name	Fonzie
first	"All the Way" (1974)
last	"Passages, Part II"
gender	Male
occupation	Mechanic, Part Owner of Arnold's Restaurant, Teacher (1956-)
family	Vito Fonzarelli (father),
relatives	Grandma Nussbaum (grandmother)Chachi Arcola (cousin), Spike (cousin and a child burle sque of Fonzie),
children	Danny (adopted son)
portrayer	Henry Winkler
creator	Jesse Delamotte }}

Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli (also Fonzie, The Fonz, or Fonz) is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984). He was originally a secondary character, but eventually became the lead. By the mid 1970s, he dwarfed the other characters in popularity.

Character traits and development

Born in the fictional town of East Meadow as a child, he and his mother were abandoned by his father. The only advice Fonz remembered his father giving was, "Don't wear socks in the rain." When he disappeared, he left a locked box for his son, but not a key; Arthur did everything to open the box, finally running over it with his tricycle. The contents? "The key, and that's it!" In the sixth season episode "Christmas Time", a sailor delivers a Christmas present ostensibly from his father, who wishes to make amends. Fonzie is resentful, but at the end of the episode reads his father's letter explaining why he left and opens it. He also learns that the sailor was his father, who admits in the letter that he doubted he would have the courage to reveal the truth to his son. In a later episode, Fonz unexpectedly meets a woman he believes is his mother in a diner. She convinces him she is not, but in the end, she looks at a picture of Fonz as a small child and sighs.

Though he takes pride in his Italian-American heritage, at one point in the series, his "Grandma Nussbaum" moves in with him, suggesting that he is actually of mixed ethnic heritage, possibly German-American or Jewish-German-American on his mother's side. (Evidence of this is mixed. When the other characters first learn her last name, they do doubletakes, and Grandma replies that she had been married a few times, but shortly after, when asked what she thinks of the apartment over the Cunningham's garage, refers to it as a "schlep"—a Yiddish term. Winkler himself comes from German-Jewish parents who emigrated before World War II.) In the episode in which Fonzie is baptized, he makes a point in noting his appreciation for the Jews—possibly maternal relatives—who attended the ceremony. Grandma Nussbaum appears to have been a primary caregiver to Fonzie through the age of six. When he (instead of Grandma Nussbaum) moves into the Cunningham's garage apartment—a plot development that helped precipitate his domination of the program—he turns his old apartment over to his grandmother. She is rarely referred to after that but she is featured in at least one later episode.

Grandma Nussbaum (and she alone) calls Fonzie "Skippy." She is also the grandmother of Fonzie's cousin Chachi. Fonzie's devotion to her foreshadows his ongoing devotion to mother figures throughout the show, particularly to Mrs. Cunningham.

Fonzie previously belonged to two different gangs, the Demons and the Falcons. He earned a particularly infamous reputation during this time, making many of his peers afraid of him. His redemption begins in the months before the series. The Fonz intervened in a rumble to which gang members had challenged high school student Richie Cunningham. Thanks to this intervention, Richie developed respect for Fonzie. Despite their differences, the two became best friends. While Richie learned the world from Fonz, Fonzie learned about the closeness of a tight-knit all-American family from the Cunninghams. Though at first looked down on and mistrusted (a result of his past and him being a high school dropout), he eventually became accepted by Richie's family, especially when he rented an attic room over their garage. Even Richie's father, Howard ("Mr. C." to Fonzie and the most resistant to him living with them), a pillar of the community, came to regard Fonzie with affection.

At the start of the series, Fonzie is a high school dropout, prompting establishment characters in the show to see him as a rebel and bad influence. Fonzie is shown once attempting to go back to school with Richie, but he later decides it just isn't for him and drops out again. However, a few seasons later, Fonzie is secretly attending night school and ultimately earns his high school diploma. Throughout it all, Fonzie worked as an auto mechanic. He later became an auto mechanic instructor at the school and finally a full-fledged teacher.

Fonzie has a very high moral code. He always treats others with respect and sticks up for those that can't defend themselves. On the other hand, he often expects others to follow his example. After Chachi accidentally burns down Arnold's, for example, Fonzie very angrily yells at him for what he's done, even though other characters (including owner Al) understand it was just an accident.

Fonzie was consistently portrayed as being very successful with women. Very few women turned down his advances or made him nervous. While displaying somewhat womanizer behavior, Fonzie always treated whoever he happened to be with utmost respect. His success with women made him a frequent source of advice for Richie, Potsie, Ralph and Chachi. In Season 10, Fonzie maintained a long-term relationship with a single mother, but they would break up by the following year. Though he never married, he adopted a young orphan boy named Danny in the final season, completing his transformation from rebel to family man.

Despite his aloofness, Fonzie had more whimsical traits, such as a devotion to the Lone Ranger, whom he excitedly meets in an episode. While confident with women, he blushed whenever Richie's mother Marion ("Mrs. C." to Fonzie), who became like a surrogate mother to him, kissed him on the cheek. She was the only person Fonzie allows to address him by his first name, Arthur, which she always did affectionately. Richie's sister Joanie also became attached to Fonzie; he called her "Shortcake." In one episode, when it is revealed that Fonzie had never been christened as a baby, the Cunninghams stood by him at church so that he could finally be christened. Fonzie self-appointed the men's washroom at Arnold's as his "office," where he and Richie and his friends would gather to work out developing problems. Written on the walls were phone numbers of his many girlfriends (There was a payphone in there, too). On opening night of the newly-built Arnold's (after the old one burned down), Al had a desk set up in the new men's washroom just for Fonzie. It included a desk telephone and organized pull-down sheet of all the phone numbers Al recovered from the fire.

Fonzie's rough past earns him a great deal of respect and fear from more antagonistic characters. Various episodes indicate that the Fonz has extensive martial arts training. Even opponents larger than him are shown to back down from confrontations. Those who do fight him never come out on top. In one episode, he compares his nerve strike knowledge to that of a woman while both use Ralph as a training dummy. In subsequent episodes, he out-dueled an expert fencer and mangled a gangster's prosthetic iron hand with one fist. Meanwhile, more sympathetic characters idolize Fonzie due to his success with women and his imperturbable "cool". Despite the respect he has earned, several people still antagonized him — including Officer Kirk (Ed Peck), an overzealous police officer who sometimes (always unsuccessfully) tried to frame Fonzie or run him out of town.

Fonzie would at times demonstrate an almost magical ability to manipulate technology with just a nudge, bump or a snap of his fingers for things such as starting a car, turning on lights, changing the song selection on a juke box or getting free sodas from a vending machine. Somewhat hyperbolic examples of this can be seen in his dreamlike encounter with the extraterrestrial Mork such as a form psychokinesis triggered from the snapping of his fingers to a laser resistant, Lightsaber-like thumb.

