Happy Days

Exclusive interview by Karen Shaw

The mere mention of Henry Winkler takes me right back to leather jackets, milkshakes, jukeboxes, and last but not least Fonz with his signature ‘thumbs up’ pose. Now, they really were Happy Days. So imagine my joy when I discovered that Henry is returning to our screens, but in a completely guise. This time there’ll be no dating or drive through movies. He’s playing the role of Mr Rock in CBBC’s latest TV series The World’s Greatest Underachiever. Based on Henry Winkler’s own experiences as a young boy growing up with dyslexia, it’s fast paced and funny, following the everyday life of 12-year-old Hank Zipzer, a young man with a unique perspective on the world.
“This series is certainly inspired by my childhood and the experiences I had because I learned differently to other people,” says Henry, “but it’s a comedy first. “The emotion is completely relatable but we exaggerate the humour. When I was young, teachers and other people used to tell me I’d never achieve anything because I’m in the bottom three percent academically in America. I never thought I’d be able to write books, let alone to have them made into a TV show.
“I never imagined I would be a published author. I still have to step back and look at the books and touch them sometimes to actually believe it’s true,” he laughs.

Henry Winkler plays music teacher Mr Rock (Henry’s real life teacher) alongside newcomer Nick James as Hank. “Mr. Rock was the only teacher throughout my schooling who saw me as a complete human being. He was the one who supported me. Mr Rock said one sentence to me, ‘Winkler, when you do get out of here, you’re going to be okay.’ And I carry that sentence in my heart until today. He was a real inspiration to me and it’s wonderful to be able to play him in the series. Mr Rock is a real friend to Hank, as well as being his teacher, and I think viewers will enjoy their often mischievous relationship.”
Hank is a boy who is creative in his approach to solving problems. Is this due to his personality or the fact he’s dyslexic or both?

When one has a learning challenge, their brain usually goes into overdrive and you very quickly learn how to compensate for your deficits. Like Hank, I use humour to cover the shame and humiliation that comes from not being able to keep up. I believe that the personality and one’s learning challenge are intertwined.”

I was curious to learn how Henry had overcome Dyslexia when filming Happy Days. “As I do with every single script, on every project, I highlight my lines in yellow and I read those lines very slowly over and over again. Although reading out loud off the page is so difficult for me, memorising comes easily.”

Filmed in Halifax, Henry loved the warm Yorkshire welcome he received. “Halifax has stunning countryside, the people are friendly, the pastries delicious, and the fly-fishing heavenly.”

For me Henry Winkler is and always will be the Fonz. For the younger generation, he will continue to enthuse and entertain as Mr Rock. “It’s lovely for me to see how different people remember different things I’ve done. The kids who watch the show will probably only know me as an author – and now hopefully as Mr Rock!”

Before the interview closes I tentatively ask him a question I always wanted to know if I was to give him a dime what he would put on the jukebox.
“It would have to be Runaway by Del Shannon,” he laughs.

Happy Days, they certainly were.