Movie Musings: Disney and More

Henry Winkler: More than the Fonz!

For 11 incredible years on the sit-com Happy Days (1974-1984), Henry Winkler brought to life on television one of the most iconic characters ever created: Arthur Fonzarelli, otherwise known as “Fonzie” or “The Fonz.” When Garry Marshall was first developing the show, he originally considered calling the character Arthur Maschiarelli, which was was Marshall’s real life last name, and his friends would call him “The Mash,” but when Marshall remembered that there also was a hit show called M*A*S*H (1972-1983), he changed the name to Fonzarelli. Since his long “Happy Days,” run Winkler has continued to shine in other roles on screen and off.

    Henry Franklin Winkler was born on October 30th, 1945 in the West Side of Manhattan. His father, Harry Irving Winkler, was a lumber import-export company president and his mother, Ilse Anna Marie Winkler was a homemaker. His parents were German Jewish immigrants who had relocated to the U.S. as a result of evading the Holocaust in 1939. Winkler had a rough childhood because he grew up with undiagnosed dyslexia. (He wasn’t diagnosed until he was 31 years old.) This strained his relationship with his parents, who often punished him for not doing as well as he could in school. His father even used to tell him in German “Du bits ein dummer Hund,” which translates to “You are a dumb dog.” Despite this misfortune, Winkler attended McBurney School, where he performed in plays, inspiring him to become an actor. He graduated McBurney in ’63, and later earned a BA from Emerson College and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. After college, his parents wanted him to join their lumber business, but he knew that he wanted to be an actor.

He relocated to Los Angeles and began performing in commercials in the early ‘70s, and made an uncredited appearance in the film The Lords of Flatbush (1974). Winkler also appeared in a fourth season episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977) called “The Dinner Party,” as Rhoda’s date, Steve Waldman. In 1973, his career officially took off when producer, Tom Miller suggested that he audition for the role of Fonzie in “Happy Days.” Miller, who was co-producing the show with Garry Marshall, recommended him to Marshall, but Marshall originally had envisioned The Fonz as a blonde, Italian model-type that could be a stupid foil to Ron Howard’s Richie Cunningham, and he wanted to cast 6’0’’ Mickey Dolenz in the part. However when he saw Winkler interpret the character and make better eye contact with the rest of the cast at just 5’6’’, they cast him in the role. The role won Winkler two Golden Globes during its run on television, and he continued to portray the character, occasionally making guest appearances on “Happy Days,” spin-offs, Mork & Mindy (1978-1982), Laverne & Shirley (1976-1982), and the short-lived Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-1983).

Winkler became close to Ron Howard on “Happy Days.” So close, in fact, that Howard gave him a part in his movie, Night Shift (1982), the second feature film he ever directed. Howard also made him the godfather of his daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard. Since “Happy Days,” ended its run on television Winkler has continued to act on television, though he has also become quite recognizable for movies too. He is a favorite collaborator of Adam Sandler’s, having co-starred with Sandler in The Waterboy (1998), Little Nicky (2000), and Click (2006). In between “Little Nicky,” and “Click,” Winkler also landed the role of Stanley Yelnats III in Disney’s live-action adaptation of the acclaimed novel Holes (2003) starring Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Tim Blake Nelson, and Jon Voight. He also con-starred with Kevin James in Here Comes the Boom (2012) which was produced by Adam Sandler’s production company, Happy Madison Productions.  

Henry Winkler tied the knot with Stacey Cooper Furstman on May 5th, 1978. Furstman had previously been married to Howard Weitzman, with whom she had a son named Jed. Not long after they were married, Jed was later tested for dyslexia, and Winkler was surprised to discover that he and his stepson shared the same disability and they were both officially diagnosed. The experiences they shared inspired him to write a book series in 2003 about a 4th Grade boy named Hank Zipzer, who is dyslexic. Since writing the book series, Winkler has also written and made guest star appearances for a Hank Zipzer the television series, which began airing on the BBC in 2014.

Winkler became close to Ron Howard on “Happy Days.” So close, in fact, that Howard gave him a part in his movie, Night Shift (1982), the second feature film he ever directed. Howard also made him the godfather of his daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard. Since “Happy Days,” ended its run on television Winkler has continued to act on television, though he has also become quite recognizable for movies too. He is a favorite collaborator of Adam Sandler’s, having co-starred with Sandler in The Waterboy (1998), Little Nicky (2000), and Click (2006). In between “Little Nicky,” and “Click,” Winkler also landed the role of Stanley Yelnats III in Disney’s live-action adaptation of the acclaimed novel Holes (2003) starring Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Tim Blake Nelson, and Jon Voight. He also con-starred with Kevin James in Here Comes the Boom (2012) which was produced by Adam Sandler’s production company, Happy Madison Productions.

Winkler is also an exceptional director, having directed the ABC made-for-television film A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986) which starred Dolly Parton, Memories of Me (1988) which starred Billy Crystal, and Cop and a Half (1993), which starred Burt Reynolds. He also directed episodes of the television series Clueless (1996-1999) and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1996-2003).

In addition, he’s been acting again. Most recently, he received two Golden Globe Nominations for his performance as Gene Cousineau on the HBO Series Barry (2018-present) and he will voice the character of Fritz on the Disney+ Series Monsters at Work (2020-present), based on the Monsters. Inc. franchise.     

We will always think of Henry Winkler as the stud who said things like “Heyyy!” and “Whoa!” and of course “Sit on it!” But he has proven that he has a great deal of versatility since his happy days ended 35 years ago. From television to film to what he wrote in books, he is one accomplished dude!