I just read Henry Winkler's autobiography

i love it

He’s always been super-aware and vocal about bullied and abused kids. I can see why now.

John Rich? Adam Rich’s father?

Any behind the scenes dish on his relationship with the actress who played Pinky Tuscadero? They were clearly smitten with each other. I don’t think I’ve perceived such intense onscreen heat this side of Bette Midler and Ken Wahl in “Jinxed” (1982).

any relation to producer Irwin Winkler?

How horrible could his parents have been if he went to Harvard? My parents refused to send me to college because my father didn’t fucking care …he didn’t go to college, so why should I? And my mother didn’t want me to go to college because “Jew professors” turned everyone into atheist communists.

R6 He got into Emerson and then Yale based on his acting talent, not his parents’ blessings. I don’t know if they paid for his college, though. He claims they used to call him a “dumb dog” for failing his classes and emotionally abused him quite a bit. They were very severe Germans who fled the Nazis, though, and I think many who were raised by escapees of war-torn countries can relate to this kind of strict upbringing.

they were only nice to him once he got famous.

Cool, I'm going to read this (or listen to the audiobook if he narrates).

He's always seemed like a kind soul

Does he mention Tom Hanks?

[quote] He seems like a very nice man. His parents were terrible to him. He is dyslexic.

He IS Henry Winkler!

Pinky was apparently a total bitch on set

Motherfucker better keep my name out of his mouth!

^Tom Hanks guzzling a bottle of Jim Beam

One of those people whose attractiveness seemed to flow from their character.

Does he mention when Erin Moran (may she RIP) says he molested her and then went back on her statement?

Did he shag Chachi in his dressing trailer?

Who is John Rich, and why did he hate him?

John Rich was his producing partner . They produced Mc Gyver together .

Any juicy gossip?

You guys might enjoy this video about New Haven (Connecticut) style pizza. Henry Winkler is featured. I guess he got to liking New Haven pizza during his Yale days.

[quote] His parents were terrible to him.

Maybe Faye Dunaway can play his mother. She has experience playing terrible mothers.

Robin Williams was another dyslexic, and he got into the Juilliard acting program. I wonder if struggling to read contributed to both of them being excellent at memorizing spoken dialogue and improvising their own lines. Perhaps they bonded over it during the Mork episode of Happy Days? I don’t think they were ever friends, though. (Robin was, coincidentally, a good friend of Henry’s cousin, Richard Belzer.)

The Belz was Henry Winkler's cousin?!

He seems "nice" and is said to be "nice" but he also seems like simpleton and I find him boring.

Maybe a bit Pollyanna-ish, but I really don’t think he’s a simpleton.

[quote] but he also seems like simpleton

Oh dear.

[quote]The Belz was Henry Winkler's cousin?

You didn’t realize this by just looking at him?

Loathe this old pedo. Does he talk about Heather O'Rourke?

Does he mention the Waterboy cast? Sandler or Paul "Big Show" Wight?

Did he mention anyone from his Scream film?

Did he mention me?

I wanted the Fonz to fuck me and when he was about to come, say "Ayeeeeeeeee"

Given how wacky Belzer was and how right wing he apparently was, I don't think he and Henry were all that close.....

He spoke flawless German in Germany during "Better Late than Never," the Geezer reality show with Shatner/Bradshaw/Foreman. But he didn't explain it was because his family fled the Nazis.

He is a very nice person.

Juicy dirt:

He hated John Rich, the famous All in the Family director. As in he's the meanest person he's ever met.

His parents were rigid mean people. They fled the Nazis and lived beyond their means (his dad did anyway) and stole his bar mitzvah money to fund their lavish lifestyle. They called him a dumb dog and grounded him all the time for getting poor grades, not realizing or caring that he was dyslexic.

He is married to celebrity attorney Howard Weitzman's former wife. His son Max is a director on the Swans series now. His daughter Zoe was a preschool teacher who now runs a charity organization...she is Kim Kardashian's best friend! He also has a stepson named Jed from Stacey's marriage to Howard. They all seem to get along nicely.

He loves Adam Sandler.

He had to go to a lot of therapy to be a better husband.

His wife had breast cancer.

He was once brushed off by Paul McCartney.

He was fired from Turner and Hooch in a humiliating turn of events.

He likes Scott Baio despite his odd politics.

There isn't a ton of "juice" to be honest.

Does he mention his stint on Arrested Development or Ron Howard?

R36- A bit off topic but I want to hear more about Scott Baio being a homo

Oh, he also loves Bill Hader. And he likes fishing and gardening. He honestly kind of comes off as a regular old man in this book. I don't think he's a simpleton. Speaks very well of Ron Howard - they are very close. Both have been married to the same people for a long time. They seem like stable and grounded people.

He also once kept a kid from committing suicide somewhere in Indiana. The police called him because the kid was on a ledge and insisting to talk to him. Somehow he talked the kid down from his dressing room during Happy Days.

Any mention of his MTM episode?

It’s one of the greatest!

Does he talk about “The One and Only”?

Someone suggested "pollyanna" instead of my "simpleton" remark and I see that's a more accurate call.

Told this story before here on DL but....

