Henry Winkler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Henry Winkler
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Winkler in 2018
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| Born |
Henry Franklin Winkler
October 30, 1945 |
| Alma mater | Emerson College (BA) Yale School of Drama (MFA) |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1972–present |
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Works
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List of performances |
| Spouse(s) |
Stacey Weitzman
(m. 1978) |
| Children | 3, including Max |
| Relatives | Richard Belzer (cousin) Jessica Barden (daughter-in-law) |
| Awards | Full list |
Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, producer, director, and author. He is famous for playing Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the TV show Happy Days (1974–1984). Winkler has also played many different characters in movies and on TV. He has won many awards, including three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
Winkler studied acting at Emerson College and the Yale School of Drama. After a small role in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, he became a star as "Fonzie" on Happy Days. Later, he helped create the TV series MacGyver. He also directed movies like Memories of Me (1988) and Cop and a Half (1993).
He has acted in films such as Heroes (1977), Night Shift (1982), Scream (1996), The Waterboy (1998), and Holes (2003). More recently, he played funny characters like Barry Zuckerkorn in Arrested Development (2003–2019) and Gene Cousineau in Barry (2018–2023). For his role in Barry, he won an Emmy Award. Winkler was also part of the reality show Better Late Than Never (2016–2018).
Winkler has also written children's books based on his own childhood struggles with dyslexia. He co-wrote the Hank Zipzer book series (2003–2010), which became a TV show where Winkler played Mr. Rock. He has also written three memoirs about his life.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Family Background
Henry Winkler's parents, Ilse and Harry Winkler, were German Jews living in Berlin. In 1939, because of growing dangers for Jewish people, his father decided they needed to leave Germany. They came to the United States for a business trip and then settled in New York City. His father started a new wood business there.
Sadly, Henry's uncle Helmut and his grandmother Pauline, who had moved to the Netherlands, were taken to Auschwitz in 1942 and died there. A special memorial stone, called a Stolperstein, is now in Berlin where Helmut used to live.
Growing Up in New York
Henry Franklin Winkler was born on October 30, 1945, in Manhattan, New York City. His first name, Henry, honors his uncle Helmut. He has an older sister named Beatrice.
Winkler grew up following some Jewish traditions. During summers, his family went to Lake Mahopac, where he later taught water skiing as a teenager.
Henry had a difficult relationship with his father, who wanted him to join the family business. His father often got upset when Henry focused on acting.
School Challenges
Winkler went to P.S. 87 and then the McBurney School in Manhattan. Even though he was outgoing and funny, he felt very worried about his schoolwork. His parents were frustrated by his poor grades and often punished him. Winkler later said this time was "excruciating" and made him feel bad about himself. His grades also made it hard to be in school plays. However, he did act in Billy Budd and Of Thee I Sing.
He graduated from McBurney School in 1963, but he couldn't attend the graduation ceremony. He had to retake geometry for the fourth time during summer school! He finally got his diploma in the mail after passing the class.
College Years
Winkler applied to 28 colleges but was accepted by only two. In 1963, he chose Emerson College in Boston. He studied theater and also child psychology, thinking he might become a child psychologist if acting didn't work out. He was part of a fraternity and acted in a play called Peer Gynt. He almost failed his first two years but managed to graduate in 1967. In 1978, Emerson College gave him an honorary degree.
Yale School of Drama
During his last year at Emerson, Winkler auditioned for the Yale School of Drama. He forgot his lines for the audition because of his undiagnosed dyslexia, but he improvised and still got into the program in 1967.
At Yale, he acted in many plays, including The Bacchae and Woyzeck. In the summers, he and his classmates started a summer theater group. He also performed in several Yale Repertory Theatre productions. Winkler believes his time at Yale was very important for his future success. He earned his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in 1970. In 1996, he spoke to the graduating class at Yale University.
Career Highlights
Starting Out in Acting
After graduating from Yale in 1970, Winkler joined the Yale Repertory Theatre company. He acted in several plays there.
In 1971, Winkler moved to New York. He was cast in a play called Moonchildren, but he was fired after three weeks. He worried he would never act again. He started auditioning for plays, movies, and commercials. He earned money from commercials, which allowed him to act in plays for free.
His first Broadway play, 42 Seconds from Broadway, opened and closed on the same day in 1973. By 1973, he had roles in two independent films, The Lords of Flatbush and Crazy Joe. He also performed with an improv group. He found auditions difficult because of his struggles with reading scripts on the spot.
In 1973, his agent told him to try Hollywood. Winkler was unsure but decided to go for one month. He traveled to Los Angeles and, after five days of auditions, got a small part on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Happy Days and Becoming a Star
During his second week in Los Angeles, Winkler auditioned for the role of Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, or "Fonzie," on a new show called Happy Days. He wasn't the first choice, but after a second audition where he used a different voice, he got the part on his birthday. He agreed to the role on one condition: the producers had to show who Fonzie was when he took his jacket off. Winkler first appeared on Happy Days in January 1974 and stayed with the show until it ended in July 1984.
