Henry Winkler is finally revealing the inspiration behind his portrayal of the beloved sitcom character, Arthur Herbert "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, on "Happy Days."
According to Winkler, some of the slickness of "The Fonz" can be attributed to Sylvester "Sly" Stallone.
"They wanted a taller actor to start. They wanted a big Italian. They got a short Jew," Winkler joked of the original casting for his "Happy Days" character. "But I had an Italian in me. I liked pasta, and I thought that, that counts," he shared on "The Jennifer Hudson Show."
Having just completed filming his movie "The Lords of Flatbush" with Stallone, Winkler says the actor was on his mind when he went into his audition for the sitcom shortly after. The movie was released in 1974, the same year Winkler's show premiered.
"He's a wonderful fellow… He talks out the side of his mouth," Winkler playfully demonstrated.
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"But really… he's articulate, he's funny, he's a writer. And so in the beginning, when I started doing ‘The Fonz’ I kept thinking, ‘What would Sly do?’"
"I walked into the audition and I said, ‘Hi my name is Henry,'" Winkler said in his regular voice. "’And I'm here to audition for this part,'" he added, transitioning into the deep and distinguished vibrato of Fonzie.
Winkler was clearly comfortable revisiting Fonzie, as he continued on in character and complimented Hudson. "I happen to be nuts about your nails," he told the singer and television host, much to her glee, before kissing her hand.
"OK, Fonz," she squealed.
