Henry Winkler on being ghosted by Paul McCartney, that 'baloney' John Travolta 'Grease' feud
LOS ANGELES – Here's a big tip when speaking to Henry Winkler: Don't refer to the beloved star of "Happy Days" and HBO's "Barry" as "the nicest guy in Hollywood." He hates that.
Winkler, who just turned 78, constantly acts like the world's coolest guy. And he invited USA TODAY into his home to gleefully tell story after story, only pausing to ask (often) if anyone wanted something to eat from the top-notch spread he laid out on the kitchen table of his Los Angeles home.
But seriously, don't even mention "nice," which many people do.
"I'm not nice," Winker says flatly. "I am grateful. I am joyful. I'm so just happy I'm on this planet."
This unflagging (and slightly peculiar) joy and wonder permeates Winkler's, "Being Henry: The Fonz…And Beyond", (out now from Celadon Books). The memoir tells Winkler's fever dream of a Hollywood career that incredibly began with the life-changing "Happy Days" The Fonz role dropping one month after the blissfully naive 28-year-old actor landed in Los Angeles. Winkler makes clear he's still appreciating the crazy ride that peaked again as a septuagenarian with his Emmy-winning ride on HBO's "Barry."
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He discussed some memorable "Being Henry" points:
Fonzie performed a 'Happy Days' miracle parting a rabid Dallas crowd
"Being Henry" chronicles the "Happy Days" instant success that exploded in 1974, making Winkler the star of every '70s kid's lunch box. His first movie theater date with Stacey, now his wife of 45 years, was spent dealing with incessantly approaching fans.
The Yale Drama School graduate never spoke as The Fonz in public back then in a vain attempt at preventing being typecast as the lovable greaser. But at a Dallas fan event with co-stars including Ron Howard (Fonzie's clean-cut friend Richie) a screaming crowd of frenzied supporters surrounded the group, blocking their waiting cars and safe exit. Winkler went full Fonz."Using Fonz voice, I shouted, 'Alright! You are going to part like the Red Sea. You're not going to touch us,' " the 5-foot-6 Winkler says. "And they actually parted. We walked to the car, got in, and drove off."
Winkler is still waiting for Paul McCartney's return call
Winkler loves his Hollywood star sightings and fills his memoir with giddy encounters like visiting "The Godfather Part II" set where he complimented young Robert De Niro on his f-bomb dialogue artistry. De Niro recalled the touching praise to Winkler decades later.
Some star encounters don't go as well. Like reintroducing himself to Mick Jagger while the rocker was focused on an amorous dinner date. "I slunk out of the restaurant," says Winkler. But his most perfectly excruciating star story involves meeting Paul McCartney on a New York City street and the British rocker passing his phone number on saying, "Let's hang out." The excited Winkler called McCartney "seven or maybe 17 times" and left messages, all unreturned.
"He must have thought 'The Fonz. Very cool. But a stalker. And crazy,'" Winkler says, laughing. "I never heard from him again."
Winkler turned down 'Grease,' but calls reports of Travolta tension 'baloney'
Yes, Winkler was offered the Danny Zuko role in "Grease," but turned it down in a financially painful attempt not to be Fonzie typecast. The part went to '70s sitcom contemporary "Welcome Back, Kotter" star John Travolta, who got rich enough to "literally buy a 747," Winkler says. But no hard feelings. Winkler says that unfounded reports of star strain between him and Travolta are "baloney."
"He was amazing in 'Grease,'" says Winkler. "There was no bad blood. That was all made up. I just got a wonderful note from him saying that he loved 'Barry.' He's a wonderful human being.'"
Burt Reynolds was a pain and a half on 'Cop and a Half'
The rare human who gets a challenging "Being Henry" write-up is '70s icon Burt Reynolds, who starred in the Winkler-directed 1993 comedy "Cop and a Half."
During a preproduction party thrown at his Florida home, Reynolds flexed his connection to the film's producers at Imagine Entertainment, founded by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.
"(Reynolds) comes down the stairway, and goes, 'I just got off the phone with Ron Howard, he said that I can fire you anytime I want,'" Winkler recalls.
But Winkler shot right back: "Oh, could you tell me right away? Because I've got another film to prep for."
"Where I got the nerve, I don't know," says Winkler. "I can do in my professional life what I cannot do in my real life."
Winkler was starstruck during his 'Barry' Emmy moment
Some of the funniest behind-the-scenes memoir moments involve Winkler auditioning for "Barry," trying to act nonchalant while speaking with creator and star Bill Hader but dying for the role of bombastic drama teacher Gene Cousineau. Winkler's stress level almost blew up when he got excruciatingly lost on his way to a major "Barry" audition. But, of course, Winkler nabbed the career-resurgent part.
Fast forward to 2018 and Winkler joyously hugging Hader at the Emmy Awards after winning best supporting actor, his first win after several nominations over this career. Walking on the Emmy stage, Winkler went starblind meeting the presenters, "The Crown" stars Matt Smith and Claire Foy.
"I swear, my wife and I had just finished 'The Crown' second season. And there's Prince Philip and the Queen on the stage," says Winkler. "I started telling Matt and Claire what a great season they had. They're looking at me like I'm crazy. I'd completely forgotten why I was there. So I only had 37 seconds to give my speech."
Winkler somehow managed to give beautiful words.
"What an amazing night," Winkler says. "I normally keep my Emmy on the living room table so everyone can see it once they walk in the house. But I moved it to my office because I wanted to use it for my Zoom calls."
