PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: AN EVENING WITH HENRY WINKLER {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented by The Paley Center for Media. Held at the Beverly Wiltshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, this evening celebrates the career of actor Henry Winkler.
Host Rene Reyes (vice-president of programming, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces a series of clips featuring Winkler's work, including "Happy Days," "Barry," and a variety of interviews and film appearances.
George Pennacchio (entertainment reporter, ABC News) then welcomes Winkler to the stage, and the conversation touches on such topics as: Winkler's longtime association with both the Paley Center and Pennacchio, whom he has known for 24 years; his "very honest" wife of 42 years, Stacey Weitzman; teaching himself a version of the kazatsky, a Russian folk dance, after being inspired by a ballet performance as a kid; how his very first childhood stage role as a tube of toothpaste eventually led to his enrollment at the Yale School of Drama; his ongoing friendship with "The Lords of Flatbush" (1974) co-star Sylvester Stallone; landing the iconic role of Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli on "Happy Days" two weeks after arriving in Los Angeles; why friend and mentor Garry Marshall cast him in the role over more experienced actors like Micky Dolenz; his appearance in every single "Happy Days" episode, an accomplishment also held by Cunningham parents Tom Bosley and Marion Ross, and why he chose to stick with the series for all eleven seasons; turning to producing when he had trouble finding acting roles after "Happy Days" ended in 1984; his decision to speak out publicly about his struggles with dyslexia; what he's learned about life through his favorite pastime of fly-fishing; his authorship of several children's books featuring dyslexic youngster Hank Zipzer, and the importance of "buoying" a child's self-image; his admiration for honest, transformative actors like James Dean, Jack Nicholson and Sam Rockwell; his filmmaker son Max Winkler, who was inspired by Wes Anderson's "Bottle Rocket" (1996) and years later encouraged his dad to join Anderson's "The French Dispatch" (2020); his daughter's Zoey's work with This Is Humanity, a charitable program for undocumented immigrant children; his friendship with horror director Wes Craven and his well-received minor role as the school principal in "Scream" (1996); working on the particularly troubled film "Ground Control" (1998); his praise for five-time co-star Adam Sandler, particularly his critically praised performance in "Uncut Gems" (2019); his disbelief upon winning his first-ever Emmy Award in 2018 for his role as overly confident drama teacher Gene Cousineau in "Barry"; his love of meeting his favorite artists, including a grocery-store encounter with Australian pop star Sia; stern Standards & Practices restrictions on "Happy Days," including how Marshall got around the rules regarding Fonzie's leather jacket, which was seen as being associated with crime; his inability to actually ride Fonzie's iconic motorcycle; a fateful almost-meeting with Steve McQueen, whose "The Great Escape" (1963) bike was used on "Happy Days"; wife Stacey's excitement at chatting with actor Brad Pitt at the recent Golden Globe awards; his habit of taking photos on every film and TV set; his friendship with comedian Phyllis Diller, whom he compares to current-day star Maya Rudolph; confirmation that he did, in fact, turn down the role of Danny Zuko in "Grease" (1978), which then went to John Travolta; his unpleasant experience being fired from a "filler" role in a play at the prestigious Arena Stage theater in Washington, D.C. in 1971; and the story of his early television role as an unlucky dinner date for Rhoda (Valerie Harper) on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: his many encounters with all kinds of "amazing" fans; his role as the main characters' dad on the comedy-drama series "Royal Pains"; the famous Fonzie statue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which Winkler notes is actually taller than he is; hopes for a revival of "Better Late Than Never," his travel reality series alongside Terry Bradshaw, George Foreman and William Shatner; meeting John Lennon, and young son Julian, on the "Happy Days" set; his many different Fonzie jackets, one of which now resides in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; a harsh review of his role in "The One and Only" (1978); maintaining "the lines of civility" within the ambitious world of Hollywood; why he "did what I knew was right" despite his immigrant parents' disapproval of his interest in an acting career; the importance of allowing young actors to "be a child first" when entering the high-pressure world of show business; his hopes to be remembered as both a talented actor and a "good human being"; and how he personally contributed to Fonzie's memorable catchphrases.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: N/A
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 139710
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Rene Reyes … Host
- George Pennacchio … Moderator
- Henry Winkler … Guest
- Wes Anderson
- Terry Bradshaw
- Wes Craven
- James Dean
- Phyllis Diller
- Micky Dolenz
- George Foreman
- Valerie Harper
- John Lennon
- Julian Lennon
- Garry Marshall
- Steve McQueen
- Jack Nicholson
- Brad Pitt
- Sam Rockwell
- Marion Ross
- Maya Rudolph
- Adam Sandler
- William Shatner
- Sia (see also: Sia Furler)
- Sylvester Stallone
- John Travolta
- Stacey Weitzman
- Max Winkler
- Zoe Winkler