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 a famous American actor, author, director, and producer. He is best known for playing Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the TV show Happy Days. Winkler has also played many other memorable 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 huge star as "Fonzie" on Happy Days (1974–1984). He also helped create the TV series MacGyver. He directed movies like Memories of Me (1988) and Cop and a Half (1993).
Winkler has acted in many films, such as Heroes (1977), Night Shift (1982), Scream (1996), The Waterboy (1998), and Holes (2003). He also became popular again with funny roles on TV. These include Barry Zuckerkorn in Arrested Development (2003–2019) and Gene Cousineau in Barry (2018–2023). For Barry, he won an Emmy Award.
From 2016 to 2018, Winkler was part of the reality show Better Late Than Never. In 2003, he started writing the Hank Zipzer children's book series. These books are about a child with dyslexia, a learning difference Winkler also has. He later helped turn these books into the Hank Zipzer TV series (2014–2016) for the BBC. Winkler even appeared in the show as Mr. Rock.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Family Background
Henry Winkler's parents, Ilse and Harry Winkler, were German Jews. They lived in Berlin when the Nazis were gaining power. By 1939, it was becoming very dangerous for Jewish people in Germany. His father decided it was time to leave. They planned a business trip to the United States and settled in New York City. Sadly, Winkler's Uncle Helmut was supposed to join them but was later killed during the terrible events of that time.
Growing Up in New York
Henry Franklin Winkler was born on October 30, 1945, in Manhattan, New York City. His first name, Henry, is a tribute to his Uncle Helmut. He has an older sister named Beatrice.
Winkler grew up following some traditions of Conservative Judaism. During summers, his family spent time at Lake Mahopac. As a teenager, he taught water skiing at summer camps.
Henry had a difficult relationship with his father. His father wanted him to take over the family business. But Henry was more interested in 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 upset by his poor grades. They would call him "dummer Hund," which means "dumb dog" in German. This made him feel very bad about himself.
His poor grades often stopped him from being in school plays. But he did manage to act in two shows: Billy Budd in eighth grade and Of Thee I Sing in eleventh grade.
Winkler graduated from McBurney School in 1963. However, he couldn't go to his graduation ceremony. He had to retake a geometry class during summer school. After finally passing, he got his diploma in the mail.
College and Drama School
Winkler applied to 28 colleges but was only accepted into two. He chose Emerson College in Boston in 1963. He studied theater and also child psychology. He thought 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. Later, in 1978, Emerson College gave him an honorary degree.
During his last year at Emerson, Winkler tried out for the Yale School of Drama. He forgot his lines for the audition because of his undiagnosed dyslexia. But he improvised and was still accepted into the program in 1967.
At Yale, he acted in many plays. He also helped start a summer theater group called the New Haven Free Theater. He performed in several Yale Repertory Theatre productions while he was a student. Winkler later said his time at Yale was very important for his future success. He was one of 11 students who graduated from his acting class in 1970.
Career Highlights
Early Acting Roles
After graduating from Yale in 1970, Winkler joined the Yale Repertory Theatre company. He performed in several plays there.
In 1971, Winkler moved to New York. He started trying out for plays, movies, and commercials. He earned money by acting in commercials. This allowed him to perform for free with the Manhattan Theater Club.
His first Broadway play was 42 Seconds from Broadway in 1973. It opened and closed on the same day. By 1973, he also had roles in two independent films, The Lords of Flatbush and Crazy Joe. He also performed with an improv group.
In 1973, his agent told him to try Hollywood. Winkler wasn't sure, but he decided to try for one month. He traveled to Los Angeles with his Lords of Flatbush co-star, Perry King. After just five days of auditions, Winkler got a small part on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Happy Days and Becoming a Star
During his second week in Los Angeles, Winkler tried out for the role of Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, or "Fonzie," on a new show called Happy Days. He wasn't the first choice for the role. But after his second audition, he was offered the part on his birthday. He accepted, but only if the producers would show who the character was when he took his jacket off. Winkler first appeared on Happy Days in January 1974. He stayed with the show until it ended in July 1984.
"The Fonz" was first meant to be a small character. He was a contrast to the main character, 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 looked like a criminal. So, in the first season, Winkler wore different windbreaker jackets. The show's creator, Garry Marshall, convinced them to allow the leather jacket only when Fonzie was with his motorcycle. Winkler actually didn't know how to ride a motorcycle and never rode it during the show!
By the middle of the second season, "The Fonz" became very popular. By the third season, he became the main character of the show. The stories started to focus more on Fonzie than Richie Cunningham. Winkler talked to Ron Howard about this. Howard told him that Winkler was just doing his best, and it was good for the show. Howard later said Winkler was like a "big brother" to him.
Journalist Michael Schneider said that Fonzie became "the biggest icon on television" at that time. Winkler said it was "scary" because he had felt unsure of himself before. He also said that while he shares some traits with Fonzie, like loyalty, they are mostly different.
