• Watch at Home • Watch at Home • Watch at Home • Watch at Home • Watch at Home • Watch at Home • Watch at Home • Watch at Home • Watch at Home • Watch at Home. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, American actor Henry Winkler, born October 30th, 1945, first appeared on Broadway and in films (Crazy Joe, [[Feature~V30051~The Lords of Flatbush~thelordsofflatbush]] [both 1974]) before making the guest-star rounds on TV sitcoms.

Henry Franklin Winkler was born on October 30, 1945, in Manhattan, New York. His parents, Ilse Anna Maria (Hadra) and Harry Irving Winkler, were. Visit Amazon.com's Henry Winkler Page and shop for all Henry Winkler books. Check out pictures, bibliography, and biography of Henry Winkler.

He worked several times for MTM productions, appearing in such roles as Valerie Harper's date on Rhoda and a charming thief undergoing psychoanalysis on The Bob Newhart Show. In 1973, Winkler was selected among hundreds of candidates (including ex-Monkee [[Performer~P19509~Micky Dolenz~mickydolenz]]) to play the small recurring role of Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarelli, a leather-jacketed auto mechanic, on the new TV sitcom Happy Days.

Though the series' stars were ostensibly [[Performer~P94983~Ron Howard~ronhoward]], [[Performer~P116835~Anson Williams~ansonwilliams]], and [[Performer~P51017~Donny Most~donmost]], the bulk of the fan mail sent to Happy Days during its first season was addressed to 'the Fonz. Hex Comparison 1 82 Serial Podcast here. ' By the time the second season rolled around, Winkler was afforded second billing and a larger slice of screen time on each week's episode.

Soon the more impressionable TV fans of America were parroting such Fonzie catchphrases as 'Aaaaay' and 'Sit on it!,' while the nonplussed Winkler, who always regarded himself as a Dustin Hoffman-esque character actor, climbed to teen-idol status, complete with fan magazine interviews, posters, and Fonzie dolls. He also enjoyed a substantial salary boost, from 750 dollars per episode to (eventually) 80,000 dollars. At first, the off-stage Winkler could be as testy and sarcastic as his on-stage persona, but as Fonzie assumed 'role model' proportions, the actor began comporting himself in as polite and agreeable a manner as possible. Accordingly, Fonzie became less of a Marlon Brando-type hoodlum and more of a basically goodhearted, moralistic young fellow who happened to be a motorcycle-racing dropout. By the time Happy Days ended in 1983 (by which time Winkler was elevated to top billing), Fonzie was a 'drop-in,' with a good job as a high school shop teacher and the possibility of a solid marriage. During his Happy Days heyday, Winkler was determined to prove he was capable of playing parts above and beyond Fonzie by taking film roles as far removed from his TV character: the troubled Vietnam vet in [[Feature~V22252~Heroes~heroes]] (1977), the vainglorious actor-turned-wrestler in [[Feature~V36341~The One and Only~theoneandonly]] (1981), a '30s-style Scrooge in [[Feature~V1942~An American Christmas Carol~anamericanchristmascarol]] (1982), and the timorous morgue attendant in [[Feature~V35246~Night Shift~nightshift]] (1983).