NEED TO KNOW
Henry Winkler convinced ABC not to rename Happy Days to Fonzie’s Happy Days despite his character’s popularity
Winkler valued the ensemble cast and believed changing the title would harm the show’s dynamic and success
He turned down an offer for his own spinoff, choosing to stay with the cast he considered his “extraordinary family”
Happy Days almost had a different name, but Henry Winkler knew he had to stop it.
During an appearance on In Depth: Graham Bensinger, the Emmy-winning actor, 80, explained that former ABC president Leonard Goldenson would often come to his dressing room to pitch ideas for the hit sitcom.
Winkler played Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, aka “The Fonz,” on the show. While he was originally a minor character, he quickly became a massive pop-culture icon. At the time, the actor admitted it was “scary” to leave his apartment, and he received about “50,000 letters a week.”
At the height of his popularity, he recalled receiving letters from people asking ABC to add “more Fonzie” to the show — which Goldenson seemed keen to do.
The cast of ‘Happy Days’ in 1975
Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Winkler noted that “before Happy Days, ABC was in the basement” and “it was the last of the three networks.” However, its ratings skyrocketed thanks to the show — and Goldenson had a proposal he felt would help even more.
“He came to my office, my dressing room, and he said, ‘First of all, I would like to call the show Fonzie’s Happy Days. We’re thinking of changing the title.’ And I said, ‘Sir, I’m really asking you not to do that. First of all, it’s not broken.’ “
Winkler “thought there was a bigger purpose” larger than him, noting that there was an “entire cast and crew on stage 19 down the way.”
Happy Days, which ran from 1974 to 1984, also starred Ron Howard, Marion Ross, Scott Baio, Don Most, Anson Williams, Erin Moran, Tom Bosley, Al Molinaro and Linda Purl.
“Gary Marshall and Marion Ross and Anson and Donny and Erin, bless her soul, I mean, there was an entire cast,” he explained. “We were really soaring in the ratings. It wasn’t broken. This would be a slap in the face. Why change the title if it is working so magnificently?”
The Barry actor also recalled a conversation he had with Howard years prior about his role “overtaking” the show.
“He said, ‘Look, it hurt my feelings. You’re not doing anything to hurt my feelings. You’re really good and you’re good for the show. It’s helping the show. So I put all of that together and that’s the way it is,'” Winkler recounted. “And we never talked about it again.”
Henry Winkler
Credit: Robin L Marshall/Getty
Deep down, Winkler “knew that underneath all of these actors was the fact that I came with six lines and I was just soaring.”
Winkler explained that to Goldenson, not wanting to ruffle any feathers with his castmates.
“The character was taking off, and I said, ‘Oh my god, do not change the name. It’s hard enough to just maintain and keep everybody as the ensemble because we can’t do it if we are resentful or angry of each other.’ And he said, ‘Okay.’ “
Still, Winkler said Goldenson “offered me my own show.” Although he called it “one of the great compliments of all time,” he declined.
“I said, ‘Look, I live and I am successful in this extraordinary group of people. If I do my own show, now all of a sudden I’m going, “Hey, look at that” for about a half an hour. I’m with new people. I have no idea if I have chemistry with these new people. I don’t think I can do my own show. I think I’m very happy right where I am with this extraordinary family. ‘ “
He thought it would be “stupid” to leave a “winning championship team” just to be able to say he had his own show.
In the end, he said the opportunity was “so easy to turn down.”
“It was so easy. It was so easy to turn it down. I never looked back. I never thought about it. I was flattered. What an amazing gift, but it was a gift I didn’t want to open,” Winkler said.
Read the original article on People