "I spoke to him just a few weeks ago, and he seemed to be getting his strength back and doing really well," Winkler said.