Harry Winkler Opens Up About His Marriage After Four Decades

Jun 08, 2021

Few people have had to overcome as much difficulty to succeed in their profession as actor, producer and children's book author Henry Winkler. The talented star is best known for playing Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the popular sitcom "Happy Days." Winkler accomplished what most actors strive to do, avoiding being typecasted after such a significant role. 

"Happy Days" made Winkler a household name and won him several awards, but he didn't want to get stuck only playing bad-boy types forever. However, he has continued to excel as a comedic actor, playing iconic roles on popular television shows such as "Arrested Development," "Parks and Recreation," and even won an Emmy award for his performance as Gene Cousineau on the HBO dark comedy series "Barry." 

Winkler also went on to become a successful producer behind the camera on the hit action series "Macgyver." What makes his career all the more impressive is that Winkler has struggled with dyslexia throughout his life. He said he did not read a book on his own until he was age 31. As an actor who is expected to read and memorize lines for a living, you can imagine how much of a challenge this was for Winkler to overcome. 

Despite struggling in his personal life, Winkler has had an unforgettable career and leads a fulfilling private life. He has been married to Stacey Weitzman since 1978 and is a father to three children. Winkler is also passionate about animals and nature. He is an avid fly fisherman and owns two dogs. Read on to learn more about Winkler's hobbies and closeness with his family. 

Winkler was born in Manhattan, New York City, on October 30, 1945. He lived there until he was 27, before moving to California. He was born to Jewish immigrants that had fled Germany at the start of World War II. In an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, he said that he was named after his uncle, who never made it out of Nazi Germany. 

Due to his dyslexia, Winkler struggled in school and was considered slow and stupid by his family, who was unaware of his learning disability. His father would refer to him as a "dumb dog" in German. This conflict caused Winkler much anxiety and stress in his childhood. He was often punished unfairly because of his poor grades, which strained his relationship with his parents. 

Despite his struggles, Winkler still went on to have an impressive academic career. After taking summer courses, he graduated from McBurney School in 1963, after taking summer courses to make up for his poor grades. In 1967, with much difficulty, he earned his Bachelor's degree from Emerson College. Then Winkler earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama in 1970. While auditioning for Yale, he forgot his prepared Shakespearean monologue and created his own on the spot. 

Winkler shared in his own words what his academic experience was like as he told The Guardian: "I was completely befuddled by school. I was trying so hard but I couldn't succeed. I took geometry for four years, the same course over and over again and I did not graduate with my senior class. I finally passed geometry after doing summer school and eventually I graduated."

Winkler continued, "But after all that … not one human being has said the word hypotenuse to me! So did I really have to feel so bad and struggle so much and think I was so stupid for so long? I really feel we have to teach children how they learn, not what we think they should learn at school." Perhaps if Winkler had learned about his dyslexia earlier in life, he would not have gone through so much hardship. 

It wasn't until Winkler was 31 that he realized there was a reason for his struggles with reading and writing. He learned about dyslexia while he was helping his stepson in school, who also has learning difficulties. This realization changed Winkler's life as he finally understood what made him different from other learners. 

Big Break and "Happy Days"

Winkler's acting career started slowly in New York City, where he did commercial work to support himself. He was in 12 plays with the Yale Repertory Theater from 1968 to 1972, gaining him positive attention from critics. His first job on television was as an extra on a game show. 

After that, Winkler starred alongside Sylvester Stallone in the 1974 film "The Lords of Flatbush." This was his first time acting in a feature film, and it gained him the attention of producer Tom Miller. Miller was instrumental in helping Winkler get cast on "Happy Days," as the actor was still relatively unknown.  

Winkler spoke with the Today show in 2019 about the impact "Happy Days" had on his life and career. "Unbelievable. And what it led to. It introduced me to the world. And here I am. I was 27 when I got the Fonz. (Now) I'm 73 years old," he said. 

The hugely popular sitcom "Happy Days" first aired in 1974. Winkler played the role of Fonzie, a friend of the main character, Richard Cunningham, a teenager from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Fonzie can be described as a ladies' man or a greaser, and Winkler excelled in the bad-boy role despite it being contrary to his actual image. 

One example of this was Winkler's inability to drive a motorcycle. Fonzie was known as a biker, so Winkler had to perform while driving the motorcycle on set. There was one incident where he nearly crashed while filming. He said in an interview with Emmy TV Legends, "I gunned it and rammed into the sound truck, nearly killed the director of photography, put the bike down, and slid under the truck. They took the bike out first because they rented that, and then they said, 'Are you OK?'" For the rest of the show's filming, the motorcycle was on a wheeled platform. 

Over time, Winkler's character Fonzie would become the focus of the show. This was due to "The Fonz" being extremely popular among the show's viewers. More storylines were written to reflect the character's popularity, and Winkler's role became the show's new focus. This solidified Winkler as a household name and really gave his career the momentum it needed. 

However, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Winkler shared, "I was on a television show that was really popular for a long time and then you'd go into an audition and people would say, 'You're such a great actor. You're the Fonz!' For 10 years I had to bob and weave to figure out what I was going to do." It seems being typecast in that way was a hindrance to his career in the end.

After "Happy Days" ended in 1984, Winkler decided to focus more on producing. He ended up excelling behind the camera as well as in front of it. Winkler produced several television series, including "MacGyver," "So Weird," "Mr. Sunshine," and "Sightings." He was also one of the producers of the hugely popular game show "Hollywood Squares" from 2002 to 2004 and sometimes performed as a sub-announcer. 

In 1996 Winkler surprised audiences with an uncredited role in the hit horror flick "Scream." He stole the scene playing the role of the high school principal, Arthur Hembry. This appearance thrust Winkler's acting career back into the mainstream and gained him the attention of Adam Sandler. Sandler asked Winkler to be in his comedy film "The Waterboy" in 1998. Winkler would go on to appear in three other of Sandler's films in the early 2000s including, "Little Nicky," "Click," and "You Don't Mess With the Zohan." Winkler played himself in the last two films.   

Winkler is also known for his recurring role on the television series "Arrested Development." He played the part of the utterly incompetent lawyer, Barry Zuckerkorn, and was a fan favorite. Another comedy series that gave Winkler a recurring role was "Parks and Recreation." From 2013 to 2015, he played the role of Dr. Saperstein, a hilarious doctor, and father to Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa.  

Since 2018 Winkler has appeared as Gene Cousineau on HBO's "Barry." The show is a dark comedy from the mind of comedian and actor Bill Hader. Winkler's performance is incredible and even won him the 2018 Emmy award for best supporting actor in a comedy series. 

Outside of show business, Winkler has made a name for himself in the world of publishing with his children's book series "Hank Zipzer: The World's Greatest Underachiever." The title character is a young boy who has dyslexia and struggles in school. The books are written to help kids who are struggling with the same issues that Winkler did when he was young.

The books were almost never written due to a lack of confidence from Winkler. "My agent suggested it to me and at first I was shocked, me write a book? I thought I couldn't do it, I thought I was too stupid to write a book. Even though I was a famous actor, I still thought I was stupid because I'd been told that so many times at school," he told The Guardian. 

The books are explicitly formatted to make them easier for dyslexic children to read. Winkler explained the process in more detail, saying, "One thing we do is have a lot of white space in the books. Sometimes a chapter is 12 pages long, but sometimes it's a paragraph long. Sometimes it's a list. If a child has a hard time reading, they can still read a whole chapter of my books. Kids who have never read before, reluctant readers, can read my books."

Writing this book series has had a profound impact on Winkler, and his books spread a positive message for children with learning disabilities. "This is what I know: A learning challenge doesn't have to stop you. Every child who writes me a letter about Hank Zipzer, I write back. In every letter I include, 'your learning challenge will not stop you from meeting your dream. Only you will stop yourself from meeting your dream,'" he shared with The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.

In 1978 Winkler married Stacey Weitzman and adopted her son Jed Weitzman as well. The couple went on to have two children of their own, Max and Zoe Winkler. They also own two dogs named Sadie and Linus. Their entire family loves dogs, and in an interview with Be Chewy from 2019, Winkler shared that Max and Zoe both have dogs as well.

The way Winkler describes his dogs is so precious. "We have Sadie, and she is just a heart stealer. She has the energy of 7 dogs and is a relentless ball player. She's a 1-year-old Labradoodle, chocolate brown and she is a mini. I wasn't exactly sure I was getting a mini, but here she is," he told Be Chewy.

He continued, "Eleven years ago, my wife found a baby Labrador, who was 4 months old, in a parking structure … We brought him home, and then he grew into a Great Dane. He's a mix … he is part Lab, part Great Dane. His name is Linus." 

Apparently, Winkler's love for animals is nothing new. "I've always been a dog lover! I had an Irish Setter when I was 8. Her name was Dervin, and she was beautiful. My mother didn't like dogs so she told me that Dervin went to a farm where she had more room to run. I got over that like last Thursday," he shared with a laugh.

Winkler loves nature, and his favorite hobby is fly fishing. He shared with The Hollywood Reporter how the exercise makes him feel. "The repetition of it, the sound of the water ... Anything that bothers you is completely washed from your body. I see fly-fishing as a washing machine for your brain," said Winkler.

Henry Winkler has had a long and diverse career for someone who grew to fame from such a significant role. Did you ever watch him on "Happy Days"? What do you think of his love for dogs and fly fishing? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to pass this along to your loved ones.