Henry Winkler’s new memoir (left) and the actor at home in Los Angeles in September 2023.Photo:Celadon Books; Michelle Groskopf
Celadon Books; Michelle Groskopf
It only took one word — spread across three syllables — forHenry Winklerto go down in television history.
In his first audition forHappy Days, Winkler dropped his iconic “Ayyy,” which became an immediate signature for his 1950’s greaser Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli.
“I was dumb,” Winkler, 77, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I spent so much energy, so much time - I spent so many sleepless nights thinking, how do I not get typecast?”
What would he tell actors facing a similar predicament today? “You go with the flow. What you do is you prepare to reinvent yourself. You do something completely different and then come back to center.”
Henry Winkler at home in Los Angeles, California in September 2023.Michelle Groskopf
Michelle Groskopf
Winkler struggled to find his next great part afterHappy Dayswrapped in 1984, and ultimately turned to producing until supporting roles in films likeScreamandAdam Sandler’sThe Waterboycame along. (“Loyal, funny, wise, serious, a good dad and in charge of every detail,” is how Winkler describes Sandler, who went on to cast him in five of his comedies.)
“I spent most of my adult life being frightened, on the outside looking like I had it together and mostly being anxious. The biggest lesson, I really now believe today in 2023 looking back, is not only must you be tenacious, not only must you be grateful, but you also have to be flexible,” Winkler says.
Ron Howard and Henry Winkler in a 1974 episode of “Happy Days”.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
“You have to take a leap of faith. You have to jump off the precipice and just trust you’re going to fly, because there were so many years I was not hired as an actor,” he continues. “I have a family, I have a house. What am I going to do? And then somebody suggested I become a producer. I start off saying, ‘I can’t do it. I’m dyslexic. I have no idea what the business is. I can’t do it.’ And then finally you say, ‘Oh, just shut up and try.'”
“So I think ‘shut up and try’ might be the most important lesson that I could pass on to somebody,” he adds.
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Meanwhile, those fallow years afterHappy Daysultimately spawned a successful second act for Winkler, who reveals his private, often painful struggle with dyslexia in his new memoir.
“My lawyer said, ‘I’m going to start a production company for you,’” he recalls. “I said, ‘I can’t do that. I’m dyslexic. I can’t do it. That’s crazy. I don’t know anything about business.’ He said, ‘You’ll learn.’ And the first show that my company produced wasMacGyver. And then I knew what I could do and what I couldn’t do.”
Henry Winkler and Bill Hader in “Barry”.Max
Max
InBeing Henry,Winkler describes a tough childhood struggling with undiagnosed dyslexia with his German refugee parents who would often scream at him and castigated him over his struggles in school, cruelly nicknaming himdummer Hund(translation: dumb dog).
Today, Winkler has enjoyed a fruitful side career as a children’s book author. To date, he has written 38 children’s books, including his latest,Detective Duck: The Case of the Strange Splash.
“Sometimes I secretly squeal that I am part of a writing team,” says Winkler, who has long collaborated with children’s author Lin Oliver.
The first time he saw his name on his book’s cover, “my brain turned into cream cheese. I stopped talking. I picked the book up. I smelled it. I rubbed it on my hair. I couldn’t believe this was my reality.Dummer Hundhad written a book.”
For more on Henry Winkler, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.
Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyondhits bookshelves on Oct. 31.
source: people.com