Civic involvement

Fonzie is involved with community projects. He endorses Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1952 presidential campaign. At a rally Fonzie declares, "I like Ike. My bike likes Ike." Eisenhower carried Wisconsin with 62% of the vote easily defeating Adlai Stevenson (supported by Richie Cunningham's more-researched speech). In that election, Eisenhower got 457 electoral votes to 73 for Stevenson.

The Fonz becomes involved with other issues. Highlighting actor Henry Winkler's off-camera work, several episodes dealt with civil rights of people with disabilities. Concerned that students with epilepsy were denied their chance to attend public school and play sports, he intervenes to resolve the issue. Such advocacy builds on the previous season's episode where Fonzie hired wheelchair-bound Don King to work in his garage, promising to provide workplace accommodation for his employee.

And concerned about other equal opportunity issues, Fonz wants Milwaukee racially integrated. Personally friends with African Americans, he becomes upset when a party in which Richie will welcome Hawaii into the Union gets boycotted. People have grown anxious because it will be racially integrated. Initially wanting to force people to attend, Fonzie learns from Mr. Cunningham that people cannot change their minds overnight. He volunteers to go south with Al and Freedom Riders to help integrate a segregated diner. Normally flirtatious with women, Fonzie is instead disgusted that the waitress does not serve black customers. At one point he tells her that he cannot date her because of her compliance with the diner policy.

Production details

Micky Dolenz, on the strength of his performance as a biker on an episode of ''Adam-12'', was Garry Marshall's original choice to play Fonzie. Dolenz was several inches taller than the other cast members, and Marshall thought it might be better for Fonzie to be on the same eye level as the other characters. A search for a shorter actor as an alternate resulted in Henry Winkler landing the role. ABC's censors refused Fonzie a leather jacket, thinking it made him look like a hoodlum. Garry Marshall got them to allow Fonzie to wear his jacket close to his motorcycle (a Triumph TR5 Trophy) since a leather jacket was considered safety equipment. Marshall put him near his motorcycle as often as possible, even to ride it into Arnold's. When it wasn't possible to have the bike in the scene, Fonzie would wear a white windbreaker. Eventually, Fonzie was allowed to wear the leather jacket even when not near his bike. One of the jackets is in the Smithsonian Institution. Henry Winkler gets requests to "be the Fonz" in real life. "People expect me to be this guy who can walk into a dark room, snap my fingers, and turn on the lights. Or they want me to pound my fist on the hood of a car, and start the engine. I can't do it. I've ''tried!'' I think the silliest request I ever got was when somebody asked me to quiet the animals in a zoo." He always insisted in interviews that Fonzie was a role he played and that he was just an actor. According to Winkler, "The Fonz was everybody I wasn't. He was everybody I wanted to be." On ''Happy Days'', Fonzie met Mork, an alien. Played by Robin Williams, Mork proved so popular that he received his spin-off series, ''Mork & Mindy''. Fonzie, Richie Cunningham and Ralph Malph starred in a Saturday morning cartoon spin-off, ''The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang'', where the characters, with a female character named Cupcake and a "Fonz dog" (an anthropomorphic dog named Mr. Cool that imitated the Fonz's thumbs-up "Aaay" catchphrase), traveled through time.

References in popular culture

Television

Fonzie has been referenced in episodes of ''Boy Meets World'' (in-jokes of ''Boy Meets World'' being a "modern" ''Happy Days'' was a repeated theme throughout the show's run), ''Futurama'', ''Family Guy'' (where the main character Peter Griffin is a huge fan of Fonzie, to the extent of starting a religion of his worship), ''That '70s Show'' (which has a number of homages to ''Happy Days''), ''Kim Possible'', ''The Replacements'', ''The Suite Life of Zack and Cody'', ''The Simpsons'', ''Scrubs'', ''Newsradio'', Clerks the Animated Series , ''The Oblongs'', ''South Park'', ''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'', ''21 Jump Street'', ''Bo' Selecta!'', ''End of Part One'', ''Robot Chicken'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Supernatural'', ''IT Crowd'', ''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'', ''The L Word'', ''George Lopez'', ''Friends'', ''Gilmore Girls'', ''The Office'', ''Peep Show''. ''How I Met Your Mother'', ''Flight of the Conchords'', ''Lost'', ''King of the Hill'', and "SuperNews".

Henry Winkler played Barry Zuckerkorn on ''Arrested Development'' (a show executive produced and narrated by Ron Howard). In the episode "Altar Egos", Barry briefly does the Fonz pose in a bathroom mirror. Another reference occurs in the episode "Motherboy XXX", in which Barry jumps over a shark. Scott Baio, the actor who played Chachi, was also featured as a lawyer in Arrested Development, and in the episode where the Bluth family was arguing about replacing Zuckerkorn as their lawyer, it is said that Baio's character was "brought in to appeal to a younger demographic," a reference to the show.

In the movie Scream, Winkler played a school principal. He struck a Fonz pose in the mirror when he combed his hair.

Originally, Fonzie wasn't supposed to be the "cool character" that he became; Potsie was intended to fill that role. But after Fonzie gained popularity, Potsie then became a supporting character who was somewhat naïve.

Ron Howard created a Barack Obama PSA campaign video which featured Richie Cunningham and the Fonz discussing the need for change with Obama.

A wax figure of the Fonz has been featured prominently on ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien''. The hand positioning of the wax figure causes host Conan O'Brien to comment that the Fonz was finishing up at the urinal.

Statue

In Downtown Milwaukee, the setting of the show, a statue of Fonzie has been erected near the Riverwalk. He is in his trademark thumbs-up pose.

"Jumping the shark"

The phrase "jumping the shark", a term originating from a melodramatic ''Happy Days'' scene in which Fonzie jumps on water skis over an enclosure of sharks, has become part of popular culture. The expression denotes the moment when a television series loses its credibility due to predictable repetition or contrived extensions of its theme, usually as a result of the writers being unable to maintain its quality indefinitely.

Other

XBXRX sing a song named "The Fonz". Eugene McGuinness sings a song named "Fonz". Smash Mouth also have a song named "The Fonz". He is also referenced in many songs, including "A Pack of Dogs" by Lightyear, Adam Sandler's "The Chanukah Song", the ''Evil Dead: The Musical'' song "Do The Necronomicon" and the Weezer music video of "Buddy Holly". In the video game ''Saints Row 2'', one of the compliments is called "Happy Days" and mimics Fonzie's thumbs up greeting. It even plays a voice similar to his. In the DC Comics publication Booster Gold, Booster is seen to admire The Fonz, and imitates his thumping of the jukebox and thumbs up greeting upon going back in time. In his 1970s heyday, MPC issued a model kit of 'Fonzie & His Bike' featuring the character and the Triumph TR5 Trophy he rode.

