memoir begins on a Tuesday morning in October 1973, at his first audition for 91ƵHappy Days.91Ƶ He was almost 28 91Ƶ quite a bit old for a high schooler 91Ƶ and struggling with something he didn91Ƶt know had a name.
91ƵBeing Henry: The Fonz91Ƶ and Beyond,91Ƶ released Tuesday by Celadon Books, is a breezy, inspirational story of one of Hollywood91Ƶs most beloved figures who became an unlikely TV screen icon and later a champion for those with dyslexia.
Winkler91Ƶs 245-page book charts his course chronologically from the Fonz to 91Ƶ and the frustrating fallow periods in between 91Ƶ painting a portrait of a man trying to overcome a bitter, loveless childhood and a disability that made reading impossibly hard and simply trying to become a better man.
91ƵI was, in my mind, always a little boy,91Ƶ he writes. 91ƵMy real self was like a kernel of corn sheathed in yards of concrete 91Ƶ as insulated as the nuclear material at Chernobyl.91Ƶ
He describes himself at the 91ƵHappy Days91Ƶ audition as 91Ƶa short Jew from New York City with a unibrow and hair down to my shoulders, confident about next to nothing in my life.91Ƶ He had graduated from Yale91Ƶs drama school and bagged a few roles despite having difficulty reading.
The Fonz almost never happened for him: The fearsome then head of development for ABC, and future Disney CEO Michael Eisner were skeptical of Winkler getting the part. But writer-creator saw something.
Later, Winkler dishes, the immense popularity of the Fonz eclipsed anyone else on the show and the network secretly approached him with the idea of spinning off a show or changing the name to 91ƵFonzie91Ƶs Happy Days.91Ƶ Winkler refused.
The end of 91ƵHappy Days91Ƶ brought its own stress for a man who admits that 91Ƶworrying is my favorite indoor sports.91Ƶ He writes: 91ƵI was terrified of being a flash in the pan. A one-hit wonder. Was I?91Ƶ
Over the years, there were guest spots on shows like 91ƵArrested Development,91Ƶ 91ƵRoyal Pains91Ƶ and 91ƵParks and Recreation91Ƶ until finally 91ƵBarry,91Ƶ the show in 2018 that would prove a second tentpole to his career and produce
In 2003, Winkler branched out with Lin Oliver, writing about the adventures of Hank Zipzer, a young boy with dyslexia who overcomes many learning challenges.
The 28-book series 91ƵHank Zipzer: The World91Ƶs Greatest Underachiever91Ƶ was based on Winkler91Ƶs own experience with undiagnosed dyslexia. 91ƵAt the height of my fame and success, I felt embarrassed, inadequate,91Ƶ he writes.
The memoir is enlivened by an unusual move: Winkler includes long reaction passages from his wife, Stacey, who is pretty brutal about Winkler91Ƶs immaturity, his parenting, his own parents and a crippling fear of poverty. 91ƵA very big thing I91Ƶd learned about Henry was that when he wasn91Ƶt working, he was absolutely miserable. Adrift. Insecure. Anxious,91Ƶ she writes.
It91Ƶs telling that Winkler 91Ƶ who writes he has lately benefited from therapy 91Ƶ includes a frank perspective from outside his own head.
There are fun moments throughout: How Winkler came to produce 91ƵMacGyver91Ƶ and how he got fired from directing 91ƵTurner & Hooch.91Ƶ There91Ƶs a hysterical section about trying to direct Burt Reynolds in 91ƵCop & 1/291Ƶ and, while Winkler is a nice guy, he91Ƶs still capable of throwing some shade at Michael Keaton.
He wonderfully captures the late Robin Williams 91Ƶ 91Ƶwithin 42 seconds, I knew, I was in the presence of greatness91Ƶ 91Ƶ and how CBS made so mad during 91ƵHappy Days91Ƶ that he became a film director almost out of spite.
But one figure looms over this book and career 91Ƶ the Fonz, whose moody expression fills the back cover. Winkler by the end has come to peace with his creation.
91ƵFor a long time after 91ƵHappy Days,91Ƶ I was saddened that the world could only see me as the Fonz,91Ƶ he writes. 91ƵBut I never lost sight of what the character gave me 91Ƶ a roof over my head, food on the table, my children91Ƶs education 91Ƶ and how much it gave me in terms of introducing me to the whole world.91Ƶ
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