4. Arthur Fonzarelli - Happy Days
We're going to put aside that the Fonz should be an appalling lame character, considering how cool he is supposed to be. He's a 20-something who hangs around with high schoolers all the time, and lives in a studio apartment above a garage in suburbia. Arthur Fonzarelli really should be the definition of uncool. Regardless, he certainly struck a chord with audiences at the time. Happy Days had initially focused on Richie Cunningham and his family, with the Fonz as just one of the many supporting characters featured on the show. After winning over huge numbers of viewers, they moved him into the Cunningham's apartment, which allowed him to be easily integrated in a larger number of stories. As it happens, Fonzie was one of only two characters who appeared in every single one of Happy Days' 255 episodes (the other was Mr. Cunningham, played by Tom Bosley). As Ron Howard grew older and eventually left the show to pursue a career in directing, Fonzie became the central figure of the show. They even introduced Chachi, the Fonz's cousin, who was meant to be a younger version of the immensely popular character and hopefully lead the show into a new golden age. That didn't exactly happen, but even so, Fonzie's contributions to the show and pop culture at large are indisputable.