"Henry Winkler"

0:03Jason, I know we got to do the show, but you do you have something else that you need to do? I just, I did not get up early enough to take care of everything one usually takes care of in the morning. Like taking out the trash or whatever. Well, some people call it that. Like opening some windows? All right, so we'll pause. Why don't you take care of that and then we'll just play the music and stuff. No, let's just make this a fast episode. No, let's just go to all new Smart List. Smart.

0:31Smart. Smart.

0:42Will, did you just finish a workout? I did. You got a little bit of sweat going there on the front of the shirt. I did. I didn't even have, I haven't showered. I just put on a clean shirt. I haven't showered yet. Luckily, I'm in my booth, but I know it's gross. What's the flavor of workout currently? Are you still doing the nonsense with the platinum white leather punching bag? No. Remember that. I'm not boxing anymore. It's really, by the way, a great workout with my friends over at Fight Camp. But, no, I'm now doing the Catalyst. I'm in the Catalyst suit that sends electric pulses. Oh, I get it.

1:15Oh, this is the big lazy loser workout where you just zip on a suit that electroshocks you and you don't need to do shit. Just sleep there. I'm doing a workout while I do it, and it's a great product. Jason, he looks like, when he wears it, he looks like Beyonce from the Single Ladies video. Okay, well, thanks for the reference from 2008. We really appreciate it. Listen, and I'd appreciate it if you stop talking to me like I can recall Beyonce videos at the drop of a hat because I can't. Yeah, but by the way, her album just came out. It's really good. Okay, yeah. It is the country one. Is it good?

1:52You've heard it? It's really good, yeah. It's really, really good. Is it real twangy country? No. No, it's just her version of it. She's got a lot of collaborations on it. You know who did a great country album is Beck. Remember Beck's country album? Oh, yeah. It was very good. Yeah, yeah. Well, we'll just add that to the notes. Hang on. Hang on. 1990s calling. What are we? Sorry. By the way, Sean, doesn't JB look like he could put out a country record right now? Absolutely. Yeah. No, and then you just tilt down and you see that. Oh, look at the Pixies. He's got the Pixies on. Name one Pixies song.

2:24The Night We Went Out. There we go. I mean, this is great. That's not a real song. Is that a real thought? It's just a great t-shirt. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Let's get to our guests. Another guest that I have. Listen, this damn project I'm working on here on the East Coast is really cutting into my prep time for my guests. And so I have not yet been able to write an intro for my guests since this project has been in existence. You're going to start guessing. Yeah, well, it just puts me on par with you guys. How many, how many, it's always somebody else or something else's fault. When's it your fault?

2:58Never. Okay. Okay. So I'm not just going to just say his name. I will say I am happy to have this gentleman here. This is like the worst intro ever. That's good. I love him. He is a dear friend of mine. And yours, Will, Sean, I think you may know him. I'm not sure. But listen, this is the kind of guy that has got so much kindness and warmth in him that you actually, if you're a cynic like me, you doubt his sincerity. But if you know him as well as I do, you know it's sincere. It's real. Ang, this is somebody who is absolute royalty in our business. He is one of my favorite people in the world.

3:45He's one of our best actors, one of our best comics, an incredible author. um you can't say enough just come on out everybody it's Henry Winkler I love Henry Winkler are you joking I can bow for the sincerest sincerity thing you're like dubbed the nicest person in show business you know what I don't necessarily think I am the nicest I think I'm just grateful grateful. I love the grateful. I'm just grateful. And I, I sometimes I'm so filled with just being on the earth. Yeah. You know what? I believe you, Henry. I do. I believe you. I've, I've spent some time. I really believe you. It's so good to see you.

4:39Thank you. I'm so happy to finally be on the show. Yeah. Now look at the desk behind you. My God, that's a pile of work you got going on in That's one of the greatest offices you'll ever step into. The wall that he's facing right now is stock filled with stuff you could spend an hour looking at. All these memories, all these tchotchkes and memorabilia. It's true. It's true. But remember, I've been doing this a long time. Yeah. You know, what I didn't know is that this was only a voice podcast that we weren't recording it video. I could have been in my pajamas. Yeah, like us. Yeah, like us. Or in a sweaty T-shirt like me.