Fonzie had a habit of hitting electrical equipment to make it work, and this became known as the ''Fonzie touch'', a term that is still in use today. The Fonz is also parodied in an episode of ''The Simpsons'' where Homer imitates his thumbs-up greeting and hits a jukebox to try to make it work. After this fails, he hits it again and smashes the glass, severely injuring his hand. In the first episode of the first season of Trailer Park Boys, Ricky calls Cyrus "Fonzie" because he wears a leather jacket and has a similar haircut.

Reception

Virgin Media included Fonzie in their "80's finest" segment and stated: "He was the coolest dude in suburban America on the classic sitcom Happy Days. He wore a leather jacket; he got all the chicks; he even made the thumbs-up sign look good."

See also

List of breakout characters

Fonzie (band) – Punk rock band from Portugal

Cool (aesthetic)

References

Category:Fictional American people of Italian descent Category:Fictional characters from Wisconsin Category:Fictional mechanics Category:Happy Days characters Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1974

de:Fonzie es:Fonz (personaje) fr:Fonzie it:Arthur Fonzarelli fi:Fonzie sv:Fonzie

birth name	Thomas Jeffrey Hanks
birth date	July 09, 1956
birth place	Concord, California, U.S.
years active	1979–present
occupation	Actor, producer, director, voice over artist, writer, speaker
spouse	Samantha Lewes(m. 1978–1987; divorced)Rita Wilson (m. 1988–present)
children	Colin, Elizabeth, Chester, Truman }}

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's ''Big'', before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in ''Philadelphia'', the title role in ''Forrest Gump'', Commander Jim Lovell in ''Apollo 13'', Captain John H. Miller in ''Saving Private Ryan'', Joe Fox in ''You've Got Mail'', Chuck Noland in ''Cast Away'', and voicing the character Woody in the ''Toy Story series''. Hanks won consecutive Best Actor Academy Awards, in 1993 for ''Philadelphia'' and in 1994 for ''Forrest Gump''. U.S. domestic box office totals for his films exceed US$4.0 billion. He is the father of actor Colin Hanks.

Early life

Hanks was born in Concord, California. His father, Amos Mefford Hanks (born in Glenn County, California, on March 9, 1924 – died in Alameda, California, on January 31, 1992), an itinerant cook, was a distant relative of President Abraham Lincoln (through Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks). His mother, Janet Marylyn (née Frager; born in Alameda County, California, on January 18, 1932), was a hospital worker. Hanks' mother is of Portuguese ancestry, while two of his paternal great-grandparents immigrated from Britain. Hanks's parents divorced in 1960. The family's three oldest children, Sandra (now Sandra Hanks Benoiton, a writer), Larry (now Lawrence M. Hanks, PhD, an entomology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Tom, went with their father, while the youngest, Jim, now an actor and film maker, remained with his mother in Red Bluff, California. Afterwards, both parents remarried. Hanks's first stepmother came to the marriage with five children of her own. Hanks once told ''Rolling Stone'': "Everybody in my family likes each other. But there were always about 50 people at the house. I didn't exactly feel like an outsider, but I was sort of outside it." That marriage ended in divorce after two years.

In addition to having a family history of Catholicism and Mormonism, Hanks was a "Bible-toting evangelical teenager" for several years. In school, Hanks was unpopular with students and teachers alike, later telling ''Rolling Stone'' magazine: "I was a geek, a spaz. I was horribly, painfully, terribly shy. At the same time, I was the guy who'd yell out funny captions during filmstrips. But I didn't get into trouble. I was always a real good kid and pretty responsible." In 1965, Amos Hanks married Frances Wong, a San Francisco native of Chinese descent. Frances had three children, two of whom lived with Tom during his high school years. Hanks acted in school plays, including ''South Pacific'', while attending Skyline High School in Oakland, California.

Hanks studied theater at Chabot College in Hayward, California, and after two years, transferred to California State University, Sacramento. Hanks told ''The New York Times'': "Acting classes looked like the best place for a guy who liked to make a lot of noise and be rather flamboyant. I spent a lot of time going to plays. I wouldn't take dates with me. I'd just drive to a theater, buy myself a ticket, sit in the seat, and read the program, and then get into the play completely. I spent a lot of time like that, seeing Bertolt Brecht, Tennessee Williams, Henrik Ibsen, and all that, and now look at me, acting is my job. I wouldn't have it any other way."

During his years studying theater, Hanks met Vincent Dowling, head of the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. At Dowling's suggestion, Hanks became an intern at the Festival. His internship stretched into a three-year experience that covered most aspects of theater production, including lighting, set design, and stage management, all of which caused Hanks to drop out of college. During the same time, Hanks won the Cleveland Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his 1978 performance as Proteus in Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'', one of the few times he played a villain.

Career

Early career

In 1979, Hanks moved to New York City, where he made his film debut in the low-budget slasher film ''He Knows You're Alone'' (1980) and got a part in the television movie ''Mazes and Monsters''. Early in 1979, Hanks was cast in the lead role of Callimaco in the Riverside Shakespeare Company's production of Niccolò Machiavelli's ''The Mandrake'', directed by Daniel Southern. This remains Hanks's only New York stage performance to date; as a high profile Off Off Broadway showcase, the production helped Tom land an agent, Joe Ohla with the J. Michael Bloom Agency. The next year, Hanks landed a lead role on the ABC television pilot of ''Bosom Buddies'', playing the role of Kip Wilson. Hanks moved to Los Angeles, where he and Peter Scolari played a pair of young advertising men forced to dress as women so they could live in an inexpensive all-female hotel. Hanks had previously partnered with Scolari in the 1970s game show ''Make Me Laugh''. ''Bosom Buddies'' ran for two seasons, and, although the ratings were never strong, television critics gave the program high marks. "The first day I saw him on the set," co-producer Ian Praiser told ''Rolling Stone'', "I thought, 'Too bad he won't be in television for long.' I knew he'd be a movie star in two years." But if Praiser knew it, he was not able to convince Hanks. "The television show had come out of nowhere," best friend Tom Lizzio told ''Rolling Stone''. "Then out of nowhere it got canceled. He figured he'd be back to pulling ropes and hanging lights in a theater."

''Bosom Buddies'' and a guest appearance on a 1982 episode of ''Happy Days'' ("A Case of Revenge," where he played a disgruntled former classmate of The Fonz) prompted director Ron Howard to contact Hanks. Howard was working on ''Splash'' (1984), a romantic comedy fantasy about a mermaid who falls in love with a human. At first, Howard considered Hanks for the role of the main character's wisecracking brother, a role that eventually went to John Candy. Instead, Hanks got the lead role and a career boost from ''Splash'', which went on to become a box office hit, grossing more than US$69 million. He also had a sizable hit with the sex comedy ''Bachelor Party'', also in 1984.

In 1983–84, Hanks made three guest appearances on ''Family Ties'' as Elyse Keaton's alcoholic brother, Ned Donnelly.

