Henry Winkler reflects on life in new memoir
- Winkler became known for role as Arthur Fonzarelli on "Happy Days"
- He suffered verbal abuse as a child, battled insecurities and dyslexia
- Winkler said he is no longer angry about how he was treated as a child
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(NewsNation) — Henry Winkler — Emmy-winning actor, director and now author — has told all in his new memoir “Being Henry: The Fonz … and Beyond.”
“I love him. I had so much fun playing him,” Winkler said.
Winkler had played the character Arthur Fonzarelli, or “the Fonz,” on the hit TV show “Happy Days.”
However, his dreams of being an actor didn’t come easy. He explained he would save $1,000 doing commercials and then travel to Hollywood for one month to go on auditions.
As he was running out of money and time, he got a call on his birthday in 1973 asking him if he’d be interested in the role of Fonz.
“I said, ‘Let me think about it … Yes, I would!'” Winkler said.
But it wasn’t always easy for Winkler to reach his dreams. In his book, he pulled back the curtain on his personal life, writing about the verbal abuse he received as a child, battling insecurities and living with dyslexia.
“It almost seemed that they were finally proud of me. But the truth is, I didn’t care. It was too late,” Winkler wrote in his book. “They weren’t proud for me. They were proud of me, like a possession.”
Winkler said he was treated as an extension of his parents, and one thing he couldn’t let go of was being held back by a disability he didn’t even know he had. He explained his parents didn’t know about dyslexia, but they didn’t do anything to help him figure out what was wrong.
“When you have a child, they are who they are. You know, if there’s a problem, you don’t let that problem hold you back,” Winkler said.
He told NewsNation that he wasn’t angry anymore about how he was treated as a child, but when he was younger, his parents used to call him “dumme hunde,” which translates to “dumb dog” because of his dyslexia.
Winkler shared that one of his life’s most impactful moments was when he met a young girl with autism at a special arts festival. As he was walking through the crowded festival, he said he heard a girl say “Fonz.”
When he turned around, the girl’s mother was stunned, for that was the first word her daughter had ever spoken in her entire life.
“That is an honor, and honor of being on the Earth,” Winkler said.
