THERE’S something about the strawberry blond guy who plays a TV executive opposite Rob Reiner and Ellen DeGeneres in the new film “EDtv” that should strike a chord with anyone old enough to have watched television in the mid-’70s (and committed fans of Nick at Nite reruns). Imagine this guy 20 years younger, with red hair, and you have … Ralph Malph from TV’s “Happy Days.”

It’s Donny – now, at 45, Don – Most. After appearing in the smash sitcom for the first seven seasons, he basically vanished from sight – a familiar one-hit-wonder tale.

“I just hit a brick wall,” he says of his years after “Happy Days.” “I couldn’t even get auditions for a movie.”

His re-emergence is thanks to “Happy Days” co-star Ron Howard, who directed “EDtv.”

Says Howard: “He was a guy I knew could take a little and get some laughs. His is a character that wasn’t given that many jokes, but he knows how to get ’em. So it was fun for me – a fun reunion.”

Most grew up in Flatbush and started acting in commercials while still a teen-ager. In 1974, he was cast as the buddy of Potsie, Richie and The Fonz on “Happy Days” and stayed until 1980.

Why would he leave in the middle of such a comfortable and lucrative gig?

“I’d been doing TV for a while and I wanted to do film or theater,” he says. “But back then, the transition from TV to films was very difficult. It’s not easy now, but it was harder then. And I had a rude awakening.”

So Most started doing dinner theater, and eventually scored six months in “Grease.”

“Ultimately, I needed to get back and make a living,” he says. “But I had been away from TV and it was hard to get back in. It was a tough stretch for a while.”

Eventually he began to get some guest spots on TV series and some roles in television and independent films. He also did some theater directing. And this year he directed his own independent movie, “The Last Best Sunday,” which he describes as a “Romeo and Juliet” story set in agricultural central California. It has been selected to play at a number of film festivals, including the Seattle festival in May.

During filming, Most called on Howard for directorial advice. Howard calls Most’s work “a good film, a kind of American art film.”

The two friends kept in touch by e-mail. “One day, Ron asked if I’d be interested in a part in his movie, and I said immediately that I’d love to,” Most says.

Most now has a recurring role on the syndicated TV show “The Crow: Stairway to Heaven,” on which he plays a bearded psychiatrist who specializes in near-death experiences.

Most has been married for 17 years to Morgan – whom he met when she had a guest role on “Happy Days” – and they have two daughters: Morgan, 10, and MacKenzie, 12. For some reason, the “Happy Days” boys have all done well in the matrimonial game – Howard and Henry “The Fonz” Winkler each is still married to the woman he met while making the series.

Maybe Mr. and Mrs. C rubbed off on them.