Period of successes and failures

With ''Nothing in Common'' (1986) – about a young man alienated from his parents who must re-establish a relationship with his father, played by Jackie Gleason – Hanks began to establish the credentials of not only a comic actor but of someone who could carry a serious role. "It changed my desires about working in movies," Hanks told ''Rolling Stone''. "Part of it was the nature of the material, what we were trying to say. But besides that, it focused on people's relationships. The story was about a guy and his father, unlike, say, ''The Money Pit'', where the story is really about a guy and his house."

After a few more flops and a moderate success with ''Dragnet'', Hanks succeeded with the film ''Big'' (1988), both at the box office and within the industry. The film established Hanks as a major Hollywood talent. It was followed later that year by ''Punchline'', in which he and Sally Field co-starred as struggling comedians. Hanks's character, Steven Gold, a failing medical student trying to break into stand-up, was somewhat edgy and complex. Hanks' portrayal of Gold offered a glimpse of the far more dramatic roles Hanks would master in films to come. Hanks then suffered a pile of box-office failures: ''The 'Burbs'' (1989), ''Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), and ''The Bonfire of the Vanities'' (1990), as a greedy Wall Street type who gets enmeshed in a hit-and-run accident. Only the 1989 movie ''Turner & Hooch'' brought success for Hanks during this time. In a 1993 issue of ''Disney Adventures'', Hanks said, "I saw ''Turner & Hooch'' the other day in the SAC store and couldn't help but be reminiscent. I cried like a baby." He did admit to making a couple of "bum tickers," however, and blamed his "...deductive reasoning and decision making skills."

Progression into dramatic roles

Hanks climbed back to the top again with his portrayal of a washed-up baseball star turned manager in ''A League of Their Own'' (1992). Hanks has admitted that his acting in earlier roles was not great and that he has improved. In an interview with ''Vanity Fair'', Hanks noted his ''"modern era of moviemaking ... because enough self-discovery has gone on.... My work has become less pretentiously fake and over the top"''. This "modern era" began in 1993 for Hanks, first with ''Sleepless in Seattle'' and then with ''Philadelphia''. The former was a blockbuster success about a widower who finds true love over the airwaves. Richard Schickel of ''TIME'' called his performance "charming," and most critics agreed that Hanks' portrayal ensured him a place among the premier romantic-comedy stars of his generation.

In ''Philadelphia'', he played a gay lawyer with AIDS who sues his firm for discrimination. Hanks lost thirty-five pounds and thinned his hair in order to appear sickly for the role. In a review for ''People'', Leah Rozen stated "Above all, credit for ''Philadelphia'''s success belongs to Hanks, who makes sure that he plays a character, not a saint. He is flat-out terrific, giving a deeply felt, carefully nuanced performance that deserves an Oscar." Hanks won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in ''Philadelphia''. During his acceptance speech he revealed that his high school drama teacher Rawley Farnsworth and former classmate John Gilkerson, two people with whom he was close, were gay.

Hanks followed ''Philadelphia'' with the 1994 summer hit ''Forrest Gump''. Of the film, Hanks has remarked: "When I read the script for ''Gump'', I saw it as one of those kind of grand, hopeful movies that the audience can go to and feel ... some hope for their lot and their position in life... I got that from the movies a hundred million times when I was a kid. I still do." Hanks won his second Best Actor Academy Award for his role in ''Forrest Gump'', becoming only the second actor to have accomplished the feat of winning consecutive Best Actor Oscars. (Spencer Tracy was the first, winning in 1937–38. Hanks and Tracy were the same age at the time they received their Academy Awards: 37 for the first and 38 for the second.)

Hanks' next role—astronaut and commander Jim Lovell, in the 1995 movie ''Apollo 13''--reunited him with Ron Howard. Critics generally applauded the film and the performances of the entire cast, which included actors Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, and Kathleen Quinlan. The movie also earned nine Academy Award nominations, winning two. The same year, Hanks starred in the animated blockbuster ''Toy Story'' as the voice of the toy Sheriff Woody.

1996 – present: Directing, producing and acting

Hanks turned to directing with his 1996 film ''That Thing You Do!'' about a 1960s pop group, also playing the role of a music producer. Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman went on to create Playtone, a record and film production company named for the record company in the film.

Hanks executive produced, co-wrote, and co-directed the HBO docudrama ''From the Earth to the Moon''. The twelve-part series chronicles the space program from its inception, through the familiar flights of Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell, to the personal feelings surrounding the reality of moon landings. The Emmy Award-winning project was, at US$68 million, one of the most expensive ventures taken for television.

Hanks's next project was no less expensive. For ''Saving Private Ryan'' he teamed up with Steven Spielberg to make a film about a search through war-torn France after D-Day to bring back a soldier. It earned the praise and respect of the film community, critics, and the general public. It was labeled one of the finest war films ever made and earned Spielberg his second Academy Award for direction, and Hanks another Best Actor nomination. Later in 1998, Hanks re-teamed with his ''Sleepless in Seattle'' co-star Meg Ryan for ''You've Got Mail'', a remake of 1940's ''The Shop Around the Corner''.

In 1999, Hanks starred in an adaptation of the Stephen King novel ''The Green Mile''. He also returned as the voice of Woody in ''Toy Story 2.'' The following year he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a marooned FedEx systems analyst in Robert Zemeckis's ''Cast Away''. In 2001, Hanks helped direct and produce the acclaimed HBO mini-series ''Band of Brothers''. He also appeared in the September 11 television special ''America: A Tribute to Heroes'' and the documentary ''Rescued From the Closet''.

Next he teamed up with ''American Beauty'' director Sam Mendes for the adaptation of Max Allan Collins's and Richard Piers Rayner's graphic novel ''Road to Perdition'', in which he played an anti-hero role as a hitman on the run with his son. That same year, Hanks collaborated with director Spielberg again, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the hit crime comedy ''Catch Me if You Can'', based on the true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr. The same year, Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson produced the hit movie ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding''. In August 2007, he along with co-producers Rita Wilson and Gary Goetzman, and writer and star Nia Vardalos, initiated a legal action against the production company Gold Circle Films for their share of profits from the movie. At the age of 45, he became the youngest ever recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award on June 12, 2002.

In 2004, he appeared in three films: The Coen Brothers' ''The Ladykillers'', another Spielberg film, ''The Terminal'', and ''The Polar Express'', a family film from Robert Zemeckis. In a ''USA Weekend'' interview, Hanks talked about how he chooses projects: "[Since] ''A League of Their Own'', it can't be just another movie for me. It has to get me going somehow.... There has to be some all-encompassing desire or feeling about wanting to do that particular movie. I'd like to assume that I'm willing to go down any avenue in order to do it right". In August 2005, Hanks was voted in as vice president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Hanks next starred in the highly anticipated film ''The Da Vinci Code'', based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. The film was released May 19, 2006 in the US and grossed over US$750 million worldwide. He followed the film with Ken Burns's 2007 documentary ''The War''. For the documentary, Hanks did voice work, reading excerpts from World War II-era columns by Al McIntosh. In 2006, Hanks topped a 1,500-strong list of 'most trusted celebrities' compiled by ''Forbes'' magazine. Hanks next appeared in a cameo role as himself in ''The Simpsons Movie'', in which he appeared in an advertisement claiming that the US government has lost its credibility and is hence buying some of his. He also made an appearance in the credits, expressing a desire to be left alone when he is out in public. Later in 2006, Hanks produced the British film ''Starter for Ten'', a comedy based on working class students attempting to win ''University Challenge''.

