‘Happy Days’ Star Henry Winkler, 79, Reveals the Truth About Past TV Stunts
Henry Winkler revealed that the thrill-seeking stunts his Happy Days character performed on the show were not his thing. In a new interview, the actor, who played Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on the beloved ABC sitcom from 1974 to 1984, told People magazine he is no daredevil.
“I am not a thrill seeker," Winkler, 70, told the outlet, “I channel it only when I'm acting."
Winkler, who hosts the upcoming History Channel series, Hazardous History with Henry Winkler, revealed that instead of seeking thrills, he is just “thrilled” by beautiful moments in his life, such as a view from a ski chair lift.
The low-key thrills are a far cry from the stunts Winkler’s Happy Days character was known for. Fifty years ago, in a 1975 Happy Days two-parter, Winkler’s “Fearless Fonzarelli” performed a dangerous motorcycle jump over 14 garbage cans in the parking lot of Arnold’s Drive-In.
A few years later, the character jumped the shark—literally—while on water skis.
A stunt double was used for both jumps, although Winkler told Yahoo! Entertainment that he did do all of the other waterskiing seen in the latter episode. “They wouldn’t let me do stunts,” he said in 2023. “Not only that, but I didn’t know how to jump! I knew how to waterski, but I didn’t know how to jump like they do in the show.”
During a 2023 appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Winkler also admitted that he was not into the Fonz’s motorcycle and never actually rode it.
"I rode it really for 17 seconds, in the beginning, going up the hill. That was it," the actor revealed on the talk show. "And there was a moment when they had me on soundstage 5 at Paramount. I was on the bike, and all I had to do was rev it and move it five feet. I revved it and I, being so dyslexic, I had no idea where the brake was, where the gear was, and I shot forward."
The actor noted that he nearly hit the show's director of photography, who luckily saw the bike coming and moved out of the way.
Winkler revealed that he never rode the motorcycle again after the accident. "They scare me, actually," the Happy Days actor said, noting that producers came up with a trick to make it look like he was riding the bike.
"They put it on a board with four rubber wheels, attached it to a truck. And did I not look like I was riding it?” Winkler asked.
Related: ‘Happy Days’ Star’s Daughter Makes Stunning Admission About the Beloved Show