Fonzie was originally a small character meant to be a contrast to Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard). Winkler made the character his own. He chose not to comb his hair or chew gum like other actors playing similar roles. ABC executives didn't want Fonzie to wear a leather jacket, thinking it made him look like a criminal. They finally agreed he could wear it only when he was with his motorcycle. Fun fact: Winkler didn't actually know how to ride a motorcycle!
By the second season, Fonzie became a very popular character. By the third season, he was the main character of the show. Winkler talked to Ron Howard about this change, and Howard was supportive, saying it was good for the show.
During his time on Happy Days, Winkler also acted in other films and TV shows. He was in Heroes (1977) with Harrison Ford and Sally Field, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He also appeared in Ron Howard's first movie as a director, Night Shift (1982), and was nominated for another Golden Globe.
On TV, he was an executive producer for a documentary and an ABC Afterschool Special. He also directed an episode of Joanie Loves Chachi. Winkler starred in An American Christmas Carol (1979) and appeared as Fonzie on Sesame Street to promote the letter "A" (ayyyy!).
After Happy Days
After Happy Days ended in 1984, Winkler found it hard to get new acting roles. People only saw him as "The Fonz." He felt "rudderless" but wanted to stay in the entertainment business. So, he started his own production company called Fair Dinkum Productions. "Fair dinkum" is an Australian phrase meaning "honest" or "authentic."
In 1984, Winkler directed and produced a TV special called "All the Kids Do It", which won an Emmy Award. He also directed his first movie, Memories of Me (1988), and later Cop and a Half (1993).
He was an executive producer for the movie The Sure Thing (1985) and the original MacGyver TV series. He also produced other TV shows like Sightings and So Weird.
Returning to Acting
Winkler started acting more again in the early 1990s. He was in the TV movie Absolute Strangers (1991) and the short-lived TV series Monty (1994). He also appeared in the TV movie One Christmas (1994) with Katharine Hepburn.
In 1996, he was in his friend Wes Craven's movie Scream as Principal Arthur Himbry. His role was not credited at first because producers worried people would only see him as Fonzie. But after the movie, he got good feedback and was asked to help promote it.
In 2000, Winkler was nominated for an Emmy for his role as Dr. Henry Olson in The Practice. He also played Stanley Yelnats III in the movie Holes (2003).
Working with Adam Sandler
Henry Winkler started working with actor Adam Sandler in the 1990s. Sandler had mentioned Fonzie in a Saturday Night Live song. Winkler called Sandler to thank him, and they became friends. This led to Winkler playing Coach Klein in the 1998 movie The Waterboy and Sandler's father in Click (2006). He also had small roles in other Sandler movies.
Working with John Ritter
Winkler worked on several projects with his friend, actor John Ritter. They first met in 1978. Winkler directed Ritter in the TV movie A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986) and they acted together in The Only Way Out (1993).
In 1999, Neil Simon asked Winkler to be in his play The Dinner Party. Winkler was nervous because of his past struggles with reading scripts. But he memorized his lines and performed well. He was excited to work with Ritter again in the play, which eventually moved to Broadway and received good reviews.
In 2003, Winkler was set to guest star on Ritter's show, 8 Simple Rules. Sadly, Ritter became ill during filming and passed away hours later. The episode was never finished.
Arrested Development and Hank Zipzer
In 2003, Henry Winkler was asked to play the funny lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn on the show Arrested Development. He was only supposed to be in one episode but ended up staying for five years! He also returned for later seasons in 2013 and 2018. For this role, Winkler won a Gold Derby Award in 2004.
Arrested Development is known for its "inside jokes." In some episodes, Winkler's son Max played a younger version of Barry Zuckerkorn. The show also made jokes about Happy Days. For example, another lawyer character said, "this is not the first time I've been brought in to replace Barry Zuckerkorn," which was a nod to how Scott Baio joined Happy Days as a new teen idol. Also, Barry "hopping" over a shark in one episode was a reference to the phrase jumping the shark, which came from a Happy Days episode where Fonzie jumped over a shark on water skis.
Writing Hank Zipzer Books
Winkler's career as an author began with the Hank Zipzer series of children's books. He co-wrote them with Lin Oliver. These books are about a child with dyslexia, just like Winkler himself. In the early 2000s, when Winkler wasn't getting many acting roles, his manager suggested he write children's books about his childhood struggles before he knew he had dyslexia. Winkler wasn't sure at first, but then agreed to co-write with an experienced author.
Winkler and Oliver created the character Hank Zipzer. Hank's name came from Winkler's nickname and a neighbor's name. They worked together by talking through ideas, which helped Winkler use his acting skills.
The original Hank Zipzer series had 17 books, published from 2003 to 2010. Then, they wrote a prequel series called Here's Hank (2014 to 2019), which shows Hank's life before he was diagnosed with dyslexia. The Here's Hank series uses a special font called Dyslexie, which is easier for people with dyslexia to read.
Winkler and Oliver also created the TV show Hank Zipzer, which ran for three seasons (2014–2016). Winkler played Mr. Rock, a music teacher based on a teacher who encouraged him in real life.