In 2007, Hanks starred in Mike Nichols's film ''Charlie Wilson's War'' (written by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin) in which he plays Democratic Texas Congressman Charles Wilson. The film opened on December 21, 2007, and Hanks received a Golden Globe nomination.

In 2008's ''The Great Buck Howard'', Hanks played the on-screen father of a young man (Hanks' real-life son, Colin Hanks) who chooses to follow in the footsteps of a fading magician (John Malkovich). Tom Hanks's character was less than thrilled about his son's career decision.

Hanks's next endeavor, released on May 15, 2009, was a film adaptation of ''Angels & Demons'', based on the novel of the same name by Dan Brown. Its April 11, 2007, announcement revealed that Hanks would reprise his role as Robert Langdon, and that he would reportedly receive the highest salary ever for an actor. The following day he made his 10th appearance on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'', impersonating himself for the ''Celebrity Jeopardy'' sketch.

Hanks is producer of the Spike Jonze film ''Where The Wild Things Are'', based on the children's book by Maurice Sendak.

In 2010, Hanks reprised his role as Sheriff Woody in the third film in the Toy Story franchise, ''Toy Story 3'', after he, Tim Allen, and John Ratzenberger were invited to a movie theater to see a complete story reel of the movie.

In 2011, he directed and starred opposite Julia Roberts in the title role in the romantic comedy ''Larry Crowne''. The movie has received generally bad reviews with only 35% of the 175 Rotten Tomatoes reviews giving it high ratings.

Hanks is ranked the highest all time box office star with over $3.639 billion total box office gross, an average of $107 million per film. He has been involved with seventeen films that grossed over $100 million at the worldwide box office, the highest grossing of which was 2010's ''Toy Story 3''.

Personal life

Hanks was married to American actress Samantha Lewes (née Susan Jane Dillingham) from 1978 to 1987. The couple had two children, son Colin Hanks (also an actor) and daughter Elizabeth Ann.

In 1988, Hanks married actress Rita Wilson. The two first met on the set of Hanks's television show ''Bosom Buddies'' but later developed a romantic interest while working on the film ''Volunteers''. They have two sons: Chester, or "Chet" (who has a small part as a student in ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' and released a rap single in 2011), and Truman.

Hanks became a grandfather when his son Colin and daughter-in-law Samantha gave birth to granddaughter Olivia Jane Hanks on February 1, 2011.

Regarding his religious views, Hanks has said, "I must say that when I go to church – and I do go to church – I ponder the mystery. I meditate on the 'why?' of 'Why people are as they are' and 'Why bad things happen to good people,' and 'Why good things happen to bad people'... The mystery is what I think it is, almost, the grand unifying theory of mankind."

Politics

Hanks has made donations to many Democratic politicians and has been open about his support for same-sex marriage, environmental causes and alternative fuels. Hanks made public his presidential candidate choice in the 2008 election when he uploaded a video to his MySpace account in which he announced his endorsement of Barack Obama.

A proponent of environmentalism, Hanks is an investor in electric vehicles and owns both a Toyota RAV4 EV and the first production AC Propulsion eBox. Hanks was a lessee of an EV1 before it was recalled, as chronicled in the documentary ''Who Killed the Electric Car?'' He is on the waiting list for an Aptera 2 Series.

Hanks was extremely outspoken about his opposition to Proposition 8, an amendment to the California constitution that defined marriage as a union only between a man and a woman. Hanks and others who were in opposition to the proposition raised over US$44 million in contrast to the supporters' $39 million, but Proposition 8 passed with 52% of the vote.

While premiering a TV series in January 2009, Hanks called supporters of Proposition 8 "un-American" and attacked the LDS (Mormon) church members, who were major proponents of the bill, for their views on marriage and their role in supporting the bill. About a week later, Hanks apologized for the remark, saying that nothing is more American than voting one's conscience.

Other activities

A supporter of NASA's manned space program, Hanks has said that he originally wanted to be an astronaut but "didn't have the math." Hanks is a member of the National Space Society, serving on the Board of Governors of the nonprofit educational space advocacy organization founded by Dr. Wernher Von Braun. He also produced the HBO miniseries ''From the Earth to the Moon'' about the Apollo program to send astronauts to the moon. In addition, Hanks co-wrote and co-produced ''Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D'', an IMAX film about the moon landings. Hanks also provided the voice over for the premiere of the show ''Passport to the Universe'' at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

In 2006, the Space Foundation awarded Hanks the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award. The award is given annually to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to public awareness of space programs.

In June 2006 Hanks was inducted as an honorary member of the United States Army Rangers Hall of Fame for his accurate portrayal of a Captain in the movie ''Saving Private Ryan''; Hanks, who was unable to attend the induction ceremony, was the first actor to receive such an honor. In addition to his role in ''Saving Private Ryan'', Hanks was cited for serving as the national spokesperson for the World War II Memorial Campaign, for being the honorary chairperson of the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign, and for his role in writing and helping to produce the Emmy Award-winning miniseries, ''Band of Brothers''.

Hanks is one of several celebrities who frequently participates in planned comedy bits on Conan O'Brien's talk shows, including ''Late Night'', ''The Tonight Show'', and ''Conan'' while a guest. On one visit, Hanks asked Conan to join his run for president on the "Bad Haircut Party" ticket, with confetti and balloons and a hand held sign with the slogan "You'd be stupid to vote for us". On another episode, O'Brien, noting that Hanks was missing Christmas on his promotional tour, brought the season to him, including a gift (the skeleton of Hooch), and a mass of snow burying them both. On yet another episode, Conan gave Hanks a painting he had commissioned reflecting two of his interests: Astronauts landing on the beach at Normandy. On March 10, 2008, Hanks was on hand at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to induct sixties band The Dave Clark Five. Asteroid 12818 Tomhanks is named for him.

