Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond

Stacey Furstman Weitzman is Henry Winkler’s wife and the mother of Jed Weitzman, Zoe Winkler, and Max Winkler. She is also a public relations executive and an activist. She first met Henry Winkler at a boutique in 1976. When they met, she was divorced and the mother of four-year-old Jed. She sought to start her own business. After her first date with Winkler, she knew she would marry him and has been his greatest supporter since they knew each other. Her perspective is interspersed throughout the book, lending another voice and angle to Winkler’s experiences.

Throughout the years, she sometimes felt frustrated by Winkler’s lack of emotional intimacy, especially while she was battling breast cancer in the early 2000s. She was also frustrated by his insecurity and need for validation. However, she continued to support him. She knew how important acting was to him, having grown up with the children of actors in Los Angeles and being friends with actors’ spouses. Stacey helped Winkler confront his perfectionism and anxiety. She encouraged him to hold onto his power in acting and to seek another agent.

Ronald William “Ron” Howard (b. 1954) is a well-known director, actor, and producer. He was Winkler’s co-star on Happy Days, playing the original protagonist Richie Cunningham. He got his start in Hollywood on The Andy Griffith Show as Sheriff Andy Taylor’s young son Opie. Howard then starred in the 1962 film The Music Man and the 1973 film American Graffiti. He was on Happy Days for seven seasons before leaving to direct films full-time. He directed many films including Splash in 1984, Willow in 1988, Parenthood in 1989, Apollo 13 in 1995, How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000, A Beautiful Mind in 2001, Cinderella Man in 2005, The Da Vinci Code in 2006, Rush in 2013, and In the Heart of the Sea in 2015. He is married to Cheryl Alley and they have four children together, including actress Bryce Dallas Howard. He and Winkler are lifelong friends.

On Happy Days, Ron’s preparedness and wisdom impressed Winkler early on. He told Winkler to be patient with the writers when Winkler became frustrated with the script. ABC neglected his character Richie Cunningham in favor of the Fonz and showed blatant favoritism toward Winkler over the rest of the cast. Ron became resentful and angry. However, he did not blame Winkler and remained a good friend to him. Eventually, Ron left the show after the seventh season to become a full-time director. Soon after, he directed Grand Theft Auto in 1977 and Night Shift in 1982, the latter of which starred Winkler and Michael Keaton. Ron asked Winkler to join a show he was producing, Arrested Development. Winkler joined as Barry Zuckerkorn for five seasons.

Through Ron and Winkler’s bond, the memoir shows the power of friendship and loyalty. Even long after Happy Days ended, Winkler and Howard remained close friends, meeting together with their wives for dinner often.

Harry Irving Winkler (d. 1995) was Henry Winkler’s father and Ilse Winkler’s husband. He and Ilse were German Jewish refugees who escaped Berlin in 1939 and settled in New York. Harry fled with Ilse under the pretense of going on a business trip for six weeks to the United States. His entire family was killed in the Holocaust. In New York, he restarted his business selling wood and had hoped that Winkler would take over the business when he was older.

Winkler describes him as a charming man who was able to appeal to people and get them to do what he wanted, a trait Winkler inherited from him. Harry also seemed to live beyond his means, asking a friend for money before taking Winkler’s bar mitzvah money. Harry refused to pay Winkler back because he was his father, and influenced Winkler to become frugal as an adult.

Harry is an antagonist in the memoir. He insulted and punished Winkler for his poor academic performance, not understanding that he had dyslexia. Later, when Winkler was older, Harry slapped Zoe, who slapped him back. Instead of reprimanding Zoe, Winkler defended her. Winkler’s relationship with Harry remained tumultuous until Harry’s death in 1995. Even after, Winkler struggled to work through Harry’s coldness. In this way, the memoir illustrates the impact of toxic parenting and trauma.

Ilse Anna Marie Winkler (née Hadra) (d. 1997) was Henry Winkler’s mother and Harry Winkler’s wife. She, like Harry, was a German Jew who fled Berlin in 1939 and settled in New York. She also lost her entire family in the Holocaust. As an adult, Winkler wondered if this caused her to suffer trauma, leading her to become colder emotionally. He later learned that she was hospitalized for depression as a young adult.

Like Harry, Ilse is an antagonist who berated Winkler for his poor grades. This caused Winkler to feel resentful toward her and Harry for years, even after her death. After he became famous, Ilse started to express pride in him. When she and Harry would visit later on, she tended to overstep and disregard his and Stacey’s boundaries, at one point even getting into Winkler’s bed with him. She died in 1997. Still angry toward her, Winkler told stories about her aggressive behavior. Winkler worked toward healing the childhood wounds caused by her and Harry for years.