Henry Winkler Says He and “Happy Days ”Costar Ron Howard Still Have Chemistry 'Like a Thunderbolt'
Winkler and Howard shared the stage to honor the series' 50th anniversary
Those happy days never really end.
Henry Winkler recently reflected on his incredible chemistry with Ron Howard — both back when they costarred on Happy Days and this September, when they reunited onstage at the Emmys.
Winkler, 78, spoke about the sweet reunion, which marked the series’ 50th anniversary, on the Oct. 14 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark. Host Kelly Ripa, 54, told Winkler, “It was so thrilling to see the two of you come out just like that.”
“We are connected,” the actor shared of his bond with Howard, 70, which began when their series premiered in 1974. Howard portrayed Richie Cunningham and Winkler played his friend Arthur Fonzarelli, better known as The Fonz and Fonzie. “When we met, he was 18, I was 27. You dream for a chemistry with your fellow actor, and either it’s there or it’s not.”
For Winkler and Howard, it was there. “So 50 years ago, we could do a three-page scene in 20 minutes,” he said. "We could rehearse it and memorize it and shoot it in 20 minutes and it was like we were on a thread together.”
When it came to their September reunion, Winkler was happy to find that decades later, things hadn’t changed. “We’re at the Emmys, we had 45 seconds, they said, ‘Action,’ and that chemistry came like a thunderbolt. Right into that space,” he said.
Ripa and Mark Consuelos, 53, also asked Winkler about how his life changed when Fonzie became a global phenomenon. Winkler said he had “no idea” that the character would become so popular. “I had six lines. I worked one day a week,” he noted. Over time, the character became a breakout, thanks in part to his passionate fans. “Eventually I got 55,000 letters a week," he told Ripa and Consuelos.
Fans also sent him presents. “One of the most important gifts I got was a metal cutting that said, ‘If you will it, it is not a dream,’ ” he remembered. “I failed at everything because of my dyslexia, and I realized the world rotates on that sentence. If you will it in your mind, you can have what it is you dream about.”
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Winkler previously opened up to PEOPLE in 2023 about how his dyslexia — which he only learned he had at age 31 — negatively affected his life. “I spent most of my adult life being frightened, on the outside looking like I had it together and mostly being anxious,” he remembered.
It was only when he and his wife Stacey sought help for their son Jed, who displayed cognitive issues at school, that Winkler learned about dyslexia.
“In third grade, he had to write a report and couldn't do it,” Winkler remembered. “I said to him everything that was said to me: ‘Go back to your room. You're being lazy. Live up to your potential. You're so verbal.’ I then had him tested and we read everything they said. I went, 'Oh my God, Stacey, this is me. I have something with a name.' "
As for Winkler and Howard, they’ve kept their friendship alive since Happy Days ended in 1984. In 2018, Winkler won his first Emmy for his role on Barry; it was his sixth nomination. The star shared a sweet photo on X (formerly Twitter) of him and Howard celebrating at the ceremony. The duo also reunited in Australia this February at an event for Winkler’s memoir Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond.
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