Recent Acting Roles
Winkler has continued to act in many TV shows and films. On TV, he won an Emmy in 2005 for his voice work as Norville in Clifford's Puppy Days. He also had roles in Royal Pains (2010–2016), Parks and Recreation (2013–2015), and voiced characters in animated series like All Hail King Julien (2014–2017) and Monsters at Work (2021–present).
His recent film roles include Uncle Ralph in The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (2008), Marty Streb in Here Comes the Boom (2012), and Uncle Joe in Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch (2021). He also had a small role as Al Pratt in Black Adam (2022).
Better Late Than Never
Winkler was a producer and star of the reality travel show Better Late Than Never. He traveled with William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw, George Foreman, and Jeff Dye.
In one episode, "Berlin: How Do You Say Roots in German?", the group explored Berlin, the city his parents escaped from in 1939. Winkler was surprised to find a memorial plaque for his uncle Helmut. His children had secretly helped plan this surprise.
Barry
When Bill Hader created the HBO comedy Barry, he wanted Winkler to play the acting teacher Gene Cousineau. Winkler's son Max helped him prepare for the audition.
Work on Barry began in 2016. Winkler saw similarities between Barry and his time on Happy Days. He wore his mentor Garry Marshall's tie as a tribute while playing Cousineau. The character was originally written as very cynical, but Winkler added his own warmth, making Cousineau more affectionate. Winkler also continued his habit of improvising when he forgot lines.
In 2018, Winkler won his first Emmy Award for playing Gene Cousineau. He also won two Critics' Choice Television Awards. He received many other nominations for this role.
Hazardous History
In 2025, Winkler hosted a series called Hazardous History with Henry Winkler on the History Channel.
Achievements and Legacy
Henry Winkler has worked with many talented directors. He believes five of them are "geniuses": Garry Marshall (Happy Days), Adam Sandler, Mitch Hurwitz (Arrested Development), Bill Hader, and Alec Berg (Barry).
After playing Fonzie, Winkler became known for playing many different characters. Some of his famous roles include Principal Himbry in Scream, Coach Klein in The Waterboy, Barry Zuckerkorn in Arrested Development, Mr. Rock in the Hank Zipzer TV series, and Gene Cousineau in Barry. He has won many awards, including Emmys, Golden Globes, and Critics Choice Awards. In 2025, he was added to the Television Hall of Fame.
Helping Others
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Winkler helped promote social distancing and stay-at-home orders in California.
He also helped raise money for actors and their families by doing a virtual reading of a Happy Days episode. Winkler played Fonzie again, and other famous actors read the other parts.
Personal Life
Winkler met his wife, Stacey Weitzman, in 1976, and they married in 1978. They have three children, including Max.
His cousin, the late actor Richard Belzer, was known for playing John Munch in the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
In 2018, Winkler visited Berlin for the TV show Better Late Than Never and shared his parents' story of escaping Germany.
Winkler remains close with the cast of Happy Days. He told the Hollywood Reporter in 2021 that he "loved the people. They are still my friends."
Understanding Dyslexia
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While working on Happy Days, Winkler realized he had dyslexia. This happened after his stepson was diagnosed with a learning disability. Before this, Winkler knew reading and memorizing lines were hard for him, but he didn't know why. He had developed ways to hide his difficulties during auditions. He later said he often felt embarrassed because he would "stumble at least once or twice a paragraph."
Books and Impact
Winkler's 2011 memoir I've Never Met an Idiot on the River talks about his love for fly fishing. He and his writing partner Lin Oliver also created the Ghost Buddy book series (2012–2013) about a boy and his ghost friend.
A few years later, they wrote a science fiction series called Alien Superstar (2019–2021). The adventures in Alien Superstar are loosely based on Winkler's own experiences when he first arrived in Los Angeles.
Winkler released a new memoir, Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond, in October 2023. He also started a new children's book series with Lin Oliver in 2023 called Detective Duck.
The Fonz and Hank Zipzer Impact
"The Fonz" was ranked as one of the "50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time" by TV Guide in 1999. Journalist Anderson Cooper, who also has dyslexia, said that a book about Fonzie and Henry Winkler was very important to him as a child. This shows how much of an icon Fonzie was.
Winkler won two Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for three Emmys for his role as Fonzie. In 1981, he received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame because of his portrayal of Fonzie. In 2008, a statue called the Bronze Fonz was unveiled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Winkler has also been recognized for helping people understand dyslexia through his Hank Zipzer books. He received the Key to the City of Winnipeg in 2010 for his work in education and literacy. In 2011, Queen Elizabeth made him an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to children with special educational needs and dyslexia in the UK. He was also named one of the United Kingdom's Top 10 Literacy Heroes in 2013.
Images for kids
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Winkler in 2018
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Winkler's character, "The Fonz" (pictured), became a breakout character by the middle of the second season.
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Winkler as "the Fonz" in 1976
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Winkler, Adam Sandler, and Kevin James at a ceremony for Sandler to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, February 1, 2011.
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Winkler in 2005
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Winkler speaking about his experiences with dyslexia in 2013
See also
In Spanish: Henry Winkler para niños
