Happy Days alumni Henry Winkler and Ron Howard took the stage during the awards ceremony Sunday, giving fans of the ABC sitcom a glimpse of the former Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli and Richie Cunningham together again.
In celebration of Happy Days ‘ 50th anniversary, Winkler and Howard greeted each other on a recreation of one of the show’s best-recognized sets: Arnold’s Drive-In, aka the restaurant where the show’s teens hung out. (Ahead of the broadcast, ceremony producer Jesse Collins told our sister site Variety : “I’m curious to see if you think we matched the jukebox.” What do you think?)
Before the pair tossed to the nominees for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series, Howard joked that their set-up was conspicuously missing music. “I have a solution, though,” he said, hinting that Winkler should give the jukebox one of The Fonz’s signature thumps. But Winkler demurred.
“First of all, I’m out of practice,” he said. But Howard would not be denied. “You went to the Yale School of Drama, Henry! C’mon, you know you can do it.” So Winkler bumped the machine as only he could, and the Happy Days theme song started to play as the crowd erupted in applause.
Happy Days premiered in 1974. The Garry Marshall-created series ran 11 seasons and was a nostalgic look at life in the Midwest in the 1950s and ’60s. The ensemble included Winkler as Fonzie, a biker who was the epitome of cool, and Howard as Richie, a naive teen; the cast also included Tom Bosley, Marion Ross, Anson Williams, Donny Most, Erin Moran, Scott Baio, Pat Morita and Al Molinaro.
The series won one Emmy — in 1978, for Outstanding Film Editing in a Comedy Series. In addition, Winkler, Ross and director Jerry Paris were nominated multiple times over the show’s run. Another (less laudatory) fun fact: Happy Days is behind the genesis of the phrase “ jump the shark ” — used to indicate that a TV show has lost the plot/is out of ideas — which stems from the Happy Days Season 5 episode “Hollywood, Part 3,” in which Fonzie literally jumps over a shark while waterskiing.
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Winkler most recently starred as Gene on HBO’s Barry , a role for which he took home the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In addition to numerous voice roles, his TV resume also includes Arrested Development , Royal Pains and Childrens Hospital .
Howard is now an Oscar- and Emmy-winning director and producer. His films include A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 , while his varied TV work includes Arrested Development , Parenthood , Genius , Willow , Under the Banner of Heaven , Felicity , Sports Night and Curious George . Earlier in September, Howard’s documentary Jim Henson Idea Man won Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special at the Creative Arts Emmys.
Video of the reunion will be added as soon as it’s available. Until then, hit the comments and let us know what you thought!
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