Henry Winkler Overview

Henry Franklin Winkler was born on October 30, 1945 in Manhattan, New York. His parents, Harry Irving and Ilse Anna Maria Winkler, were Jewish immigrants who survived the German Holocaust, moving to the US in 1939. His dad was the president... [more]

Henry Franklin Winkler was born on October 30, 1945 in Manhattan, New York. His parents, Harry Irving and Ilse Anna Maria Winkler, were Jewish immigrants who survived the German Holocaust, moving to the US in 1939. His dad was the president of an international lumber company while his mother worked alongside his father. Henry grew up with "a high level of low self-esteem". Throughout elementary school and high school, he struggled with academics. This was due to what he would later identify as dyslexia. His parents expected him to eventually work with them at the lumber company. However, Henry had other plans as he saw roles on stage as the key to his happiness. His acting debut came in the eighth grade when he played the role of "Billy Budd" in the school play of the same name. Following his graduation from McBurney High School, he was able to incorporate his learning disability and succeed in higher education. He received a Bachelor's degree from Emerson College in 1967 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama in 1970. He later received an honorary PHD in Hebrew Literature in 1978 from Emerson College. Following college, his top priority was to become an actor. However, if this was unsuccessful, he wanted to become a child psychologist because of his deep interest in working with children. Like many other actors, he began his career by appearing in 30 commercials. His first major film role was in The Lord's of Flatbush (1974) in which he played a member of a Brooklyn gang. After that, he was cast on a new ABC series which was set in the 1950s called "Happy Days" (1974). He was given the role of high school dropout and greaser Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli. The character was seldom seen during the first few episodes as ABC initially feared he would be perceived as a hoodlum. However, the character became extremely popular with viewers and the show's producers decided to give Fonzie a more prominent role in the series. [show less]