{"id":40162,"date":"2026-08-03T21:41:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T21:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162"},"modified":"2026-08-03T21:41:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T21:41:01","slug":"henry-winkler-reveals-the-co-star-who-got-under-his-skin-he-was-an-aback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162","title":{"rendered":"Henry Winkler reveals the co-star who got under his skin: \u201dHe was an a**back\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For generations of television fans, *Happy Days* remains one of the most beloved sitcoms ever made. The series captured the spirit of the 1950s with memorable characters, lighthearted humor, and the unforgettable presence of Arthur \u201cFonzie\u201d Fonzarelli, played by Henry Winkler. While the show projected warmth and friendship on screen, Winkler has revealed that life behind the scenes wasn\u2019t always perfect. During a July 11 appearance at Fanboy Expo Knoxville, the 80-year-old actor reflected on his years filming the iconic ABC sitcom alongside former co-stars Anson Williams and Don Most. According to Winkler, the cast worked hard to maintain a team-first attitude despite the show\u2019s extraordinary popularity.\u201cThe truth of the matter is really on our set, there was no stardom. We were an ensemble. We worked hard at making it funny every week.\u201d <strong>Continue Reading \u2b07\ufe0f<\/strong><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>At the height of <em>Happy Days<\/em> in the 1970s, the sitcom reportedly attracted tens of millions of viewers each week and transformed several members of its cast into major television stars. Henry Winkler, whose portrayal of Arthur \u201cFonzie\u201d Fonzarelli became one of the most recognizable characters of the era, has said that the cast generally tried not to let fame create tension behind the scenes. Despite their enormous popularity, they avoided comparing fan mail, ratings, or public attention because the success of the series depended on everyone working together. Winkler recalled, however, that one recurring guest actor repeatedly talked about how many letters he received from viewers. After hearing the comments several times, Winkler finally reminded him that Fonzie generated an estimated 50,000 letters a week and explained that popularity was not something they discussed on set. \u201cWe are all here as one,\u201d he said, emphasizing that the work mattered more than individual celebrity.<\/p>\n<p>According to Winkler, the guest actor continued bringing up his fan mail despite being asked to stop. Winkler initially declined to identify him directly, but later mentioned that the performer had played a character named Eugene. Longtime fans connected the clue to Denis Mandel, who portrayed Eugene Belvin in several episodes between 1980 and 1982. Mandel later appeared in programs such as <em>Knots Landing<\/em> and <em>Homefront<\/em> before eventually leaving acting. Winkler\u2019s frustration with that experience stood out precisely because he otherwise remembered the <em>Happy Days<\/em> set as cooperative and supportive. The series had become a cultural phenomenon, yet the main cast understood that constantly measuring who was most popular could damage the chemistry that made the program successful. For Winkler, the guest actor\u2019s behavior violated an unspoken rule: no matter how much attention one performer received, the set had to remain a shared creative space rather than a competition.<\/p>\n<p>Winkler has spoken especially warmly about Ron Howard, who played Richie Cunningham before becoming an acclaimed filmmaker. One memory from the series remained with him for decades. During a difficult scene, Winkler became frustrated and began striking his script. Howard calmly pulled him aside and reminded him that the writers had worked hard on those pages and deserved respect, even when an actor struggled with the material. Winkler immediately understood the lesson and promised never to hit a script again. He later described Howard as unusually wise even at a young age, praising the calm, thoughtful way he moved through difficult situations. The moment reflected the atmosphere Winkler valued most on <em>Happy Days<\/em>: professionalism, humility, and respect for every person contributing to the final performance.<\/p>\n<p>More than half a century after <em>Happy Days<\/em> first reached television audiences, Winkler has remained active in the entertainment industry and has said retirement never seriously appealed to him. He has explained that he feels fortunate both in his personal life with his wife, children, and grandchildren and in his continuing ability to work. Acting was the dream he carried as a young man, and the fact that he still receives opportunities to sit at the table, learn new material, and perform remains astonishing to him. Rather than treating longevity as something guaranteed, he approaches it with gratitude. His reflections on <em>Happy Days<\/em> reveal that the memories he values most are not the fan letters or the extraordinary ratings, but the lessons learned from colleagues, the respect shared among cast members, and the privilege of continuing to do the work he once only dreamed about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For generations of television fans, *Happy Days* remains one of the most beloved sitcoms ever made. The series captured the spirit of\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Henry Winkler reveals the co-star who got under his skin: \u201dHe was an a**back\u201d - New50<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162&page=2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Henry Winkler reveals the co-star who got under his skin: \u201dHe was an a**back\u201d - New50\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For generations of television fans, *Happy Days* remains one of the most beloved sitcoms ever made. The series captured the spirit of\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"New50\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-03T21:41:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/763119794_1003782382490976_4963784579548389243_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162\",\"name\":\"Henry Winkler reveals the co-star who got under his skin: \u201dHe was an a**back\u201d - New50\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/763119794_1003782382490976_4963784579548389243_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-03T21:41:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-03T21:41:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/da88e42c726d55d6ba22ebb67b1b7e81\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/763119794_1003782382490976_4963784579548389243_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/763119794_1003782382490976_4963784579548389243_n.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1350},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/\",\"name\":\"New50\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/da88e42c726d55d6ba22ebb67b1b7e81\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd05dac79fb9ad8be13382df68a551f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd05dac79fb9ad8be13382df68a551f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Henry Winkler reveals the co-star who got under his skin: \u201dHe was an a**back\u201d - New50","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162","next":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162&page=2","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Henry Winkler reveals the co-star who got under his skin: \u201dHe was an a**back\u201d - New50","og_description":"For generations of television fans, *Happy Days* remains one of the most beloved sitcoms ever made. The series captured the spirit of\u2026","og_url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162","og_site_name":"New50","article_published_time":"2026-08-03T21:41:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1350,"url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/763119794_1003782382490976_4963784579548389243_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162","name":"Henry Winkler reveals the co-star who got under his skin: \u201dHe was an a**back\u201d - New50","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/763119794_1003782382490976_4963784579548389243_n.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-03T21:41:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-03T21:41:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/da88e42c726d55d6ba22ebb67b1b7e81"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=40162#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/763119794_1003782382490976_4963784579548389243_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/763119794_1003782382490976_4963784579548389243_n.jpg","width":1080,"height":1350},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/","name":"New50","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/da88e42c726d55d6ba22ebb67b1b7e81","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd05dac79fb9ad8be13382df68a551f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd05dac79fb9ad8be13382df68a551f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40162"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40162"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40164,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40162\/revisions\/40164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}