Henry Winkler Interview
For the 1974-1984 run of HAPPY DAYS, Henry Winkler as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli was the epitome of TV cool. Three decades later, Winkler’s resume is filled with acting, producing and directing credits, as well as co-authoring a series of children’s novels. Winkler proves to be a gracious interview, chatting with reporters at a breakfast for actors, producers and entertainment journalists hosted by USA Network during the Television Critics Association press tour. This is actually Winkler’s second day at press tour - he’s already been here for the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim panel. This is because the hard-working Winkler is on two series simultaneously: he’s ne’er-do-well dad to adult sons Hank and Evan on USA’s ROYAL PAINS and Dr. Sy Mittleman on Adult Swim’s live-action surreal comedy CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL.
Asked how this works out schedule-wise, Winkler replies, “How lucky am I? ROYAL PAINS shoots from April to October; CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL shoots from November to February.”
The two series have likewise contrasting styles. While ROYAL PAINS is a comedy, it is relatively naturalistic, whereas, Winkler observes, “The other one [CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL] is nuts.”
Does he enjoy going from one to the other? “Absolutely. It’s like a gift in my life. We were talking about, you dream of earning your living, doing what you want to do. And I am. I’m living the phrase, ‘When it rains, it pours.’”
Right now, it’s pouring very different kinds of rain. On CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, Winkler reveals, “I will tell you what happened [in a scene shot in early January]. They found my daughter. I went to a diner. They introduced me to her. She is the African-American father of one of the doctors in the hospital. And I stood up and I hugged Samantha. I have no idea what I did, but that’s it. It has no bearing on any life as I know it on this planet.”
On ROYAL PAINS, Winkler’s Eddie also is dealing with his grown children, but the situation is very different. “One loves me, and one doesn’t trust me. But he will. I will turn him around,” Winkler explains. It seems inevitable, as Winkler describes Eddie as “This wonderful, quirky, misunderstood, funny, emotional guy.”
In real life, Winkler has three sons, aged thirty-nine, thirty and twenty-seven. Does he think he’d be able to play fathers as well as he does if he didn’t have the life experience of parenthood? “You know, a good actor I think has the empathy, has the understanding, but being a parent is enormous. I think it is the hardest job on the planet. And I think you have to really know it. There was a comedy about children moving back in with their parents and I think the two [actors playing the] parents did not have kids, and you could see that their humor was much harder-edged. Now you could be annoyed with your kids, but underneath, there is a love. And they didn’t quite get that.”
Why does Winkler think this series (which he doesn’t name) didn’t work? “I think it is that they’re trying to be funny, and being funny is so difficult, it’s astounding. So that’s what they do, because some of the times on a comedy, they say things that are so outrageous, and the other person cannot react, or the scene will go in that direction. But ROYAL PAINS is run by really smart, thoughtful young men who are incredible.”
The series allows Winkler to be spontaneous in certain takes, he says. “I invite [one son] to sit down to dinner and he won’t eat, and I give him a kiss on his cheek. He was not prepared for that; I had never done it. And you see it in his face, that I caught him off-guard. It is a joy to be able to do these scenes.”
When Winkler’s children were young, did they ever get jealous of his make-believe children on TV? “No. But they got jealous of people stopping us all the time that ate into their time together. And I found if you are honest with people and you say, “You know what? Thank you for saying that [kind comment] - I’m in the middle of a conversation with my child, I can’t talk to you now,” they get it.”
As if all this isn’t enough, Winkler has a new project coming up. “In May, on Father’s Day, I have a new book coming out - I’ve written seventeen novels for children with my partner Lin Oliver. But I have a book of photographs that I’ve taken.”
Even so, Winkler says his first love is still acting. “I like [writing], but I thought to myself, ‘I do so many different jobs, I better focus.’ And my favorite still - here’s my metaphor. As a producer, you hold sand in your arms. You never stop the drip. As a director, you try to get all that sand into one box. And as an actor, I get to play in the sand. I really love playing in the sand.”
By Abbie Bernstein
Entertainment Reporter – Buzzy Multimedia
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