5:20Yeah. And you could have taken your hair off even, Henry. Not a lot of people know that. Henry has been bald since 14. 14 years old. Yeah, unfortunately, yeah. Right. I used to do the limbo at high school dances. You know, it was the only way I got some self-esteem. And the wig slid right off. No way. Oh, it was horrible. Because of your skills. Imagine thinking, I got low self-esteem. How am I going to build it up? You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to answer the limbo. Limbo the shit out of this party. I was the best in my high school. Is that true? I'll bet. Yeah. You know why I believe that, Henry, is because I'm now, what just came to mind was that episode of Happy Days where you do, where the Fonz does that dance.

6:07The Kozatski. Yeah, where you get low. Yeah. So my parents took me to see the Musayev Folk Ballet at Madison Square Garden when I was in the sixth grade. And this is that athletic, jumping in the air, spread eagle doing the... And I was overwhelmed and taught myself a bastardized version in my room that I would do at any dance I attended. Really? And that was your closer, right? That was my closer. And so how did it come about that you're making happy days? And did they say, Fonz needs to have it? And you're like, hang on a second. I got this. I got this in my back pocket. Do you know, interestingly enough, I would ask, you know, there were so many episodes.

7:03I was asked to do all kinds of stuff. And they came up with this, how do you win the dance contest? And I said, well, I can do this. and they played Hava Nagila and I was off and running.

7:22Was it, was it, was it, we're going to pop around all over the place, but while we're there, I mean, was it, the Fonz was not meant to be the star of the show. No, I had six lines. When I auditioned, I had six lines and then I worked one day a week for the first year. And being anxious and short, I could not leave my apartment on a weekday. So I just sat in my apartment waiting for the day of work and then waiting for the weekend when I could finally leave. Wow. What do you mean? You were afraid to leave your apartment because you're anxious and short? No, I wasn't afraid. I couldn't leave my apartment because, you know, I was so duty bound, I couldn't play on a workday.

8:11Oh, gotcha. So I had all the fan mail delivered to my apartment. And so it was pretty much like a hoarder navigating my way through the boxes of letters in crayon. Wow. And written directly to your address? Like you just gave out your address? No, no, no. It came to Paramount and Paramount had it delivered. All right. Got it. Good. And then I would get presents, you know. Sure. I got a metal cutting that said, if you will it, it is not a dream, which became my watchword, my phrase for the rest of my life. Your mantra. If you will it, you can have what it is you want. I believe that 100%. And that came on a what?

8:58On a metal cutting that was sent to me in the mail by a fan. So it was out of the license plate shop at the prison. You know what? It could have been. Just a spare license plate. It could have been. And then I had it framed. Sure. So I have, and it's up on my wall in. That's pretty cool. I like the idea that somebody does that, that somebody like some guy, Jason's joking about he's in prison, but some dude who's a big fan, he had a few too many pops one night and just etched it into a metal frame as a nothing, and for you it became your mantra. It became my mantra. Put it on metal as a bit of a clutter buster.

9:37He doesn't want to get caught up in all the other fan letters. Well, I got a lot of wood, too. Sure, I'll bet. A lot of wood. Sure. Jewelry. Little girls would send me their bears or their crucifixes. And I'll bet the big girl sent some lingerie. I mean, the fron was a bit of a sex symbol. Yes, and then people would come to the apartment and lift their shirt and ask me to sign parts of their anatomy. Sure. No way. I got it. And of course I wouldn't because I was afraid that the ink would get into their bloodstream. Good for you. You're not a nice guy. That would be the first time I would doubt your sincerity right there.

10:16Yeah, you can if you want. Sure. So people can show up now. Your house tarps off. No problem. No fear of getting any ink. Oh, oh, oh. I was, I shouldn't. Well, okay. So I'm sitting in my apartment. I have a Victrola because everything was vinyl. I went to Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard. I bought Dan Fogelberg. And I was listening to Dan Fogelberg on my rented Victrola. The door knocks. I get up. There are three men with badges. And I said, oh, no, you do not smell what you think you're smelling. Oh, my God. There was some weed going. And they said, we're with the FBI. We're not here for that.

