Heroes in Business - Anson Williams Producer & Director plus Actor known as Potsie on Happy Days, Founder Drowsy Driving organization is interviewed by David Cogan

Episode Date: July 12, 2024

Anson Williams known for playing Potsie from Happy Days in interviewed by David Cogan of Eliances Heroes radio show amfm. They discuss life on the Happy Days set, working with icons from the TV and film industry like Ron Howard, Henry Winkler and the rest of the cast. Williams continued to work in production and direction on many films and TV shows including current projects. He also talked about working to end drowsy driving with his uncle, Dr. Heimlich of the famed Heimlich Maneuver. They use the power of pepper and lemon to instantly wake up and avoid accidents when driving drowsy.

Up in the sky, look, it's captivating, it's energizing, it's Eliance's Heroes. Eliance's is the destination for entrepreneurs, investors, CEOs, inventors, leaders, celebrities, and startups, where our heroes in business align. Here's celebrities and startups, where our heroes in business align. Now, here's your host flying in, David Kogan, founder of Eliance's. Thank you again. That's right. This is David Kogan, and this show is all about heroes. Remember, those are ones that are builders. They are doing something. They are leaving their mark in the community.

And imagine if you could unlock the secrets of them to live a more fulfilling life. The lineup for today is like no other. Before I tell you who we first have, let me tell you the rest of the show. We have a seven-time lottery grand prize winner. He's going to share some secrets of how he did that. We have an Inc. 500-5000 software company founder. And we'll be ending the segment with a 12- that's right 12 time olympic medalist for swimming and what she has to share unbelievable but without further ado listen real carefully well that's right it's a happy day today because we have the Thursday, Friday, happy days. The weekend comes, my cycle hums. Ready to race to you. Well, that's right. It's a happy day today because we have the honor of interviewing the TV sitcom happy day star known as Potsy.

His actual name is Anson William. Anson worked on that show with Henry Winkler, who played the Fonz, Ron Howard, who played Richie Cunningham, and so many others. Anson, you are an icon. I, along with millions, grew up watching you on TV. You were in a gazillion episodes. I've got to ask you, though, with all of those episodes that you were in, what is the single most memorable moment of doing the show that made an impact on you?

Wow, what a question. Good morning. The single moment. I would say, well, as far as me personally and entrepreneurially, it was the moment Gary Marshall let me sing on the show. I mean, it was my idea, and I was able to sell him on the idea, and he allowed me to sing on the show. I mean, it was my idea, and I was able to sell him on the idea, and he allowed me to sing on the show, and that opened up my world. That moment was huge. That's incredible. And I got to tell you, I feel like your family, because I watched

growing up probably almost every episode, and I feel like, I mean, as I'm sure many people do, but picture this, if you will, going back maybe to the first time you were on the set, looking at yourself, probably a little nervous, as I'm sure everyone else was on the set. It's new. Nobody knows really the direction, what's going to happen, what the future may be. But maybe what advice would you give to yourself now going back and being able to talk to yourself for the first episode? to yourself now going back and being able to talk to yourself for the first episode? Well, it was a complex series of events that got Happities on the air. So there is a moment, but it wasn't really when the show first started. We did a pilot to begin with. It didn't sell.

And then a year later, American Graffiti came out, and they decided to do another pilot, and that one sold. However, it was a one-camera show. And by that time, I mean, we were all professional actors, so you're a little nervous about, you know, do I get the character right, what's going to happen, all the unknown factors. But I never had that moment of not being able to do my job. However, when they decided at the third season to turn it into a live audience show, where all of a sudden you're doing the show on a whole different platform live, then I got nervous. And then I got nervous.

But I actually, I don't know, what I tell myself today, I don't think I would have told myself anything. I think we just, you have the butterflies, the stage fright, but the one thing you do is you move forward, move through it. And I would just remind myself to move through it. Don't be frozen from fear. Just move through it. And everything works. And, I mean, you spent a considerable amount of time on this set of Happy Days.

I'm sure working, I couldn't imagine how many hours just a day, how many hours a day on average would you be working on the show? Well, when we first started the show, one camera, it could be 14, 16 hours because we were so behind in shows, and we had to do a new episode every three and a half days, like a movie. So it was exhausting. You left when it was dark. You came home when it was dark.

We didn't even know the popularity of the show because we had no life. This went on for months. However, once we switched to live audience, three camera, we'd come in for an hour on monday to read uh three hours on tuesday to rehearse five hours uh let's say maybe six hours on wednesday uh maybe five hours on wednesday thursday camera blocking maybe seven hours and then friday nights we'd shoot we'd get there at noon and we'd be in our cars at 9 p.m. I mean, incredible. It was like the greatest job in the world. You had plenty of time to do so many other things,

and yet it was always exciting every week because it was always a Broadway opening. It was always live. It was always new. Every Friday night you had that adrenaline rush. Everything that comes with a live show, it was a fantastic experience. And you're listening to Eliance's Heroes. Are you a hero in business?

