Cool! Fonz role led to Happier Days for Henry
The 72-year-old won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in Barry, having previously been nominated four times, dating back to 1976.
That first nomination, and the two that followed, was, of course, for his breakout role as Arthur Fonzarelli in Happy Days.
His role as the ultra-cool biker the ladies swooned over was a world away from the nervous, unconfident characteristics that had dogged Winkler.
Born on October 30, 1945, to German Jews who had emigrated from Berlin six years earlier, Henry had a tough time at school.
He was considered “slow” and stupid, which caused him anxiety, and it was only when Henry was in his 30s that he was diagnosed with dyslexia.
Henry later co-authored a series of children’s books about a boy with dyslexia and was given an honorary OBE in 2011 for services to kids with special educational needs and dyslexia.
That would all have seemed unachievable as a youngster but he clung to his dream of becoming an actor.
He worked in theatre for free before a low-budget movie paved the way for his most famous role.
Winkler was cast in The Lords Of Flatbush, a 1950sset drama about a group of streetwise, leather jacketwearing friends.
One of his co-stars was another soon-to-be-famous actor, Sylvester Stallone, and when an audition for Happy Days came around, Winkler took on some of Sly’s swagger to appear tough.
Show creator Garry Marshall wasn’t convinced (he wanted Micky Dolenz for the part).
However, producer Tom Miller insisted Henry was ideal. Originally a minor character with barely any lines, he played The Fonz to perfection and was soon the star of the show.
In the early days, channel executives refused to let the character wear a leather jacket, fearing it would appear too “hoodlum”, but after several episodes of wearing a less-than-cool green windbreaker, they compromised and said he could wear the leather jacket whenever he was at his motorbike.
Fonzie was only seen with his bike for the rest of the season!
Happy Days ran for 11 seasons, and when it ended, Winkler turned to producing and directing but the ’90s saw an acting revival.
He took on a memorable role in horror movie Scream in 1996 and followed that with a part in Adam Sandler’s The Waterboy.
Winkler also had popular roles in cult favourite TV shows, Parks And Recreation and Arrested Development, before his Emmy-winning role last month in Barry.