Happy days are here again!
“Happy Days” stars Ron Howard and Henry Winkler reunited Down Under when Howard turned up at an event for Winkler’s memoir, “Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond,” in Sydney.
“LIFE! As the WORLD turns @RealRonHoward came to my book event in Sydney Australia. SO exciting for everyone !!!!” Winkler captioned a photo of them beaming on X on Feb. 6, with Howard placing his hands on Winkler’s shoulders.
Howard, in turn shared the post, explaining he was in Australia working on his upcoming movie “Eden.”
“Just started post production in Sydney on my recently wrapped latest movie @edenthemovie starring an amazing cast. A great creative experience but that’s for another post,” he wrote.
“When I touched base with Henry, I discovered he was making an appearance here in support of his excellent best-selling memoir #BeingHenry: The Fonz...and Beyond. Fantastic! We connected backstage and I watched him give a great speech to a huge crowd. What a blast!”
Howard and Winkler starred together on “Happy Days,” with Winkler playing ultimate cool guy Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli and Howard portraying teenager Richie Cunningham. Howard left the series before its eighth season in 1980 to pursue a career as a director. The comedy, about a 1950s and '60s Milwaukee family, aired for a total of 11 seasons between 1974 and 1984.
The two have maintained a close friendship, as Howard has gone on to become an Academy Award-winning director and producer, making such hits as "A Beautiful Mind," "Apollo 13," "Splash" and "Frost/Nixon." Winkler, meanwhile, won an Emmy Award for his work on HBO's "Barry."
“Ron, he’s an old soul. There’s a wisdom in him that is big,” Winkler told TODAY.com in November before he recalled the conversation when Howard told him he would be leaving “Happy Days.”
Winkler said he, Howard and their families met for dinner when they reminisced about that conversation.
“He says to me, ‘When you were very quiet (on the phone) and I had no idea what you were going to say, then you said, ‘Ron, go and get it. You want it. You’ve dreamt about this. Go and be the best director in the universe,’” Winkler said.
“That gave me a sense of calm,” he said Howard told him.