'I used to be very poor': Happy Days mom Marion Ross, 86, describes pain of being broke and divorced at 40
She is best known as the cheerful 'Mrs. C' on Happy Days.
But actress Marion Ross’ days were once not as charmed as the sitcom’s take on ‘50s-‘60s life.
‘When I was 40, I got divorced. Nobody had a job [for me], and I had two small children,’ the TV veteran recently revealed in an interview with Closer weekly.
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Poor and not happy: Actress Marion Ross was devastated after a divorce left her broke with two children to care for and no prospects for work at the age of 40; she made the revelation in a recent interview with Closer; seen above, she poses at an event in November
Happier times: By 1974 she scored a role as Mrs. C in the hit series Happy Days; seen above, a promotion photo of Marion Ross in 1974
'I rented out one of the bedrooms in my house to pick up some money,' she added. 'I’d think, I made $35 today. It was hard.'
Marion, who enjoyed TV and film success before losing it all, made her debut at the age of 25 on the big screen alongside Ginger Rogers in Forever Female in 1953.
She went on to regularly acting in classic TV shows like The Lone Ranger, The Donna Reed Show, The Brady Bunch, The Fugitive, Father Knows Best and more.
But she found herself struggling to pay bills after her marriage ended in 1968 and career stalled.
She recalled a moment when her son, Jim, asked why they could not afford a hair dryer and she responded to him: 'We can’t afford it.'
Steady work: Marion was on Happy Days for 10 years and earned two Emmy nods; seen above, an image from the Happy Days series in 1972
The Evening Star Golden Globe Award nominee's hard times paralleled her upbringing, she told the magazine.
‘My parents had lived through the Depression,' she said. 'I’d seen my mother always working at something.'
She added: 'That’s my attitude.'
Marion reveals heartache she suffered at 40 in Closer weekly
Marion's career was revived by 1974, she was then aged 46, and won the role of homemaker Marion Cunningham on Happy Days, which starred Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Scott Baio and her TV husband Tom Bosley, who played hardware store owner Mr. Cunningham.
Though Marion's career was moving forward, she revealed to the magazine that behind the scenes she still suffered heartache, years later, from her divorce.
'It had been 10 years (since the breakup),' she explained. 'I'd thought I would get over it quickly, get everything straight in my head. So I went to see a shrink, and I do recommend it for anyone.'
She credits the therapy sessions for helping her to move on and later find love again. But romance came much later for Marion, as a 60-year-old with her former partner of 23 years, Paul Michael (who died in 2011).
For her performance in Happy Days, where she spent a decade on screen, she received two Primetime Emmy nominations. The series ended in 1984, but job offers continued, including spots on The Love Boat, Brooklyn Bridge and movies.
In her role opposite Shirley MacLaine in 1996's The Evening Star, she earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Now aged 86 and with plenty of projects in her queue, she compared her work ethic to her peers Betty White, aged 93, and Carl Reiner, 92, who are still steadily working, saying, 'It's such a joy to be in the game at my age.'
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