Trivia

Was rehearsing lines with John Ritter before John collapsed and passed away.

His first ride on the Happy Days (1974) motorcycle resulted in him crashing into the sound-van. From that time onward, the bike was kept on a board-on-wheels that was pulled along.

The motorcycle he rode on Happy Days (1974) was the same motorcycle Steve McQueen rode in the famous motorcycle scene at the end of The Great Escape (1963).

Received an Honorary Order of the British Empire award (OBE) from Queen Elizabeth II (April 2011) in recognition of his work with British children with learning challenges, via his My Way! Campaign.

Father of Zoe Winkler and Max Winkler. Father-in-law of actor Rob Reinis. Stepfather of Jed Weitzman (father is Howard Weitzman). Godfather of Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of his former Happy Days (1974) co-star Ron Howard).

While making a documentary about dyslexia, Winkler himself found, at age 31, that he is dyslexic.

Received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts (1967). He later received an honorary degree (Doctor of Humane Letters) from the college (1978). Received his Master of Fine Arts degree at the Yale School of Drama in New Haven, Connecticut. He was also a member of the Alpha Pi Theta fraternity.

Winkler is an amateur photographer who brings his camera to every shoot.

Played the same character (Arthur 'Fonzie' Fonzarelli) on five different series: Happy Days (1974), Laverne & Shirley (1976), Mork & Mindy (1978), The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (1980) and Joanie Loves Chachi (1982).

Along with Tom Bosley, he is one of only two actors to appear in all 255 episodes of Happy Days (1974). Despite being good friends with Bosley, he could not attend his funeral, as it was for family only.

He had a personal policy of not doing the Happy Days character in public, but made an exception when he and co-stars Ron Howard, Anson Williams and Don Most had finished a public appearance at a Dallas shopping mall. Boxed in by 25,000 fans, he stared at the crowd and shouted -- in his best Fonz persona -- "All right, look here, there's a lot of you, and there are four of us. You're gonna separate like the Red Sea, and you're not gonna touch us." The crowd obeyed.

As a guest on The Paul O'Grady Show (2004) (Nov. 18, 2009), Winkler confessed that he could not ride a motorcycle. Despite his image as an inveterate biker on the hit sitcom Happy Days (1974), Winkler never actually rode the bike on the series. During his one and only attempt at mastering the machine, Winkler took a tumble and stayed away from motorcycles after that nasty experience.

An accomplished water-skiing enthusiast, he once worked as a skiing instructor.

Member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) (Actors Branch) [2007-].

Is an avid, long-term fly-fishing enthusiast, along with his wife and their children.

In 2000, he received an Emmy Award nomination for a guest appearance on the television series Battery Park (2000). However, when the Television Academy discovered that his episode (which was originally scheduled to air in April but was later burned off in June after the series had already been canceled) had aired outside the nominations period, his nomination was revoked and William H. Macy was instead nominated for his work on Sports Night (1998). The award eventually went to Bruce Willis.

Won the 2018 Emmy Award in the Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category for his role as Gene Cousineau in Barry (2018).

Being relatively unfamiliar, Winkler had won the role away from Micky Dolenz as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on Happy Days (1974). It was because producer Garry Marshall was looking for an actor, being short, who would more easily fit in the frame with his castmates.

Grew up in New York City and upstate in family's country home on Lake Mahopac, N.Y.

Before he was a successful actor/director and producer, he was an extra on a game show in New York City, receiving $10 for the role.

Henry Winkler, who became a sensation as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on Happy Days (1974), was considered for the role of Danny Zuko in "Grease". He turned down the role for fear of being typecast. Besides, Winkler has readily confessed to being unable to sing, a talent that would have been essential for playing the role of Danny Zuko.

Best friends with co-stars Marion Ross and Tom Bosley. He referred to them as his parents, off the set of Happy Days (1974).

Founder and in charge of the film and television company "Fair Dinkum Productions" in 1979. Fair Dinkum is an Australian slang word meaning honest, honestly or the truth or truthfully. He also founded Henry Winkler Productions and Monument Pictures in 1979, JZM Productions in 1983, Winkler/Rich Productions in 1984, Winkler/Daniel Productions in 1987 and Winkler/Levitt Productions in 2002.

Attended and graduated from McBurney School in Manhattan, New York at age 17 (1963). Winkler said he did not graduate with his class because of his learning disability and problems with a geometry class, which he finally passed after attending summer school.

In the fall of 2005, he appeared in the season premieres of three different series: Crossing Jordan (2001), Arrested Development (2003) and Out of Practice (2005).

Friends with Ron Howard, Anson Williams, Cristina Ferrare, Don Most and John Ritter.

His last episode on Arrested Development (2003) aired the same day as his first episode on Out of Practice (2005), September 19, 2005.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 30, 1981.

Henry is a massive fan of NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes. He got his wish to meet one of his heroes, before a week 11 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in 2022.

Appeared at The World of Wheels in Birmingham, Alabama, for a Happy Days Reunion along with co-star Don Most. (February 2009)

Nominated for the 2019 Golden Globe Award in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television category for his role as Gene Cousineau in Barry (2018), but lost to Ben Whishaw for A Very English Scandal (2018).

Has six grandchildren.

A staunch Democrat, he has spent much of his time and money towards various liberal causes as well as to the campaigns of such politicians as Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and Barack Obama.

Starred alongside Les Dennis in the stage production of "Peter Pan" at The Empire Theatre in Liverpool, England, UK. (December 2009)

His second cousin Gary Winkler keeps Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies and timber wolves whenever they are not being used for filming any cinematic and television production.

His grandchildren, India, Franics Winkler, Ace Reins, and Oscar Reins.

His father, Harry Irving Winkler, passed away on December 7, 1995, almost four months after his Happy Days (1974) co-star Marion Ross' real-life brother, Gordon Ross, who passed away on August 16 of that same year.

He signs and takes pictures with fishes.