While on Happy Days, Winkler also acted in other films and TV shows. He was in Heroes (1977) with Harrison Ford. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for that role. He also appeared in Ron Howard's first movie as a director, Night Shift (1982). He was nominated for another Golden Globe for Night Shift.
He also produced and hosted a TV version of the documentary Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids? (1978). He was also an executive producer for an ABC Afterschool Special (1981). He directed his Happy Days co-star, Scott Baio, in an episode of the Happy Days spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi.
Winkler also starred in An American Christmas Carol (1979). He appeared as "Fonzie" on Sesame Street to promote the letter "A" (ayyyy). He said this was the only time he played Fonzie on another show.
After Happy Days
After Happy Days ended in 1984, it was hard for Winkler to get new acting roles. People only saw him as "The Fonz." He later said that agents would try to get him roles, but people would say, "He's great, but he was the Fonz." Winkler wanted to keep acting, so he started his own production company called Fair Dinkum Productions in the late 1970s. "Fair dinkum" is an Australian phrase meaning "honest" or "authentic."
In 1984, Winkler directed a CBS Schoolbreak Special called "All the Kids Do It." It won a Daytime Emmy in 1985. He also directed his first movie for theaters, Memories of Me (1988), with Billy Crystal. In 1993, he directed Cop and a Half, a film produced by Ron Howard's company.
Winkler was also an executive producer for the original MacGyver TV series. He was also an executive producer for other shows like Sightings and So Weird.
Returning to Acting
Winkler started acting more again in the early 1990s. He starred in the TV movie Absolute Strangers (1991) and the short-lived TV series Monty (1994). He also starred in the 1994 TV movie One Christmas with Katharine Hepburn.
In 1996, he appeared in his friend Wes Craven's movie Scream. He played the high school principal. His role was not credited at first because producers worried people would only see him as The Fonz. But after the movie, he got good feedback and helped promote Scream.
In 2000, Winkler was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in three episodes of The Practice. He also played Stanley Yelnats III in the movie Holes (2003).
Working with Adam Sandler
Winkler started working with Adam Sandler in the 1990s. Sandler had mentioned Fonzie in a Saturday Night Live skit. Winkler called Sandler to thank him, and they became friends. This led to Winkler playing Coach Klein in the 1998 film The Waterboy. He also played Sandler's father in Click (2006). He made small appearances in other Sandler movies too.
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). In 1993, they acted together in the TV movie The Only Way Out.
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 the script and did well. He was excited to work with Ritter again. The play eventually moved to Broadway and received good reviews.
In 2003, Winkler was set to appear on Ritter's show, 8 Simple Rules. But during filming, Ritter became ill and sadly passed away. The episode was never finished.
Arrested Development and Hank Zipzer
In 2003, Henry Winkler was asked to play the lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn on the show Arrested Development. He was only supposed to be in one episode, but he ended up staying for five years. He also returned for later seasons of the show. For his role as Barry Zuckerkorn, 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 in flashbacks. 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." This was a funny reference to Scott Baio joining Happy Days as Chachi when Henry Winkler's character got older. Also, Barry "hopping" over a shark in one episode was a joke about the phrase "jumping the shark". This phrase 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 started with the Hank Zipzer book series. These books are about a child with dyslexia and his adventures. Winkler wrote them with Lin Oliver. In the early 2000s, when Winkler wasn't getting many acting roles, his manager suggested he write children's books about his own childhood struggles with dyslexia. Winkler wasn't sure at first, but he agreed to co-write them with an experienced author.
Winkler and Oliver met and created the character of Hank Zipzer. Winkler chose the name Hank from his own nickname, and Zipzer from a neighbor. They would talk through their ideas together, which helped Winkler use his acting skills.
The first Hank Zipzer series had seventeen books, published from 2003 to 2010. After that, they wrote a prequel series called Here's Hank (2014 to 2019). This series shows Hank's life as a second-grader before he knew he had dyslexia. The Here's Hank books even use a special font called Dyslexie that 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). It was shown on the children's BBC Channel in the UK. Later, it was broadcast in the United States. Winkler played Mr. Rock, a music teacher in the show. This character was based on a teacher at McBurney School who encouraged Winkler. They also produced a TV movie called Hank Zipzer's Christmas Catastrophe in 2016.
Recent Acting Roles
On Stage
Winkler returned to the stage in 2006. He played Captain Hook in Peter Pan in London. He played this role again in other cities in the UK for a few years. In 2012, Winkler made his third appearance on Broadway in the play The Performers.
On Television and in Movies
Winkler has continued to act in many TV shows and movies. In 2004, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his voice work as Norville in Clifford's Puppy Days. He won this award in 2005. Other TV roles include Eddie R. Lawson in Royal Pains (2010–2016) and Dr. Saperstein in Parks and Recreation (2013–2015). He also voiced Uncle King Julien in the animated series All Hail King Julien (2014–2017) and Fritz in Monsters at Work (2021–present).