11:08We just wanted to meet the Fonz. No way. No way. Wow. That's pretty cool. That's so funny. That's a bit of an abuse of their assets, right? They just looked up your address? I was so happy that I was not being put in handcuffs. I didn't care what they did. You were all paranoid. You're so, you're right. You're so happy that you're not getting busted for having a big pile of stinky bud. Hey, Henry, let me ask you this. I remember you telling me years ago the story about when you got that part on happy. And I know we're just in the happy days era right now because it was such a huge part of, you know, culturally.

11:46I don't think people understand how big it was if you're younger, starting in the late 70s, end of the 80s, how massive happy days was globally. You got that part. I think you told me once. Will you remind me of that story of how that came to be? I was not a complete human being in my life. I could not connect my mind and my emotion. I was just being who I thought I should be. Why? I come from walking into my apartment was like walking into a minefield. You know, my short German parents were horrible. But so I. Oh, wait, go back. What? Hey. We'll go back on that. I could somehow unleash myself professionally.

12:43So I walk in to the audition and I changed my voice. I said, hi, my name is Henry. I'm from New York City and I'm here to try out for the part of Fonzie. What's the Fonzarelli? And then I looked at the guy who was reading with me. His name was Pascual. And I don't know where it came from, but I was able to just go. I said, hey, don't you look at me like that. Avert your eyes, pal. And then I did six lines, threw the script in the air, sauntered out of the room. And on my birthday, when it was time for me to go back to New York, because I only had a month, they called and said, would you like to play this part?

13:35Wow. Right, I remember you saying that. You were going to go back to New York. You were like, I'm done. I'm going back. Well, I thought, I literally thought, well, I don't have any more money. I don't, I'm not getting much. Maybe it's, I'm not supposed to be here. Well, but however, you were a Yale grad at this point. Yes. Out of Yale drama. Yes. So you were stocked full of credentials and ability. Did you not have confidence that you were going to be able to make a career? I got confidence about last Wednesday. That was the first time. I literally, I've said this before, but imagine that I am a bowl of Jell-O before it congeals in the icebox, in the refrigerator.

14:34My insides were shaking like I was at the Rumba room. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Was there ever a moment where you didn't want to talk about playing the Fonz? Like a section of your life where you're just like, I don't want to talk about it, and then you embraced it, or no? No, no. Because I understood in those 10 years the incredible gift that I was given in being introduced to the world. No matter where we went on the planet, somebody stopped me, invited me to their house for dinner. Yeah. The Native Americans in the Hopi tribe, you have to lock your camera away because they think you're taking their soul.

15:22Sure. They invited me to get my camera when we took Jed, who is now 53, but at the time was in the third grade studying Native Americans. Yeah. They invited me to get my camera so I could take a picture of the kachina dances. What an honor. And that is the microcosm of my life at that time. Did you, and Sean, be honest, are you still thinking about the jello in the fridge? Yes. Did you, Henry? I'm thinking about the leaf. I'm about to drive over to Henry's house and knock out the leaf blower. I know. I'm going to get him. I'm going to get him. Yeah, he's next door. He's next door. But Henry, I remember seeing photos or video of you going on these world tours.

16:10You were in Japan or something. With the Happy Days baseball team. Yeah, was that what it was? Gary Marshall, I miss him every day, was just a brilliant human being. A problem solver, very strict. He created Happy Days. He created Happy Days and Mork and Mindy and Laverne and Shirley and The Odd Couple and on and on and on. And then went on to direct these great movies, Pretty Woman being one of them. Gary Marshall always wanted to own a sports team. And I think he bought a part of the Portland Beavers. So we played softball. Then we were invited by the USO and the Happy Days ball team flew to Germany and we played in all these small towns.

17:08And at that time, there was the Cold War was still going on. And so these men and women were in these small towns at the border of Germany. We would play softball with them. I would like to really take this Gardner. Is he in the room? I mean, he is like, he's sitting on my lap. Just try using a vacuum cleaner instead. You're so lazy, Henry. You don't need a leeper in there. I'm telling you, I don't know. It's the next door neighbor. No, I know. And they're so messy over there. Yeah. No, well, you know, he, yeah. But anyway, so, and then we played all over Germany. Here's the great thing. I'm walking through an airport and a young woman comes up to me with a stroller and said, I was my daughter's age when you came to Germany and played against my dad's team.