Filmography

+ List of film credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1980	''He Knows You're Alone''	Elliot
1982	''Mazes and Monsters''	Robbie Wheeling	Made for television
1984		Allen Bauer
1984		Rick Gassko
1985	''''	Richard Harlan Drew
1985		Lawrence Whatley Bourne III
1986	''''	Walter Fielding, Jr.
1986	''Nothing in Common''	David Basner
1986		David Bradley
1987		Pep Streebeck
1988	''Big''	Adult Josh Baskin
1988		Steven Gold
1989	''Turner & Hooch''	Detective Scott Turner
1989	''''	Ray Peterson
1990	''Joe Versus the Volcano''	Joe Banks
1990	''''	Sherman McCoy
1992	''''	Jimmy Dugan
1992		Older Mike	(uncredited)
1993	''Sleepless in Seattle''	Sam Baldwin
1993		Andrew Beckett
1994
1995		Jim Lovell
1995	''Toy Story''		(voice)
1996	''That Thing You Do!''	Mr. White	(writer and director)
1998	''Saving Private Ryan''	Captain John H. Miller
1998	''You've Got Mail''	Joe Fox
1999	''Toy Story 2''	Woody	(voice)
1999	''''	Paul Edgecomb
2000	''Cast Away''	Chuck Noland
2002	''Road to Perdition''	Michael Sullivan, Sr.
2002	''Catch Me If You Can''	FBI Agent Carl Hanratty
2004	''''	Viktor Navorski
2004	''''	Professor G.H. Dorr
2004		Mailbox Elvis	(cameo)
2004	''''
2006	''''
2006		Woody Car	(voice)
2007	''''	Himself	(voice)
2007	''Charlie Wilson's War''		Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2008	''''	Mr. Gable
2008			(producer)
2009		Professor Robert Langdon
2009	''''	Various historical figures	(voice)
2009			(producer)
2010	''Toy Story 3''	Woody	|Nominated—IGN Movie Award for Best Ensemble Cast|Nominated—Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie|Nominated— Scream Award for Best Fantasy Actor}}
2011	''Larry Crowne''	Larry Crowne	(director, producer, writer)
2011	''Hawaiian Vacation''	Woody	(voice)
2011		Thomas Schell Jr.
2012		Dr. Henry Goose	filming

+ List of television credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1980	''''	Rick Martin	TV series, episode: "Friends and Lovers/Sergeant Bull/Miss Mother"
1980–1982	''Bosom Buddies''	Kip Wilson
1982		Gordon
1982	''Mazes and Monsters''	Robbie Wheeling
1982	''Happy Days''	Dr. Dwayne Twitchell	TV series, episode: "A Case of Revenge"
1983	''Family Ties''	Ned	Elyse Keaton's brother
1994	''Vault of Horror I''	Director
1998		Narrator (also executive producer/director/writer)	Miniseries
2001		Producer, director, writer	Miniseries
2002	''''	Interviewee
2006–2011	''Big Love''	Executive producer	TV series
2008		Executive producer	Miniseries
2010	''''	Executive producer/Narrator	Miniseries
2011	''Saturday Night Live''	Guest cast member

Other accolades

+ List of accolades and awards won
! Organization	! Year	! Award
Hollywood Women's Press Club	1988	Golden Apple Award
Hasty Pudding Theatricals	1995
American Film Institute	2002	AFI Life Achievement Award
Hollywood Film Festival	2002	Actor of the Year
	2004	Britannia Award for Excellence in Film
	2004	Bambi for Film – International
Film Society of Lincoln Center	2009	Gala Tribute

References

Further reading

Gardner, David, ''Tom Hanks: The Unauthorized Biography'', London, England 1999

Gardner, David, ''Tom Hanks: Enigma'' 2007

Pfeiffer, Lee, ''The Films of Tom Hanks'', Secaucus, New Jersey, 1996

Salamon, Julie, ''The Devil's Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood'', Boston, 1991

Trakin, Roy, ''Tom Hanks: Journey to Stardom'', 1987; rev. ed.1995

Wallner, Rosemary, ''Tom Hanks: Academy Award-Winning Actor'', Edina, Minnesota, 1994

External links

Tom Hanks' Facebook Page

Tom Hanks's thoughts on Earth Day 2006

Interview from 1989 issue of ''Film Comment''

Tom Hanks's films of the 1980s

Category:1956 births Category:Actors from California Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American people of Portuguese descent Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Best Actor Academy Award winners Category:Best Actor Empire Award winners Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:California Democrats Category:California State University, Sacramento alumni Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Concord, California Category:People from Oakland, California Category:Saturn Award winners Category:Space advocacy

af:Tom Hanks ar:توم هانكس an:Tom Hanks az:Tom Henks bn:টম হ্যাঙ্কস be:Том Хэнкс be-x-old:Том Гэнкс bg:Том Ханкс bs:Tom Hanks ca:Tom Hanks cs:Tom Hanks co:Tom Hanks cy:Tom Hanks da:Tom Hanks de:Tom Hanks et:Tom Hanks el:Τομ Χανκς es:Tom Hanks eo:Tom Hanks eu:Tom Hanks fa:تام هنکس fr:Tom Hanks ga:Tom Hanks gv:Tom Hanks gl:Tom Hanks ko:톰 행크스 hy:Թոմ Հենքս hi:टॉम हैंक्स hr:Tom Hanks io:Tom Hanks id:Tom Hanks is:Tom Hanks it:Tom Hanks he:טום הנקס jv:Tom Hanks kn:ಟಾಮ್ ಹ್ಯಾಂಕ್ಸ್ ka:ტომ ჰენქსი sw:Tom Hanks la:Thomas Hanks lv:Toms Henkss lb:Tom Hanks lt:Tom Hanks hu:Tom Hanks mk:Том Хенкс ml:ടോം ഹാങ്ക്സ് mr:टॉम हँक्स arz:توم هانكس ms:Tom Hanks mn:Том Хэнкс nl:Tom Hanks ne:टम ह्याङ्क्स ja:トム・ハンクス no:Tom Hanks nn:Tom Hanks oc:Tom Hanks pl:Tom Hanks pt:Tom Hanks ro:Tom Hanks ru:Хэнкс, Том sq:Tom Hanks simple:Tom Hanks sk:Tom Hanks sl:Tom Hanks sr:Том Хенкс sh:Tom Hanks fi:Tom Hanks sv:Tom Hanks tl:Tom Hanks ta:டொம் ஹாங்க்ஸ் th:ทอม แฮงส์ tr:Tom Hanks uk:Том Генкс vi:Tom Hanks yo:Tom Hanks zh:汤姆·汉克斯

#REDIRECTFonzie

birth name	Henry Franklin Winkler
birth date	October 30, 1945
birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
occupation	Actor, director, producer, author
education	Emerson College
alma mater	Yale School of Drama
years active	1972–present
spouse	Stacey Weitzman (1978–present)
children	Daughter and son
parents	Harry Irving WinklerIlse Anna Maria (née Hadra) }}

Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (Hon.) (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, director, producer, and author.

Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom ''Happy Days''. "The Fonz," a leather-clad greaser and auto mechanic, started out as a minor character at the show's beginning but had achieved top billing by the time the show ended.

Early life

Henry Winkler was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Ilse Anna Maria (née Hadra) and Harry Irving Winkler, a lumber company executive. Winkler's Jewish parents emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1939, before the beginning of World War II.

