Henry Winkler reflects on career uncertainty after 'Happy Days' ended

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/he...ac968b91&ei=22

Story by Victoria Miller

Henry Winkler became a household name after landing the role of Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on Happy Days. The actor played the leather-jacketed, tough-guy character from 1974 to 1984 on the hit ABCsitcom, spawning catchphrases such as “Aaaay,” and “Sit on It,” as well as the "jump the shark" phenomenon.

The Fonzie character was so popular that producers considered changing the name of the show to Fonzie’s Happy Days. Even without the name change, Winkler became a superstar, and Fonzie remains one of the most iconic pop culture figures in TV history more than 50 years later.

Still, when Happy Days ended its 11-season run, Winkler feared it was the end of his career.

“After Happy Days finished, I'm sitting in my office,” Winkler, 80, recently shared on Ted Danson’s Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast. “All I'm getting are Fonzie-like [offers]. Like, I have no idea, am I ever going to do anything that is as powerful? And I went dark. I went dark. I thought, I have no idea what I'm going to do, whether I could do it again, and I'm over.”

Fearing he would forever be typecast as Fonzie, Winkler launched a production company with the help of his lawyer, Skip Brittenham III, but he did so reluctantly.

"I said, 'I can't do that. I don’t understand one thing about producing or the business. I only know how to do what I'm doing,’” Winkler recalled telling his lawyer. "He said, ‘You’ll learn.’”

The actor ultimately forged on and became an executive producer on the action series MacGyver from 1985 to 1992.

"First show I ever produced,” Winkler told Danson in the interview. “And you learn there are things I can do."

Winkler also explained that the greatest thing he ever did was learn how to “pivot.” “And when you pivot, the universe opens up and all of this generous stardust falls on you,” he said.

The stardust fell hard. Not only did Winkler make his mark as a prolific producer, but he shed his Fonzie leather for an Emmy-winning role as Gene Cousineau in the HBO series Barry. He also hosts the popular History Channel docu-series Hazardous History. Decades after wrapping his role as Fonzie, retirement is the furthest thing from Winkler's mind.

Winkler is long past his days of being typecast, but he once revealed that at the height of his Fonzie fame, he turned down one of the biggest film roles of the ‘70s—the role of Danny Zuko in Grease—because it was another greaser-like character. The role ultimately went to John Travolta.

“In my pathetic mind, I thought to myself, ‘I have now been the Fonz for 10 years,’” Winkler explained on Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast in 2024. “‘I'm now gonna play him again in the movies? I'm gonna be so typecast. I will never get work again.’"

“So what happened?” Winkler continued. “I go home. I relax. I have a V8. John Travolta goes home and buys a plane.”