Background

Ethnicity: His parents were German Jews, who emigrated from Berlin to the United States in 1939, on the eve of World War II.

Henry Franklin Winkler was born on October 30, 1945, on the West Side of Manhattan, New York, United States; the son of lumber import-export company president Harry Irving Winkler and homemaker Ilse Anna Marie Hadra. Although his parents were able to make out of Germany just in time, his grandparents could not and perished in the concentration camp. Having a tense relationship with his own parents, Winkler regretted not having grandparents all his life.

Education

Following his graduation from McBurney High School, Winkler was able to incorporate his learning disability and succeed in higher education. He received a Bachelor's degree from Emerson College in 1967. Winkler earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale School of Drama in 1970, and then he returned to New York, hoping to gain a foothold at the Broadway.

Career

Henry Winkler returned to New York after graduating from Yale School of Drama in 1970. He began to perform at Manhattan Theatre Club for free, supporting himself only by doing commercials. In 1972, he made his television debut as an intern in the NBC soap opera, "Another World". In 1973, he debuted in films, playing Mannie in "Crazy Joe" and Butchey Weinstein in "The Lords of Flatbush" (both released in 1974). Also in 1973, he moved to Los Angeles, possibly with a recommendation letter from Tom Miller, the producer of "The Lords of Flatbush".

Within two weeks of reaching Los Angeles, he got the part of Steve Waldman in the "Dinner Party" episode of CBS’s "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". However, he began to feel homesick and decided to return to his city very soon. Before packing his bag, Winkler decided to give his last audition. It was for the role of a biker, Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, in the television sitcom, "Happy Days". Although its creator Gary Marshal had envisaged a hunky Italian for the role, he snapped up Winkler after he saw his audition. Happy Days debuted on January 15, 1974. Initially, Winkler had a small side role in it; but as his popularity began to increase, his role was expanded and Fonzie became one of the main characters. He remained with the sitcom until its end in 1984.

In 1974, apart from "Happy Days", Winkler appeared in three more television series; as Miles Lascoe in 'The Bob Newhart Show', as Howard Gordon in "Rhoda" and in an un-credited role in "Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers". He also played the role of an auditioning actor in "Nightmare", a TV movie. In 1975, he appeared in another television movie, "Catherine". From 1976 to 1979, he played Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli in ‘Laverne & Shirley,’ the first spinoff of "Happy Days".

In 1977, he returned to the big screen, appearing as Jack Dune in "Heroes". In the same year, he tried his hand at production, becoming the executive producer as well as the narrator of the award-winning documentary, "Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?" From 1978 till 1982, Winkler regularly appeared as Fonzie in a number of spinoffs of "Happy Days". They were "Mork and Mindy" (1978), "Sesame Street" (1980), "The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang" (1980 – 1982), "Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour" (1982) and "Joanie Loves Chachi" (1982). Apart from playing the role of Fonzie in "Happy Days" and its spinoffs, Winkler continued to act in films. In 1978, he appeared as Andy Schmidt in "The One and Only". Then he worked in "American Christmas Carol" (TV movie, 1979) and "Night Shift" (1982).

Henry Winkler teamed up with John Rich to open Winkler-Rich Productions in 1984, shortly after "Happy Days" went off the air. They produced "MacGyver", an action-adventure television series, which ran on ABC from September 1985 to April 1992. Also in 1985, they produced "Scandal Sheet", a made-for-television film. In 1986, they produced "Mr. Sunshine", which ran for one season on ABC. In the same year, Winkler made his directorial debut with a made-for-television fantasy musical called, "A Smoky Mountain Christmas."

In 1988, he directed his second film, "Memories of Me". It got a mixed review and was not a box office success. During this period, he paid more attention to direction and production than acting. In 1991, he returned to acting, starring in the TV movie, "Absolute Stranger". It was followed by another TV movie, "The Only Way Out" (1993). Also in 1993, he directed his third and last film, a family cop comedy called, "Cop and a Half".

In 1994, Winkler appeared as Monty Richardson in all 13 episodes of "Monty" and as Dad in the TV movie, "One Christmas". In 1996, he returned to the big screen, playing important roles in films like "Scream", "Ground Control", "The Waterboy", "P.U.N.K.S", and "Dill Scallion". In 1997, he returned to production with the TV series, "Dead Man’s Gun", which ran from March 1997 to March 1999 on Showtime. In 1999, he coproduced "So Weird", a television series aired on Disney Channel, also appearing as Fergus McGarrity in one of its episode.