Winkler attended the McBurney School and received his bachelor's degree from Emerson College in 1967, and his MFA from the Yale School of Drama in 1970. In 1978, Emerson gave Winkler an honorary doctorate of humane letters. Winkler has also received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Austin College.

Career

''Happy Days''

Winkler started acting by appearing in a number of television commercials. He also appeared in a Mary Tyler Moore show. In October 1973, he was cast for the role of Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, nicknamed "The Fonz" or "Fonzie", in the long-running 1970s television series ''Happy Days''. The show was first aired in January 1974.

During his decade on ''Happy Days'', Winkler also starred in a number of movies, including ''The Lords of Flatbush'' (1974), playing a troubled Vietnam veteran in ''Heroes'' (1977), ''The One and Only'' (1978), and a morgue attendant in ''Night Shift'' (1982), which was directed by ''Happy Days'' co-star Ron Howard. Winkler was also one of the hosts of the 1979 Music for UNICEF Concert.

For ''Happy Days'', director/producer Garry Marshall originally had in mind a completely opposite physical presence. Marshall sought to cast an Italian model-type male in the role of Fonzie, intended as a stupid foil to the real star, Ron Howard. However, when Winkler, a Yale MFA student, interpreted the role in auditions, Marshall immediately snapped him up. According to Winkler, "The Fonz was everybody I wasn't. He was everybody I wanted to be."

Winkler's character, though remaining very much a rough-hewn outsider, gradually became the focus of the show as time passed (in particular after the departure of Ron Howard). Initially, ABC executives did not want to see the Fonz wearing leather, thinking the character would appear to be a criminal. The first 13 episodes show Winkler wearing two different kinds of windbreaker jackets, one of which was green. As Winkler said in a TV Land interview, "It's hard to look cool in a green windbreaker". Marshall argued with the executives about the jacket. In the end, a compromise was made. Winkler could only wear the leather jacket in scenes with his motorcycle, and from that point on, the Fonz was never without his motorcycle until season 2.

To go against his Fonzie stereotype and draw more attention to his real acting abilities, Winkler starred in a TV special, ''Henry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare,'' in 1976. In this videotaped show, he was giving a group of children a tour of a theater and teaching them theatrical terms and basic stagecraft when William Shakespeare suddenly appeared from a box, acted out famous lines from his plays, and eventually directed Winkler in a scene from ''Romeo and Juliet''. Drawing upon his Shakespearean training at Yale, Winkler played Romeo killing Juliet's cousin Tybalt in a sword duel in retaliation for Tybalt's murder of Romeo's friend Mercutio.

In 1979, Winkler appeared in the made-for-TV movie ''An American Christmas Carol'', which was a modern remake of the Charles Dickens classic ''A Christmas Carol''. ''An American Christmas Carol'' was set in Concord, New Hampshire during the Great Depression. Winkler played the role of Benedict Slade, the Ebenezer Scrooge equivalent of that film.

Beyond ''Happy Days''

After ''Happy Days'', Winkler concentrated on producing and directing. Within months, he had opened Winkler-Rich Productions. He produced several television shows including ''MacGyver'', ''So Weird'' and ''Mr. Sunshine'', ''Sightings'', and the game shows ''Wintuition'' and ''Hollywood Squares'' (the latter from 2002–2004 only; occasionally serving as a sub-announcer). He also directed several movies including the Billy Crystal movie ''Memories of Me'' (1988) and ''Cop and a Half'' (1993) with Burt Reynolds.

Return to acting

As the 1990s continued, Winkler returned to acting. In 1991 he starred in the controversial TV-movie ''Absolute Strangers'', as a husband forced to make a decision regarding his comatose wife and his unborn baby. In 1994 he returned to TV with the short-lived comedy series ''Monty'' on Fox. Also in 1994, he co-starred with Katharine Hepburn in the holiday TV movie ''One Christmas''.

He played an uncredited role as a high school principal in the 1996 movie ''Scream'' (1996). In 1998, Adam Sandler asked Winkler to play a college football coach, a supporting role in ''The Waterboy'' (1998). He would later appear in three other Sandler films, ''Little Nicky'' (2000) where he plays himself and is covered in bees, ''Click'' (2006, as the main character's father), and ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' (2008), again playing himself. He also played small roles in movies such as ''Down to You'' (2000), ''Holes'' (2003), and ''I Could Never Be Your Woman'' (2007).

Television

More recently Winkler had a recurring role as incompetent lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn in the Fox Television comedy ''Arrested Development''. In one episode, his character hopped over a confined shark lying on a pier, a reference to his role in the origin of the phrase "jumping the shark". After that episode, Winkler in interviews stated that he was the only person to have "jumped the shark" twice.

When Winkler moved to CBS for one season to star in 2005–06's ''Out of Practice'', his role as the Bluth family lawyer on ''Arrested Development'' was taken over by ''Happy Days'' co-star Scott Baio in the fall of 2005, shortly before the acclaimed but Nielsen-challenged show ceased production.

Winkler has guest-starred on television series such as ''Numb3rs'', ''The Bob Newhart Show'' (as Miles Lascoe, a parolee just out of jail. He was in jail for armed robbery, twice.), ''South Park'', ''The Practice'', ''The Simpsons'' (playing a member of a biker gang. In one scene, he calls Marge "Mrs. S", a reference to Fonzie calling "Happy Days" matriarch Marion Cunningham "Mrs. C"), ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''Third Watch'', ''Arrested Development'', ''Crossing Jordan'', ''Family Guy'', ''King of the Hill'' and ''Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil''.

The Weezer video for 1994's "Buddy Holly" edited period footage of Henry Winkler as the Fonz, as well as a double shot from behind to create the illusion that Fonzie and other characters were watching Weezer as they performed in Arnold's restaurant. His most recent appearances were on KTTV's ''Good Day L.A.''. Once, while substituting for Steve Edwards, Winkler reunited with fellow ''Happy Days'' cast member Marion Ross. Winkler made a cameo appearance in the band Say Anything's video for "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too".

A close friend to actor John Ritter, the two led a Broadway ensemble cast in Neil Simon's The Dinner Party in 2000. Winkler was reunited as a guest star on Ritter's sitcom ''8 Simple Rules (for Dating my Teenage Daughter)'' in 2003 by Ritter's request. On September 11, Ritter became ill during filming, and unexpectedly died. A stunned, grief-stricken Winkler was interviewed by Mary Hart of ''Entertainment Tonight'' and various other entertainment news sources.

In 2008, he appeared in two Christmas movies, in the Hallmark Channel movie ''The Most Wonderful Time of the Year'' as a retired cop who plays matchmaker between his niece and a drifter he befriends, and in ''Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh'' as the judge who orders Drake and Josh to give a young girl "the best Christmas ever" or be sent to jail. In 2009, Winkler provided the voice of Willard Deutschebog, a suicidal German teacher, in the Fox comedy series, ''Sit Down, Shut Up''.

