About Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, producer, director, and author. Widely known as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the sitcom Happy Days (1974–1984), Winkler has distinguished himself as a character actor for roles on stage and screen. His many accolades include three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and two Critics Choice Awards. Winkler studied theater at both Emerson College and the Yale School of Drama and spent a year and a half with the Yale Repertory Theater. After getting cast in a small role in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, he became a star playing the role of "Fonzie" on the sitcom Happy Days (1974–1984). He then helped develop the original MacGyver television series and directed Memories of Me (1988) and Cop and a Half (1993). Winkler acted in films such as Heroes (1977), Night Shift (1982), Scream (1996), The Waterboy (1998), Click (2006), The French Dispatch (2021), and Black Adam (2022). He also found a career resurgence in television portraying characters such as Barry Zuckerkorn in Arrested Development (2003–2019), Eddie R. Lawson in Royal Pains (2010–2016), Dr. Saperstein in Parks and Recreation (2013–2015), and Gene Cousineau in Barry (2018–2023). The last earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Winkler was a member of the main cast of the reality series Better Late Than Never (2016–2018). Winkler has drawn upon his childhood struggles with dyslexia to co-write the children's book series Hank Zipzer (2003–2010), which was adapted into the Hank Zipzer television series in the United Kingdom (2014–2016) in which Winkler appears as Mr. Rock. He has also written three memoirs: The Other Side of Henry Winkler: My Story (1976), I've Never Met an Idiot on the River (2011), and Being Henry: The Fonz... and Beyond (2023). Winkler later recalled that he had nearly failed his first and second years but managed to stay for four years and graduated in 1967. In 1978, Emerson awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL). Winkler would respond: "Besides being chased by the Nazis, Dad, was there a bigger reason than that?" Winkler first attended P.S. 87 on West 78th Street, Manhattan, and then the McBurney School on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.