When I was a student at Yale School,of Drama Henry came to talk to us. This was around 1976 so he was at the height of his Fonzie fame. The class room was packed to the rafters with everyone at the school wanting to see and hear him even though the event was supposed to be just for students.

He was very charming but the two things I remember most: he bummed cigarettes off the students (smoking was permitted back then) and he made a point of telling us how unprofessional Anson Williams was and how much he disliked him. I think this came up after Henry talked about how much he loved doing Happy Days and the cast and we assumed he didn't want to appear too goody-goody.

Henry Winkler is probably not a guy who's going to dish a lot of dirt, tbf.

Did he elaborate on Anson Williams?

r29 What else would he say about her? He believed her father's abuse exacerbated Heather's illness/death.

r45, IIRC he just went on for a bit how Anson was immature and unprepared as an actor. Nothing scandalous and totally believable but it did seem rather petty and unnecessarily mean-spirited to me at the time, considering the occasion.

He gave a remarkably realistic performance when the Fonz breaks down and cries after Richie’s near fatal accident. I wonder if he drew from his rough upbringing for this scene.

r39=Prince Orloff

Happy Days was a good show back in the day. Fonzie looked like Harry Reems.

According to R6 He was at Harvard but his parents were paying for Emerson…or something like that. No wonder he was pissed.

John Rich had a nice children—I know that. His former wife was Vice-Chancellor of UCLA and president of LACMA.

[quote] Does he mention his stint on Arrested Development or Ron Howard?

I don’t remember a tv show called Ron Howard

[quick] Speaks very well of Ron Howard - they are very close. Both have been married to the same people for a long time.

That’s SICK — bigamy is against the law!!!

Fucking iOS autocorrect is worse than ever

He’s one person I don’t want to hear anything bad about. I’ve always heard he’s a nice guy and I want to believe it.

Loved him on Barry. Hated his character’s ending.

"John Rich had a nice children"

Thanks you, r52.

I got started on Ron Howard's autobiography. That guy led a charmed life. Heartwarming, but boring.

We love him in the UK. Henry and Dolly Parton are better than royalty here (which is meant as a compliment).

Sorry R59- ONLY

Joan Crawford is Hollywood Royalty 🤴

[quote] but he also seems like simpleton

Maureen or Jean?

[quote] [R29] What else would he say about her? He believed her father's abuse exacerbated Heather's illness/death

Henry was actually talking about Judith Barsi, the child actress who was abused and murdered by her alcoholic dad. He got her mixed up with Heather O’Rourke, for some reason, during an interview. It was a very embarrassing and cringe-worthy moment.

[quote] John Rich had a nice children

Are we having a flood of ESOL posters? Or just really fucking dumb ones?

ESOL?

English for Speakers of Other Languages.

Or ESL - English as a Second Language

R63 is the unironic version of an asshole grammar troll…you know, the type that no one likes. His cover story is to mockingly refer to the rest of us as non-native speakers. Zzzzz

What languages do you speak besides English, R63?

He speaks Jerk.

R63 is the ghost of Henry’s mother.

He really was hot as fuck in those days

R70 Yes Anson Willaims really had it going on.

R67 ich spreche Deutsche.

Does he say anything about jumping the shark?

Forget the shark. What does he have to say about Erin Moran’s anachronistic “1950s” perm?

R48 that's embarrassing.

Embarrassing how? Fonz and Richie were close.

Back in 1994 I went alone to a movie at Century City on a Saturday afternoon. He had brought in a group of kids and very kindly asked me to move my seat to accommodate them all sitting together. Of course I responded, "Sure, Mr. Winkler".

He was in the suite next to mine at the U2 show in Vegas a few weeks ago. I spent most of the show taking pics of him!

Henry Winkler is made of awesome. Period.

I had the great fortune to meet him when I was 8-9 years old, at the height of Happy Days. He kissed me on the cheek, and I SWOONED.

When I was a teenager I wanted to kiss him on the DICK

I really enjoyed the book, and he is refreshingly candid about what it's like during the dry times for an actor, waiting for the phone to ring with someone saying they want you.

Was his mother as mean as Streisand's mother ? Which author wins that distinction of 'I had the meanest mother' ?

I do R82

Shut up, R83.

Jon darling you're not an author. As your mother said butt out!

He had such a great trim little ass in the 70s.

Denim & leather.

ey ey EYYYY

I would win that knees down!

r78 proof?

R90

Yep.

British actor Michael Maloney reminds me of Henry.

r91 Cool thanks for sharing !

r74, remember, the show was set in the 50s.

What the hell happened to Donnie Most and Anson Williams after the show ended? I don’t remember seeing either of them in anything else.

R94 Erin’s perm was anachronistic because it was an 80s style in the 1950s. Melinda Dillon also had an 80’s perm in “A Christmas Story,” which took place in the 1940s.

A deep dive into anachronistic perms:

His dad seems like a classic German businessman. Obnoxious and bullheaded.

Whereas Henry Winkler is known as the nicest man in Hollywood.

I am absolutely dying for a New Haven pizza.

His eye looks removed in R91

R95 Most is still a working musician and Williams has had a pretty prolific career as a director of episodic tv.

Both have enjoyed success on a quieter scale.

[quote]What the hell happened to Donnie Most and Anson Williams after the show ended?

Donnie Most did three episodes of Glee as Emma’s father.