Henry Winkler

Whenever I think of Henry Winkler, I immediately think of Aaayyyy! Henry Franklin Winkler was a tiny man at only 5’6″ but had a lot of power as TV icon Arthur Fonzarelli. Born in Manhattan, New York on October 30, 1945, Winkler is still going strong. While he has done many different things in his career, he is best known for his role as The Fonz on Happy Days.

Winkler had a crappy childhood and says The Fonz was everything he was not. Henry grew up with very low self-esteem and thought he was stupid. His parents nicknamed him dummer hund which translates into dumb dog. He says they said it often enough to him for it not to be funny. He says he learned tenacity from his parents (who fled Nazi Germany in 1939) but what he really needed was their pride. It wasn’t until Winkler was 31 that he learned he was dyslexic. He says if he hadn’t become an actor, he would have become a child psychologist. He co-authored 12 children’s novels between 2003-2007. The books are based on his early struggles with dyslexia. Winkler has written 19 books total as of this writing. [2019]

Happy Days

I loved watching Happy Days when I was younger. The Fonz was so cool. I remember the kids at my junior high sticking their thumbs up and saying “aaayyyy” just like The Fonz did. I remember them snapping their fingers to get the girls and pounding on things to make them work. That was funny because they usually just ended up hurting themselves. My favorite Fonzie episodes were the touching and emotional ones. I thought it was great to see a tough guy with feelings. I did not like when he did dumb things like jump a shark. Stupid.

Trivia

• He began his career by appearing in 30 commercials.
• Winkler earned $10 for his first role which was an extra on a game show.
• His first major film role was the 1974 movie The Lords of Flatbush.
• Fonzie was seldom seen in the first few episodes because ABC feared he would be perceived as a hoodlum. As he became more popular, ABC considered renaming the show Fonzie’s Happy Days. Make up your mind.
• Fonzie’s leather jacket is now in the Smithsonian Institution.
• Fonzarelli was supposed to have been Marsciarelli (creator Garry Marshall’s birth name) with the nickname Mash. ABC insisted he change it in order to avoid any conflict with the TV show MASH on CBS.
• Henry Winkler appeared in all 255 Happy Days episodes. The only other cast member to do so was Mr. Cunningham, Tom Bosley.
• The producers of Happy Days were originally going to cast Micky Dolenz of The Monkees as The Fonz.
• Henry Winkler played Fonzie in five different sitcoms. Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (cartoon), Mork & Mindy, and Joanie Loves Chachi all had The Fonz.
• Henry Winkler was close friends with John Ritter and was running lines with Ritter right before he collapsed and died. Henry was one of the last people to talk to John Ritter.
• Winkler is godfather to Ron Howard’s daughter.
• He was originally asked to play Danny Zuko in the 1978 movie Grease but didn’t accept for fear of being typecast after his famous role of Fonzie.
• Henry Winkler has been married to Stacey Weitzman for over 40 years. Very cool. They have two children together.
• He does a lot charitable work including Special Olympics, Toys for Tots, Epilepsy Foundation, and more.
• He is an avid Yankees fan.

Happier Days

I’ve read articles on Henry Winkler and watched him in interviews on TV. I’ve always come away from those with a good feeling about him. He always comes across to me as a good and decent person. I hope he has a great 74th birthday later this month and continues doing whatever it is that makes him happy. Happy Days!