In this memoir Henry Winkler tells us a little bit about his parents Harry and Ilse Winkler, who fled nazi Germany to start a new life in the United States. Because Henry is very dyslexic, he didn’t do well in school and his parents nicknamed him „dumme Hund“ (stupid dog) – very cruel imho.
Henry‘s most iconic role was of course his portrayal of Arthur Fonzarelli aka The Fonz in Happy Days and he tells us how he got the part, and then more about the series set in 1950/60s Milwaukee that went on for 11 seasons. Though the characters Richie Cunningham was meant to be the centre of the show, it became evident that Fonzie really was the star, which made Winkler an instant celebrity.
Henry talks about how difficult it was to find another acting job after Happy Days – because people identified him with the Fonz, he wasn‘t cast for anything else. This is why he went into producing shows like MacGuyver, and he started voice acting. Eventually, he starts getting some acting jobs, like in Adam Sandler‘s The Waterboy and the TV series Barry.
I was looking forward to this memoir, because I met Henry Winkler in 1995, at his 50th birthday party. I was living in LA at the time and helped one of my distant cousins with his virtual reality setup at the Winkler event. I don‘t often read a memoir by someone I have met, so this was really cool. I remember Henry Winkler being a very gracious host, and a super friendly and charming man. The Henry who wrote the memoir, is exactly the man I remember!
Read for the Read Between the Lines Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 39: A Memoir or (Auto) Biography
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
