63 Facts About Henry Winkler

Henry Franklin Winkler was born on October 30,1945 and is an American actor, comedian, author, producer, and director.

Henry Winkler then studied theater at both Emerson College and the Yale School of Drama, spent a year and half with the Yale Repertory Theater, did regional theater and commercial work, and appeared in two independent films.

Henry Winkler auditioned for Happy Days and won the part of Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, a role he played for the next ten years.

Henry Winkler helped develop the original MacGyver television series and worked on programs such as Sightings and The Hollywood Squares.

Henry Winkler directed the theatrical releases Memories of Me with Billy Crystal and Cop and a Half with Burt Reynolds.

Henry Winkler has been honored for his role as "The Fonz", and for his work with dyslexia through the Hank Zipzer series.

Henry Winkler got a six-week visa from Germany to come and do work in New York but was expected to come right back.

Henry Winkler arranged to take his wife on a six-week business trip to the United States.

Henry Franklin Winkler was born on October 30,1945, on the West Side of New York City's Manhattan borough.

Henry Winkler has an older sister named Beatrice, and is a cousin of the late actor Richard Belzer.

Henry Winkler applied to 28 colleges, but was admitted to only two of them, one of which was Emerson College in Boston, where he enrolled in 1963.

Henry Winkler majored in theater and minored in child psychology, as he considered becoming a child psychologist if he did not succeed as an actor.

Henry Winkler was a member of the Alpha Pi Theta fraternity, and appeared in Emerson's production of Peer Gynt as the title character.

Henry Winkler appeared in They Told Me That You Came This Way, Any Day Now, Any Day Now, and The Bacchae.

Henry Winkler performed in the political piece, The American Pig at the Joseph Papp Public Theater for the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City, with classmates James Keach, James Naughton, and Jill Eikenberry.

Out of his original cohort of 25 actors at Yale, Henry Winkler was one of 11 who graduated when he received his MFA in 1970.

Henry Winkler performed in Story Theater Reportory, Gimpel the Fool and Saint Julian the Hospitaler and Olympian Games.

At the time, Henry Winkler was certain that because he had been fired, he would never be hired as an actor again.

Henry Winkler moved back to New York, and began to audition for plays, movies, and commercials.

Henry Winkler was thus able to perform with the Manhattan Theater Club for free.

Henry Winkler performed with the improv group, Off the Wall New York.

Henry Winkler ultimately decided that he had earned enough money through his work in commercials to try Hollywood for one month.

Henry Winkler was offered the role on his birthday, and accepted it based on his condition that the producers would show who the character was when he took his jacket off.

Henry Winkler appeared on the first episode of Happy Days in January 1974, and was continuously with the series until it ended in July 1984.

Henry Winkler added his own interpretation of the character during the first episode, based on "a deal" he had made with himself that he would never comb his hair, chew gum, or keep a box of cigarettes rolled in his sleeve.

Henry Winkler thus stood at the mirror, motioned in a way that suggested "Hey I don't have to because it's perfect," and in doing so, created the seminal moment which defined the character.

In reality, Henry Winkler did not know how to ride a motorcycle.

Henry Winkler was everybody that I ever wanted to have some part of in my body.

Previously, Henry Winkler only knew that aspects of reading and memorizing were difficult, but did not understand why.

Henry Winkler thus developed coping mechanisms that allowed him to mask the difficulties he had with cold-reading scripts.

Henry Winkler later appeared in Carl Reiner's The One and Only, and in Ron Howard's 1982 directorial debut, Night Shift with Shelley Long before she appeared in Cheers, and a then-unknown Michael Keaton.

Henry Winkler further directed Baio in the 13th episode of the Happy Days spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, starring Erin Moran.

Henry Winkler set the company up with Paramount Pictures in the late 1970s.

In 1984, Henry Winkler directed, and was executive producer for, the CBS Schoolbreak Special: "All the Kids Do It" starring Scott Baio, which won the 1985 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Special and was nominated for the 1985 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Directing in Children's Programming.

Henry Winkler was an executive producer for Rob Reiner's second film as a director, The Sure Thing.

Henry Winkler was the executive producer for the original MacGyver television series, which won the Genesis Award for Best TV Drama in 1991, and for Dead Man's Gun, which won the Bronze Wrangler in 1998.

Henry Winkler starred in the 1991 television film, Absolute Strangers, and in the short-lived 1994 television series Monty with David Schwimmer.

Henry Winkler starred in the 1994 television film One Christmas, with Katharine Hepburn in her last role, and Swoosie Kurtz.

Henry Winkler's role was uncredited as the producers were concerned that he would only be seen as The Fonz, and thus distract from the film.

Henry Winkler began to collaborate with Adam Sandler in the 1990s, after Sandler included Fonzie in the Saturday Night Live skit, The Chanukah Song.

Henry Winkler called Sandler to thank him, which led first to a friendship, and later to the role of Coach Klein in the 1998 film The Waterboy, and as Sandler's father in Click.

Henry Winkler made cameo appearances in Little Nicky, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and Sandy Wexler.

Henry Winkler worked on a few projects with his longtime friend, actor John Ritter, whom he first met in 1978 at ABC's 25th anniversary party, when Henry Winkler was still on Happy Days, and Ritter was Jack Tripper on the television series Three's Company.

Henry Winkler directed Ritter in the 1986 television movie A Smoky Mountain Christmas starring Dolly Parton, and in 1993, they co-starred in the made-for-television movie, The Only Way Out.

Henry Winkler was excited to be working with Ritter again.

The episode was never completed, and Henry Winkler's role was dropped.

In 2003, Mitch Hurwitz wanted Henry Winkler to portray the incompetent lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn on one episode of Arrested Development.

In 2014, Henry Winkler was nominated as part of the cast for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Nick James was cast as Hank, while Henry Winkler played the role of the music teacher Mr Rock, who was based on one of Henry Winkler's teachers at McBurney.

Henry Winkler returned to the stage in 2006 as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the New Wimbledon Theatre, London.

Henry Winkler reprised the role in Woking for Christmas 2007.

Henry Winkler has continued his work as a character actor in television and film.

Henry Winkler starred along with William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw, George Foreman, and Jeff Dye, in this adaptation of the South Korean reality series, Grandpas Over Flowers.

Henry Winkler has noted parallels between Barry and his time on Happy Days.

Henry Winkler received his first Primetime Emmy in 2018 for his portrayal of Gene Cousineau.

Henry Winkler won two Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2019 and 2023.

Henry Winkler is the recipient of a Primetime Emmy, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics Choice Awards, and two Daytime Emmys.

Henry Winkler met Stacey in a Los Angeles clothing store in 1976, and they married in 1978, in the synagogue where he had his bar mitzvah.

Henry Winkler contributed via Zoom to social justice issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Henry Winkler reprised the role of "Fonzie," while SAG members Glenn Close, John Carroll Lynch, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Jamie Chung, Luke Newton, and Nicola Coughlan read the roles of Marion Cunningham, Howard Cunningham, Richie Cunningham, Ralph Malph, Joanie Cunningham, Potsie, and a waitress at Al's diner.

Henry Winkler was very important to me when I was a child.

Henry Winkler won two Golden Globe Awards, and earned three Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for the role.

Henry Winkler was given the Key to the City of Winnipeg for "contributions to education and literacy" in 2010, was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire "for services to children with special educational needs and dyslexia in the UK" by Queen Elizabeth in 2011, was named one of the United Kingdom's Top 10 Literacy Heroes in 2013, and was awarded the Bill Rosendahl Public Service Award for Contributions to the Public Good for his children's books in 2019.