Henry Winkler’s agent Alan Berger advised him in 1998 to write children’s books; a proposal Winkler refused to consider. But when in 2003, Berger once again made the same suggestion to Winkler, he agreed to co-write with Lin Oliver. His first book, 'Niagara Falls, Or Does It?" was released in 2003. It turned out to be the first book of the famous "Hank Zipzer: The World's Greatest Underachiever" series. In total, he has written 18 Hank Zipzer books, whose protagonist Hank Zipzer is a dyslexic child, studying in fourth grade.

Apart from writing, Winkler continued to act, appearing in 21 films till 2017; his last film being "All I Want for Christmas Is You", in which he voiced for the character of Grandpa Bill. In 2016, he appeared as Ed Koch in 'Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie".

Equally active on television, he began the 2000s with his roles in the TV series, "The Practice" and "Battery Pack". From 2003 to 2005, he voiced for Norville the Bird in 18 episodes of "Clifford's Puppy Days". In 2006, he debuted in pantomime, appearing as Captain Hook in ‘Peter Pan’ at London’s New Wimbledon Theatre.

From 2003 till 2018, Winkler appeared as Barry Zuckerkorn in 30 episodes of "Arrested Development". He starred as Sy Mittleman in 54 episodes of "Children’s Hospital" from 2010 to 2016. "LEGO Hero Factory" and "Royal Pains" are two of his other important TV roles of this period.

From 2014 to 2016, he appeared as Mr. Rock in 25 episodes of "Hank Zipzer", a British production based on his book series of the same name. He is currently starring in a dark comedy series called, "Barry", in which he plays Gene Cousinea, one of six main characters. Premiered on March 25, 2018, on HBO, the show has completed its first season, and the contract has been renewed for the second.

Achievements

• Winkler is best known for his role of Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli in 70s popular television sitcom, ‘Happy Days’. His powerful acting led ‘Fonzie Fever’ to sweep through the nation, and Fonzie became some sort of an icon. ABC even considered renaming the series to ‘Fonzie’s Happy Days’, but later decided against it.
  
  In 1999, Winkler and his wife cofounded Children's Action Network (CAN). In addition, he is involved with many other charitable organizations like the Epilepsy Foundation of America, Annual Cerebral Palsy Telethon, Toys for Tots campaign, National Committee for Arts for the Handicapped, and the Special Olympics.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Bookmarks Are People Too!

    (Hank is a kid who doesn't try to be funny, but he somehow...)

    2014
  • Niagara Falls, Or Does It?

    (It's a science project time in Ms. Adolf's class. This is...)

    2004

Views

Quotations: "I used humor as a child. You have to excel at something because it’s important to feel good about yourself. It forces you to confront it. It forces you to figure out a creative way to get the same material other people get with ease."

"After everything is said and done, it’s a blessing. Is it true people think of me as the Fonz and that sometimes I don’t get an acting role because of that? Yes. But in total, the world was presented to me as a gift. I got to travel. I was knighted by the government of France. I won the Italian Emmy. I met some extraordinary people. I just came back from doing a play in England. I’ve been able to write these 16 novels of Hank Zipzer, which make kids laugh all over the world."

Personality

Winkler grew up with "a high level of low self-esteem." Throughout elementary school and high school, he struggled with academics. This was due to what he would later identify as dyslexia.

Physical Characteristics: Height: 5'6" (168 cm)

Connections

Henry Winkler married Stacey Weitzman née Furstman on 5 May 1978, and the couple has two children; Zoe Emily and Max Daniel. Max Daniel is now a noted film and television director and scriptwriter.

Father:

Harry Irving Winkler

1903–1995

Mother:

Ilse Anna Marie Née Hadra

1913–2002

Son:

Max Winkler

Daughter:

Zoe Emily Winkler

References

• Other Side Henry Winkler: My Story
  1975
• Henry Winkler's Official Website
• I've Never Met An Idiot On The River: Reflections on Family, Photography, and Fly-Fishing
  2013