What Is Don Most's Net Worth?
Don Most is an American actor, singer, director, producer, and writer who has a net worth of $2 million. Don Most is best known for playing Ralph Malph on the ABC series "Happy Days" (1974–1980; 1983). In 1974, Don made $12,500 per "Happy Days" episode. Most has more than 70 acting credits to his name, including the films "Leo and Loree" (1980), "Stewardess School" (1986), "EDtv" (1999), "The Great Buck Howard" (2008), "MBF: Man's Best Friend" (2019), "Lost Heart" (2020), and "When George Got Murdered" (2022), the TV movies "Huckleberry Finn" (1975) and "Dead Man's Island" (1996), and the television series "The Love Boat" (1979–1983), "Fantasy Island" (1981–1982), "Murder, She Wrote" (1986; 1990), "Star Trek: Voyager" (2001), "Glee" (2011–2013), and "The Bold and the Beautiful" (2017). Don has also lent his voice to the animated shows "The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang" (1980–1981), "Dungeons & Dragons" (1983–1985), and "Teen Wolf" (1986–1987). Most wrote and directed the 2007 film "Moola," and he directed and produced the 2011 film "Harley's Hill." He directed one episode of the 2020 web series "Viral Vignettes," and he appeared in three episodes and produced all 12 episodes of the series. Don also released a self-titled album in 1976, followed by a holiday album, "Swinging Down The Chimney Tonight," in 2016.
"Happy Days" Lawsuit
In 2011, Most and four "Happy Days" co-stars sued CBS, which owns the series, claiming they had not received payments for merchandising revenues owed to them. Each ended up receiving $65,000 and will continue to receive any merchandise revenue owed to them.
Early Life
Don Most was born Donald Most on August 8, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in a Jewish household in Flatbush, and he attended Erasmus Hall High School. After graduating in 1970, Don enrolled at Lehigh University, but he dropped out after three years. Most initially intended to study engineering, but he switched his major to business after one semester. He planned to spend the summer of 1973 searching for acting jobs before finishing college, but on his third audition, he landed the role of Ralph Malph and subsequently moved to Los Angeles.
(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Acting Career
In 1974, Don began playing Ralph Malph on "Happy Days" alongside Ron Howard, Marion Ross, Anson Williams, Tom Bosley, and Henry Winkler. The series aired 255 episodes over 11 seasons, and Don left after season seven and returned as a guest star during the final season. Don reprised his role on the animated series "The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang," which aired from 1980 to 1981, and he appeared in the "Happy Days Reunion Special" (1992) and "Happy Days: 30th Anniversary Reunion" (2005). In the '70s, he guest-starred on "Emergency!" (1973), "Police Story" (1974), "Petrocelli" (1976), "ABC Weekend Specials" (1978), and "Greatest Heroes of the Bible" (1979), starred as Tom Sawyer in the TV movie "Huckleberry Finn" (1975), and appeared in the film "Crazy Mama" (1975). Most played Leo in the 1980 film "Leo and Loree," then he guest-starred on "Aloha Paradise" (1981), "Fantasy Island" (1981–1982), "CHiPs" (1982), "Masquerade" (1984), "Murder, She Wrote" (1986; 1990), "The Munsters Today" (1989), and "Charles in Charge" (1989). He also guest-starred in five episodes of "The Love Boat" between 1979 and 1983 and appeared in the 1986 film "Stewardess School."
In the '90s, Don appeared in the films "Acting on Impulse" (1993), "Hourglass" (1995), and "EDtv" (1999) and the TV movie "Dead Man's Island" (1996) and guest-starred on "Shades of LA" (1990), "The New Lassie" (1991), "Baywatch" (1993), "Sliders" (1996), "Dark Skies" (1997), "Diagnosis Murder" (1998), and "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven" (1998–1999). Next, Most appeared in the films "The Thundering 8th" (2000), "Planting Melvin" (2005), "The Great Buck Howard" (2008), "Finding Madison" (2008), "The Yankles" (2009), "Bones" (2010), "Campin' Buddies" (2014), "Follow" (2015), "Six LA Love Stories" (2016), "Remember Isobel" (2018), "Bigfoot, UFOs and Jesus" (2021), "When George Got Murdered" (2022), and "County Line: No Fear" (2022), and he won awards for 2019's "MBF: Man's Best Friend" and 2020's "Lost Heart." Don guest-starred on "Yes, Dear" (2000), "Star Trek: Voyager" (2001), "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (2003), "Men of a Certain Age" (2010), and "The Odd Couple" (2016), and he had recurring roles as Rusty Pillsbury on "Glee" (2011–2013) and Pete on "The Bold and the Beautiful" (2017).
Michael Loccisano/ Getty Images
Music Career
In 1976, Most's debut pop album, "Donny Most," was released by United Artists, but it failed to chart. The single "All Roads (Lead Back to You)"/"Better to Forget Her" made it onto the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, reaching #97. His second single, "One of These Days," was only released to radio stations, and he followed it with two more singles, "Here's Some Love"/"I'm Gonna Love Loving You" and "I Only Want What's Mine," which was from the "Leo and Loree" soundtrack. In 2016, Don released the holiday swing album "Swinging Down The Chimney Tonight," and he later began touring in the show "Donny Most Sings and Swings." In October 2022, he released "Smoke from a Distant Fire," the first single from his forthcoming third album.
Personal Life
Don married actress Morgan Hart on February 21, 1982, and they have two daughters, Mackenzie and Madison. Don and Morgan met when she guest-starred on "Happy Days," and Most told "HuffPost" in 2015:
"I was smitten with her right away. Evidently, she shared some of that sentiment, as we talked a lot during the days she was on the set. We went out to dinner prior to the filming of the show. We continued dating, and got married about two years later."
Awards and Nominations
Most was named Best Supporting Actor: Feature Film for "Lost Heart" at the 2021 International Christian Film Festival," and the film received a Best Picture nomination. "MBF: Man's Best Friend" earned Don a Festival Award for Best Picture at the 2019 EQUUS Film Festival and a Gold Crown for Best Narrative under 250k and Silver Crown for Best of Festival at the 2020 ICVM Crown Awards. In 1999, Most was honored with the Scarlett Award at the Marco Island Film Festival, and in 2007, he received the Achievement Award for Directing for "Moola" at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
