Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond

Henry Winkler’s struggle with dyslexia is a central conflict in the book. Due to the lack of understanding of dyslexia during Winkler’s childhood, his condition went undiagnosed and untreated until he was an adult. In his childhood, it triggered animosity in his parents. They refused to understand why he struggled in school and dismissed him. They also yelled at and grounded him frequently due to his poor grades. The lack of understanding and support from them and teachers made Winkler develop strong insecurities and anxieties. He also craved external validation from people he saw as cooler and better than him.

Though he did well in his acting classes, Winkler’s struggles with reading continued to give him problems in college. Even with his success on Happy Days and in other shows, films, and plays, Winkler’s insecurities plagued him. He could not allow himself to be fully authentic in his acting. As he observes of his performance in the television movie A Child Is Missing: “I did everything I could to find myself inside of myself, but the real me was still locked away, sheathed in yards of concrete” (130). Here, Winkler uses a metaphor, comparing something to something else without using “like” or “as.