Hank Zipzer books

Since 2003, Winkler has collaborated with Lin Oliver on a series of children's books about a 4th grade boy, Hank Zipzer, who is dyslexic. Winkler also has the learning disability, which was not diagnosed until he was 31 and his stepson Jed was tested; the dyslexia was an unhappy part of his childhood. Winkler has published 17 books about his hero Zipzer, the "world's greatest underachiever".

In July 2008, Winkler joined First News on their annual Reading Tour of schools where he read excerpts from his Hank Zipzer books. This has since become an annual tour.

Pantomime

Winkler appeared in his first pantomime at the New Wimbledon Theatre, London in 2006, playing Captain Hook in ''Peter Pan'', replacing David Hasselhoff who pulled out when he was offered a TV role by Simon Cowell. He reprised the role in Woking, England for Christmas 2007. For the 2008/2009 season he played Captain Hook at the Milton Keynes Theatre and donned the hook once again for the 2009/2010 panto season at the Liverpool Empire.

On June 2, 2010, it was announced that Winkler would become the television spokesman for One Reverse Mortgage, a reverse mortgage lender.

Obama election

In October 2008, Winkler appeared in a video on funnyordie.com with Ron Howard, reprising their roles as Fonzie and Richie Cunningham, encouraging people to vote for Barack Obama. The video entitled "Ron Howard’s Call to Action" also features Andy Griffith.

2010-present

As of June 2010, Winkler is appearing on the USA show ''Royal Pains'' as the father of the two main characters.

On June 19, 2010, Winkler appeared on James Corden ITV World Cup Live show. He represented the USA in the World Cup Wall Chart.

As of the summer/fall 2010 season, Winkler has joined the cast of Adult Swim's television adaptation of Rob Corddry's web series, ''Childrens Hospital'', playing a stereotypically feckless hospital administrator.

In late September 2010, Winkler was the voice of Professor Nathaniel Zib in the Lego Hero Factory mini-series, ''Rise of the Rookies''.

On May 31, 2011, Winkler's book, ''I've Never Met an Idiot on the River'', was published. It is a collection of his photographs and reflections drawn from his love of fly fishing and life with his family.

In 2011, Winkler guest starred as Ambush Bug in the series finale of ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold''.

Personal life

Winkler has been married to Stacey Weitzman since May 5, 1978; they have two children, Zoe Emily (b. 1980) and Max Daniel (b. August 18, 1983), and a stepson, Jed, from Stacey's previous marriage with Howard Weitzman. He is the godfather of Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of Happy Days co-star Ron Howard.

Honors and awards

In 1996, Winkler was selected to be the Class Day speaker at Yale University, an honor accorded to distinguished Yale alumni.

On August 3, 2008, Winkler was chosen to be the guest conductor at the Boston Pops by the Sea Concert in Hyannis, Massachusetts.

On August 19, 2008, Milwaukeeans paid homage to their hometown hero and unveiled a life-sized, bronze statue of Fonzie along the Milwaukee Riverwalk. On March 29, 2010, Winkler was presented the key to the City of Winnipeg for his contributions to education and literacy.

;Golden Globe Awards

(1976) Won - Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy/''Happy Days''

(1977) Won - Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy/''Happy Days''

(1978) Nominated - Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama/''Heroes''

(1983) Nominated - Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy/''Night Shift''

;Primetime Emmy Awards

(1976) Nominated - Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series / ''Happy Days''

(1977) Nominated - Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series / ''Happy Days''

(1978) Nominated - Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series / ''Happy Days''

(1979) Nominated - Outstanding Informational Program / ''Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?''

(1997) Nominated - Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama Series / ''The Practice'' (as Henry Olson)

;OBE In September 2011, Winkler was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to children with special educational needs and dyslexia in the UK."

Selected filmography

''Crazy Joe'' (1974)

''The Lords of Flatbush'' (1974)

''The Bob Newhart Show'' (TV Series) (Season 2/Episode 19 "Clink Shrink")(1974)

''Happy Days'' (TV series) (1974–1982)

''Katherine'', also known as ''The Radical'' (1975)

''Heroes'' (1977)

''The One and Only'' (1978)

''Night Shift'' (1982)

''Memories of Me'' (directing) (1988)

''Macgyver''(1991)

''Cop and a Half'' (directing) (1993)

''Scream'' (1996) (Principal Himbry) (uncredited)

''Detention: The Siege at Johnson High'' (1997)

''Dad's Week Off'' (1997)

''Dead Man's Gun (TV series) (1997-1999, exec. prod.)

''Ground Control'' (1998)

''The Waterboy'' (1998)

''P.U.N.K.S.'' (1999)

''Dill Scallion'' (1999)

''Little Nicky'' (2000)

''Down to You'' (2000)

''Law and Order SVU'' (2002)

''Holes'' (2003)

''Arrested Development'' (TV series) (2003–2006)

''King of the Hill'' (2004)

''Berkeley'' (2005)

''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2005)

''The Kid & I'' (2005)

''Out of practice'' (TV series) (2005–2006)

''Duck Dodgers'' (2006)

''Unbeatable Harold'' (2006)

''Click'' (2006)

''I Could Never Be Your Woman'' (2007)

''A Plumm Summer'' (2007)

''NUMB3RS'' (2008–2009)

''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' (2008)

''Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh'' (2008)

''The Most Wonderful Time of the Year'' (2008)

''Sit Down, Shut Up'' (2009) (TV series)

''Group Sex'' (2010)

''Royal Pains'' (TV, 2010-2011)

''Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil'' (2010)

''Childrens Hospital'' (TV, 2010)

''LEGO Hero Factory'' (TV, 2010-2011)

''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' (TV, 2011)

''Here Comes the Boom'' (2012)

''Clifford's Puppy Days'' (2011)(Plays Norville the Bird)

References

;Notes

External links

Hank Zipzer

First News

Peter Pan Pantomime with Henry Winkler as Hook

Interview with Henry Winkler about dyslexia and the Hank Zipzer book series

Henry Winkler as a suicide hotline operator in Ob La Da

Henry Winkler Archive of American Television Interview

Henry Winkler Interview with KCTS 9 Public Television

Category:1945 births Category:Actors from New York City Category:American children's writers Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American people of German-Jewish descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:American television directors Category:American television producers Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Emerson College alumni Category:Jewish actors Category:Living people Category:People from Manhattan Category:Yale School of Drama alumni Category:Honorary Officers of the Order of the British Empire

ar:هنري وينكلر de:Henry Winkler et:Henry Winkler es:Henry Winkler fr:Henry Winkler it:Henry Winkler he:הנרי וינקלר la:Henricus Winkler nl:Henry Winkler no:Henry Winkler pl:Henry Winkler pt:Henry Winkler ru:Уинклер, Генри sh:Henry Winkler fi:Henry Winkler sv:Henry Winkler