18:03Wow. What a circle. Yeah. Then we went to Okinawa. That's where Scotty was born. And we played again with the American troops in Japan. Yeah. What year was that? That was, Jed was 13. so I have no idea. 40 years ago. So did you guys play in, just only played in access countries like Japan, Germany, and Italy too? Yes, and then we played in every major ball field in America. We would play exhibition games before the Mets, before the Giants. Who's on this team? The Dodgers, the Angels. Who's on the Happy Days team? Who was there? Ron Howard, a great athlete, believe it or not. What position was Richie on?

18:55He would play center field, shortstop. Okay, sure. Donnie Most, great athlete. Where was he? Where do we have Ralph now? Donnie was maybe left field. Sure. Or second base. And you got to put Pottsy in right, right? No, he was on first base. Take it to the game. Pottsy in right. First base, oh, okay. You just point and say, sit on it, Pottsy, and point to first base? That is exactly right. And he went and he was good. He could catch. I couldn't catch, so I was the pitcher. They taught me how to pitch, and that is all I could do. Ron Howard bought me a mitt. Anson bought me a bat, my first in my life.

19:37Really? And so I got really good at pitching. But if the ball was hit toward me, I'd turn my body to the left and stop the ball with my body. I was black and blue for eight years. Yeah. Well, you're pitching too many over the middle of the plate, it sounds like. Well, I pitched shutouts. What about... That was good. Wait a minute. Let's not go by that so quickly.

20:06And now, a word from our sponsor. And now, back to the show. I want to get to you. Is it true that when you... What your audition for Yale, when you went into Yale Drama School, that you completely blanked on your Shakespearean monologue? You made one up? Oh, I did. Is that true? I did. So you improvised in Shakespearean iambic pentameter. No, not in iambic pentameter. But I told the story. The monologue was Lance and his dog. I don't even remember what play it was from because I know my limitations. This was out of my perfume. Right. And I went Lance and the dog. And then I said, went for a walk, and I made it up.

20:58And they still let you in. Absolutely brilliant. Not only did they let me in. Okay, so 25 actors started, 11 finished. I was one of three actors asked into the professional company, I now am making$172 a week. I am starting my dream. I am eight thinking about being a professional actor. I am now being paid. I don't know. Then I got a$10 raise, went to one of the best repertory theaters in the country in Washington, D.C. It was Moon Children. That was a cast. Michael Tucker, Jill Eikenberry, Chris Guest, just on and on. Yeah. Jimmy Woods. Oh, wow. James Woods. Oh, my God. Now, so how did you, did you get to Yale via acting chops or were you an academic?

22:01I am in the bottom 3 % academically in America. So then what are you doing over at Yale? Well, I was all just auditioning. I was just, it's just your ability to impress them as an actor. What at eight years old made you want to act? Was it that dance thing that you saw? That is a good question. I'm not sure. My standard answer is if people were born to try and do something, I was born to try and be an actor. Wow. But did you have that in your family? Did your parents encourage it? Did you guys go see a lot of shows? My parents encouraged me, not an iota. And my father brought a lumber business over from Germany.

22:51He imported and exported wood. And he wanted me to do the same. He wanted me to take over the business. And my joke is he said to me, why do you think I brought some business over here? And I said, besides being chased by the Nazis, Dad, was there like a bigger reason? Right, right, right. Oh, my God. Hey, Henry, what year did your mom and dad come over from Germany? Was it in the 30s? 1939. Wow. My father asked his mother and took my mother's jewelry, bought a box of chocolate, melted the chocolate, poured the chocolate over the jewelry, put it back in the box, put the box under his arm, and then got a work visa for six weeks.

23:45So when the Nazis said, are you taking anything of value? He said, no, open my bags. You check my pockets. I have nothing. And that box of chocolate started him on his new life because he pawned all of the jewelry until he was able to buy it back. And I have my great grandfather's pocket watch that came out of jewelry encased in... Do you really? In chocolate. Wow. That's pretty cool. That's usually, right with the gold coin, it's usually gold on the outside and chocolate in the middle. This time it was reversed. Yes. Look at that. Yes. And that chocolate, you couldn't eat it. You could not eat it.

