O, HENRY!
You know him best as Fonzie from TV’s Happy Days and now acting coach Gene Cousineau on HBO’s
Barry. But here are some other fabulous roles from Henry Winkler’s wide-ranging acting portfolio. Shakespeare A Yale grad with a Master of Fine Arts in drama, he appeared in more than a dozen Yale Repertory Theater productions, including Shakespeare’s Coriolanus (1968) and Macbeth (1971).
The Mary Tyler Moore Show In a 1973 episode, “The Dinner Party,” he played Steve Waldman, the date of Rhoda (Valerie Harper).
The Lords of Flatbush He was Butchey Weinstein, the “brains” in this 1974 movie about a group of leather-clad street teens in 1958 Brooklyn, which also featured a pre-Rocky Sylvester Stallone. 3 An American Christmas Carol The 1979 TV movie featured Winkler as Benedict Slade, a miserly businessman, and was a Yankee-side spin on Charles Dickens’ British Christmas classic.
4 Night Shift Ron Howard directed this 1982 comedy about morticians, which also featured Michael Keaton (in his first starring role) and Shelley Long.
Scream Winkler’s scene-stealing appearance as foulmouthed principal Arthur Himbry in this campy 1996 horror hit put him back in the movie mainstream after several years behind the camera directing.
5 The Waterboy His role as Coach Klein generated some of the biggest laughs in this 1998 football comedy— and marked the beginning of a long friendship with star Adam Sandler.
Holes He played Stanley Yelnats III in the 2003 Disney movie based on the young readers novel, which also featured Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight and Shia LaBeouf.
6 Parks and Recreation Paging Dr. Saperstein! Winkler played the recurring role of the Pawnee obstetrician in nine episodes of the popular NBC sitcom (2013–2015).
7 Arrested Development He was bumbling attorney Barry Zuckerkorn in 30 episodes of the Emmy-winning Fox/Netflix sitcom starring Jason Bateman. —Neil Pond