For Henry Winkler, having the FBI show up at his home was no laughing matter.
The “Barry” actor, who played the role of “The Fonz” on “Happy Days,” spoke during Monday’s episode of the “Smartless” podcast, in which the 78-year-old recalled a time he once received an unexpected visit from police.
“So I was sitting in my apartment,” Starr began, “because everything was vinyl, and I have a Victrola. I went to Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard. I bought Dan Fogelberg, and I was listening to Dan Fogelberg on my rented Victrola, and there was a knock on the door.
‘Happy Days’ star Henry Winkler opens up about rock bottom of 45-year marriage: ‘It wasn’t the best time’
There was a special reason why the FBI visited Henry Winkler. (Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)
“I stood up,” Winkler said, “and there were three guys with badges on. I said, ‘No, that’s not what you’re smelling. Oh my goodness,’ and they said, ‘We’re the FBI.'”
“There were weeds growing. [on]” co-host Sean Hayes interjected.
Winkler said as he broke a sweat, he could tell they had other priorities.
“‘That’s not what we’re here for,'” Winkler quoted them as saying. “‘We just wanted to meet the Fonz.'”
“I’m just glad I wasn’t handcuffed. I didn’t care what they did to me.”
Henry Winkler meets with Britain’s Queen Camilla on the fifth day of the Royal Ascot horse racing tournament at Ascot Racecourse, west London, on June 22, 2024. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
That wasn’t the last time Winkler received a surprise visit. On the podcast, the Emmy winner said a fan came to his apartment and “rolled up his shirt and said, ‘I’m going to be there.'” [him] To sign the anatomical parts.”
In 2023, Winkler’s memoir, “Being Henry: The Fonz…And Beyond,” was published, in which the actor details how he rose to fame on “Happy Days” and how his character’s popularity tested his friendship with Ron Howard, who played Richie Cunningham.
The series depicted life of the Cunningham family in the 1950s and aired from 1974 to 1984.
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Henry Winkler’s memoir, “Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond,” was published on Halloween. (Celadon Books)
Winkler wrote in his book that “Happy Days” was originally intended to feature Howard in the lead role, but his Grease role proved popular. Winkler soon received a pay raise from ABC. Worried about Howard’s feelings, Winkler reached out to a friend.
“You’re not going to let this make you angry or change who you are,” Howard is quoted as telling Winkler in the book. “You’re a great team player. What you’ve built has been great for this show. But I have to be honest with you and say it hurt me. In fact, it made me angry at times. You’re right, I was supposed to be the star of the show. But Henry, I’ve never been angry with you.”
ABC president Leonard Goldenson even considered at one point renaming the show “Fonzie’s Happy Days,” a suggestion frowned upon by Winkler.
Henry Winkler recalled in his book that The Fonz’s popularity tested his friendship with co-star Ron Howard. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“Please don’t do that,” Winkler wrote in his book. “It would be an insult to me and to the whole family that has been a part of Happy Days…. Imagine how much more successful the show would be if we changed the name…. It would be very hurtful and an insult to all the other cast members.”
According to Winkler, Happy Days producers Tom Miller and Ed Milkis even suggested to Howard that he change the title, and Howard threatened to quit Happy Days to return to film school at the University of Southern California.
Winkler said it was show creator Garry Marshall who opposed the idea.
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Henry Winkler played Arthur Herbert “The Fonz” Fonzarelli on Happy Days. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Then, in 1980, early in the eighth season of “Happy Days,” Winkler got a surprise phone call from Howard.
“Ron was here with his wife and daughter for dinner and he recounted the phone call,” Winkler explained to Fox News Digital. “All I heard was, ‘Hey Henry, this will be breaking in 10 minutes, but I wanted you to hear it first. I’m not coming back.'”
“I was devastated,” Winkler admitted. “I was scared. He was my acting partner, but I knew this was his dream, to be a film director. Ron told me that I told him, ‘Go do it. Go out there and do it. This is what you want to do.’ He said, ‘I’ll never forget those words. It was a driving force for me. It made me more confident in my decisions.’ I said, ‘What took you 50 years to tell me that?'”
Henry Winkler says he was shocked when his friend Ron Howard decided to leave ‘Happy Days’. (Photos International/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
In his book, Winkler describes a call that left him “totally shocked.”
“[Ron] “He told me how little ABC had treated him financially and personally,” Winkler writes. “‘You see,’ he said, ‘ABC doesn’t care about me at all.’ He mentioned his salary, and he mentioned the wallet ABC had given him for Christmas when I bought that fancy videotape player, and it finally pushed him over the edge.”
“I was scared and sad,” Winkler continued, “I didn’t know what was going to happen. The person I was with in most of my scenes on Happy Days was going to be gone! My character was Richie’s big brother and everyone else was a supporting character. How was I going to find someone that I felt such a connection with? All of these things were swirling around in my head. But most of all I was just like, I love you, I want you to go out there and do an incredible performance, and I hope you’ll have me in it…”
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From left: Don Most, Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross and Anson Williams attend a gala honoring the cast of “Happy Days” in California in 2019. (Rachel Luna/Getty Images)
Howard’s character, Richie, whose absence was explained on the show by him being drafted into the Army, has gone on to become an Oscar-winning director whose blockbuster hits include “Apollo 13” and “A Beautiful Mind.”
Now, there are no hard feelings, stressed Mr. Winkler, who is godfather to Mr. Howard’s daughter, the actress Bryce Dallas Howard.
Howard and his wife, Cheryl, told Winkler, “Please, God, don’t let anything happen to us. Can you keep the kids? Let them have a bar mitzvah if you want.”
Henry Winkler is the godfather of Ron Howard’s daughter, actress Bryce Dallas Howard. (Daniel Venturelli/WireImage/Getty Images)
A spokesperson for the 70-year-old filmmaker did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