Go to Eliance's.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. And we have Anson Williams that we're interviewing. He was Potsy on Happy Days. I mean, so many people grew up watching you. Unbelievable. But now you're doing so many things. In fact, too, you're an author. Tell us a little bit about the book that you wrote.

Well, I wrote a book. It's called Singing to a Bulldog. And Reader's Digest published it. It was interesting the way it started. They called me up just to write a couple of articles because I have all these Forrest Gump stories, meaning, you know, what am I doing getting kidnapped by the President of the United States' daughter at the White House

and getting kidnapped out to a Harold Mulvey and the Blue Notes concert? Who am I to meet Elvis Presley in a parking lot in Monroe, Louisiana? Who am I to spend a day with John Lennon on the set? So they asked me if I'd write a couple articles about these experiences. But then it dawned on me that there would have been no stories without a man by the name of Willie Turner. And Willie Turner was my janitor in high school. I was assistant janitor. He was my boss, head janitor.

He was African-American, uneducated, and alcoholic. And he called his janitorial room the talk room. And at the time, I was this not confident kid. I felt lower than a beetle bug. My own upbringing didn't give me a lot of self-esteem. This man took the time. He sat on those oil drum cans. And the time I worked at Leonard's apartment store, Willie Turner helped me find me. He helped me find me. By the time I was done with that job, I knew who I was, what I was good at, and I went forward. And if it wasn't for Willie Turner, I wouldn't be talking to you today.

So I wrote a book with all these great stories, but each story has a bigger story. I take the reader back to the talk room, Willie Turner. So he or she gets the same life lessons I did. So Willie Turner, I'm paying Willie forward to everyone else to have the same experience I did that gave me the tools to win in life. Remarkable. And that's the book. Remarkable.

That's the book. Singing the Bulldog, that relates to, I was talking about singing on the show. Right. He let me do it, but I had to sing to a bulldog. And I sang, I'm all shook up to a bulldog. But Gary liked it, and all of a sudden I'm singing on every third show, I get a record deal, I'm doing concerts all over the country.

So to me, Jump the Shark is the moment when there's a downturn. Singing to Bulldog is the moment where it's your upturn. Incredible. You can get the book at Amazon.com, Singing to a Bulldog. So go to Amazon.com, look up Singing to a Bulldog, and make sure that you get that. Plus, too, is you have so much going on, so many projects that you're doing and stuff. But I think one that's important, too, that I've heard about is, well, you have a pretty famous uncle, too.

Share with us who that is. Well, Dr. Heimlich of the Heimlich Maneuver. And I was fortunate. I was just out of circumstance, and there's a story in the book. I was able to, just because of a fluke, I got the Heimlich Maneuver on national television for the first time on the Merv Griffin Show. And Hank came up, did it on Merv. We saved lives that night when it aired.

And then a few weeks later, he went on the Johnny Carson Show, and the Heimlich Maneu maneuver was known all over the world but but he's been a great influence in my life not only as a human being but also he has such a great understanding of sensory connection of body and and all these alternative ways to help help people. And I started a product business 18, 19 years ago. We were on QVC for a decade. But because of his saving my life years ago, I fell asleep at the wheel coming back from a location, almost killed myself.

And Dr. Heimlich said, just buy it into a lemon, and he explained the sensory connection to tongue and brain, the lingual nerve, and how that particular nerve automatically gives your body adrenaline. It's not even in your system. It's just a reflex action of adrenaline. So I started biting into lemons, and I never had a problem again. Recently, a few years ago, it became clear there's this epidemic in America called drowsy driving. it became clear there's this epidemic in America called drowsy driving.

More people are dead from drowsy driving than drugs or alcohol combined while driving a car. 168 million drowsy drivers. Nobody has anything that works. If you drink coffee, it takes 20 minutes to take effect. All that energy stuff just makes you feel lousy. And I thought, why can't we put a lemon into a spray drop? So we invented Alert Drops, which literally is like biting into a lemon, you spray it on your tongue and bam, your adrenaline instantly hits your body and you're instantly awake. Nothing in your body, all natural.

Incredible. Yeah, and it's called Alert Drops, inspired by Dr. Heinrich. It'll be on the market probably the end of August. Incredible. Well, Anson, you do so much. I'll tell you, a hero is someone who, after a successful career in TV and film, acting and directing, helping others, working with your uncle, Dr. Heimlich, you're today's heroes.

Happy days are here. With that, when we return, we're going to have the seven-time lottery grand prize winner, David Kogan with Eliance's.