His recent movie 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
From 2016 to 2018, Winkler was a star and executive producer for the American reality travel show Better Late Than Never. He traveled with William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw, George Foreman, and Jeff Dye.
In one episode, the group explored Berlin, Germany. This was the city his parents escaped from in 1939. The trip ended with a surprise for Winkler. Jeff Dye had secretly worked with Winkler's children to find a memorial plaque for his Uncle Helmut. This plaque was placed in front of his uncle's old workplace and home.
Barry
When Bill Hader created the HBO comedy Barry, he wanted Winkler to play the acting teacher Gene Cousineau. Winkler's son, Max, who is a director, helped him prepare for the audition.
Work on Barry started in 2016. Winkler noticed similarities between Barry and his time on Happy Days. He said, "I was 27 when I did the Fonz, and now, I'm 72. I just flipped the numbers." In his role as Cousineau, he wears Garry Marshall's tie as a tribute to his mentor. Cousineau was first written as a very cynical character. But Winkler added his own ideas, making the character more caring. Winkler often improvised his lines, a habit he has had his whole career.
Winkler won his first Emmy Award in 2018 for playing Gene Cousineau. He also won two Critics' Choice Television Awards. He received many other nominations for this role, too.
Filmography and Awards
Henry Winkler has worked with many talented directors. He says he has worked with "five directing 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. These include Principal Himbry in Scream, Coach Klein in The Waterboy, Barry Zuckerkorn in Arrested Development, Mr. Rock in the Hank Zipzer series, and Gene Cousineau in Barry. He has won a Primetime Emmy, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics Choice Awards, and two Daytime Emmys.
Giving Back
In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Winkler helped with social justice issues through Zoom. In May 2020, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, posted a video of Winkler. In the video, Winkler reminded people to stay home and keep their distance from others.
Winkler also helped actors and their families by doing a virtual reading of a Happy Days episode. He played "Fonzie" again. Other actors like Glenn Close and John Carroll Lynch read other roles.
Personal Life
Winkler met his wife, Stacey Weitzman, in a clothing store in 1976. They got married in 1978 in the synagogue where he had his bar mitzvah. They have two children, Max and Zoe. Jed Weitzman, Stacey's son from a previous marriage, is Winkler's stepson.
His cousin, the late actor and comedian Richard Belzer, was known for playing John Munch in the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
In 2018, Winkler returned to Berlin for the TV show Better Late Than Never. He 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 loves them and they are still his friends.
Learning About Dyslexia
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While working on Happy Days, Winkler realized he had dyslexia. This happened after his stepson Jed was diagnosed with a learning disability. Before this, Winkler knew that reading and memorizing lines were hard for him, but he didn't know why. He had learned ways to hide his difficulties when reading scripts aloud. He remembered feeling embarrassed because he would "stumble at least once or twice a paragraph."
Books and Legacy
Henry Winkler and his writing partner Lin Oliver also created the Ghost Buddy book series (2012–2013). These books are about the friendship between a boy and a "ghost buddy."
A few years later, they wrote a science fiction series called Alien Superstar (2019–2021). The adventures of the main character in Alien Superstar are based on Winkler's own experiences when he first arrived in Los Angeles. He had very little money and only planned to stay for a month. But in his first week, he got a small part on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In his second week, he auditioned for "The Fonz."
Winkler released a new memoir, Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond, in October 2023. He also started a new series of children's books with Lin Oliver in 2023 called Detective Duck.
The Fonz and Hank Zipzer's Impact
TV Guide ranked "The Fonz" as the 4th greatest TV character of all time in 1999. A 2001 poll in the UK ranked him 13th on a list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.
Journalist Anderson Cooper, who also has dyslexia, said that Henry Winkler was very important to him as a child. Cooper loved a book called The Fonz: The Henry Winkler Story. He even keeps it in his office. This shows how much "Fonzie" meant to many kids. A curator at the National Museum of American History said that Fonzie "was a representation of cool at a time when you were learning about what cool was."
Winkler has received many honors for his role as "The Fonz" and for his work helping people understand dyslexia through the Hank Zipzer series. In 1980, he gave one of Fonzie's leather jackets to the National Museum of American History. In 1981, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2008, a statue called the Bronze Fonz was unveiled in Milwaukee.
In 2011, Queen Elizabeth II made him an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This was for his work with children who have special educational needs and dyslexia in the UK. In 2013, he was named one of the United Kingdom's Top 10 Literacy Heroes. In 2019, he received an award for his children's books and contributions to the public good.
See also
- List of breakout characters
- List of children's literature writers
- List of people with dyslexia
- List of public art in Milwaukee
- List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