24:30It always gave you herpes. It was terrible. But what an amazing story. And so when your father comes, so I get it. You sort of, the way you characterize him, he's like, he was tough. if he wanted you to take over the lumber business, but I'm sure in his mind he's like, hey, I came in tough times. You're right. We were persecuted. You're right. I understand all of that. I swear. I do. I admire. They learned a new language. He started a business in a new country. Right. He didn't know if he would be able to stay. Yeah. But here it is. When you have a child and they're in front of you, they're not an extension of who you are.

25:12Right. They're not there to make you proud. And if you see your child is got a problem, even if you don't know the name, if you don't understand it, your job is to make sure that that child feels comfortable enough not to lose their entire self-esteem, but to help them meet their destiny, not get proud of them when they figured out how to meet their destiny all by themselves. right that's yeah because you had to battle through some pretty significant dyslexia challenges yes i still do you don't lose it dyslexia is with you you just have to learn to negotiate it and there are things i just can't do and then there are other people who i depend on to do it right you know thank god stacy my wife is a brilliant speller right but it's hereditary I'm sorry.

26:07Well, I was going to say, you've written books about it. You've been really vocal about it in terms of identifying it in kids and helping them because of your own experience and using that to try to talk about it. Is that right? Am I right about that? I did not know that that was going to happen. In 2001, I had just finished a Broadway play with John Ritter and Len Carrioux. Right. It was a Neil Simon play. Oh, my God. It was my dream. The first play I did open and closed in one night. This one ran for nine months. Wow. So I come home, can't get hired. I go to a friend and I said, I don't know what to do.

26:51I need help. He said, write books for children about your learning condition. I said, I can't do it because I've got a learning problem. Yeah, right. He said, I'm going to introduce you to Lynn Oliver. and then you know what I found out? The lesson is there is not one way to do anything. There is your way and your way is as valid as any other way. Was there any kind of, while you were discovering that you had dyslexia, did you know something was wrong and did you do anything to try to hide it? I used humor. I used humor. So I couldn't read. I couldn't read off a page. I couldn't spell. I still can't spell.

27:37Look, I have over my computer, I have words that I can't sound out. And so they're there because I use them so often, like the word schedule. And I just look up and that's how I spell it. Yeah, I remember when I was a kid in school, I knew I had problems with my eyes. I couldn't see. And I sat in the back of the class. And the class had two doors. one at the front entrance of the class and one at the end. And I would ask to go to the bathroom, and I would leave the classroom, go up the hallway to the front entrance, and there was just a little vestibule before you opened it. And I would look through the glass to read the blackboard to see what was on it.

28:18Then I would go back to my desk in the back of the class. Yeah. Because I was too embarrassed. I was like, I can't see the stand. Henry, I'm borrowing Sean. I'm at Sean's desk, and I just found this over his computer. You can probably see it. Spaghetti and e-balls, it says. I don't know why. It's more of an affirmation. Can I just say something? Each one of you I know individually. I know, you know, I met the two of you. I met you at the first day of doing Arrested Development. Yeah. You were on the couch in the living room. I was your lawyer and not very good. and Sean, I met at Max Munchnick's party and I was so overwhelmed by meeting him that I was a little out of body and he looked at me, I said, I'm so, and he looked at me and went, hello.

29:20And I thought, oh, I've completely screwed that up. Oh God, no, I was probably dying inside. But that is, I'm so happy. to be with you. Henry, can I tell you something? I have so many great memories and people ask me all the time about working with you and obviously you're an icon and I say I have a couple, I have a bunch of really distinct and they're all good memories of you and I tell you them sort of in no particular order. One is, and Jay, you were there, we were doing a scene, you, me and Jason and you, Henry and Jeffrey Tambor and we were doing a scene in a bathroom at the old, season one and we were doing the scene in a bathroom we're having i forget the conversation in the scene and then we all leave the room and at the end you look you're left in the bathroom you look in the mirror you go to comb your hair and you go nah like that fonzie move yeah but it really subtly and then you walk out so that was my first and i remember jason and i going like can you believe we're doing this scene and he's doing a fucking fonzie thing we're how lucky are we that we get to be doing a that's my a my b is this my first year of arrested development i was living in LA part-time just to work.