Henry Winkler had a condition to play Fonzie on happy days

Garry Marshall’s sitcom “Happy Days” debuted in 1974 and quickly became a pivot point in popular culture. Marshall’s show was played in the 1950s and served as a nostalgia bait for white boomers who were teenagers in post-war. “Happy Days” played Ron Howard as the innocent teenager Richie Cunningham and followed the healthy adventures of him and his family. “Happy Days” did not interrogate the 1950s as much when they rolled around in them. “Happy Days” brought five spin -off shows (“Lavererne & Shirley”, “Blansky’s beauties”, “Mork & Mindy”, “Joanie Loves Chachi” and, “questionable,” out of the blue “) and 11 seasons ran .

The outstanding character of “Happy Days” was of course Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler), a gentle shower, mechanic and leather that was Richie’s best friend. However, the fonz was not so much a “bad boy” than too cool for the room. Everyone loved the character and the audience could hardly wait to see him every week.

Howard went at the end of the seventh season of the show and Winkler became the de facto star of “Happy Days” and wore it for his last four years. The 79 -year -old Winkler has a lengthy, impressive and productive acting career, but he is still the easiest for his years as Fonz.

But when Winkler had spoken for the role in 1974, he already knew what he was doing and didn’t want Fonzie to. As a professional, Winkler wanted to ensure that a “high -fat” figure – a kind of broad existing figure in the 1970s – had a small texture. In an interview with Florida Weekly (handy by MetV transcribed), Winkler remembers to make a determination in which, when he accepted the part of the fonz, he could show the gentle side of the character.

Winkler remembered his audition for “Happy Days” and that the casting directors let him hang for a long time. In fact, the process took so long that Winkler had almost assumed that he had lost the part. Winkler, a New Yorker, was just home when he got the offer. Fortunately, he was not so distracted by the offer to forget his destiny. He also knew that leather jackets, as worn in the 1950s, were not a fashionable statement. He knew that the thick material often served as protection for motorcyclists if they ever took a burden. It was important for Winkler that the showrunner also recorded this detail. As Winkler said:

“I was ready to pack myself to return to New York and it was my birthday, October 30th. I got a call and they asked if I had the role. (…) I said yes, on that Condition that they showed the other side of the character.

“Happy Days” is not often referred to as the contact point of historical accuracy, but character authenticity was very important for Winkler, and the details of the leather jacket would contribute to this. It also seems that Winkler was actually the most searched for the audition actors, so the showrunner were ready to give him what he wanted. It was the right choice when Winkler made the fonz an archetype of pop culture.

Winkler is still productive in the film and on television after appearing in an episode of “American Horror Stories” 2024 as well as in the superhero -fili 2022 “Black Adam” and in all four seasons of “Barry”. His presence is always welcome.