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Erin Moran, best known for playing Joanie Cunningham on the 1970s sitcom,

The Harrison County Sheriff's Department says Moran was found unresponsive after Indiana authorities received a 911 call Saturday afternoon. In a short press release on Monday, the department said an autopsy revealed that Moran "likely succumbed to complications of stage 4 cancer." Toxicology test results were still pending.


Born in Burbank, Calif., Moran shot to fame in 1974 after she was cast as the younger sister to Ron Howard's character, Richie Cunningham, in 

.
The former child star reprised that role in 1982 for the short-lived spinoff 

or its final season in 1983 and 1984.
Moran later landed guest appearances on TV shows including 

. More recently, she competed on the VH1 reality show 

 and appeared in the low-budget 2010 film 


In 2012, Moran was among the handful of 

 actors who won $65,000 each in a settled lawsuit against CBS over 

That same year, Moran had been the subject of tabloid reports of hard-partying, financial troubles and periods of homelessness, with husband Steven Fleischmann, after being kicked out of her mother-in-law's Corydon, Ind., trailer home.


"OH Erin... now you will finally have the peace you wanted so badly here on earth," 

 on Saturday. "Rest In It serenely now.. too soon."
Former co-star and filmmaker 

, too. "Such sad sad news. RIP Erin. I'll always choose to remember you on our show making scenes better, getting laughs and lighting up tv screens."  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Arts and Culture

Emma Bowman

Author

The Harrison County Sheriff's Department says Moran was found unresponsive after Indiana authorities received a 911 call on Saturday afternoon

Actress Erin Moran, Joanie of 'Happy Days,' dies at 56

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