‘At school I’d fantasise that my parents moved and left no forwarding address’ – how Henry Winkler found happier days

Henry Winker on his family struggles, global fame – and the emptiness after the Fonz jumped the shark

Henry Winkler in West Hollywood, California, in 2022. Photo: FilmMagic for HBO

Dónal Lynch

It’s funny to learn that Henry Winkler, the Fonz himself, had an Irish childhood. Or not Irish exactly, but with many of the classic elements: poverty, a difficult parent, a long climb out of low self-esteem.

The parallels became clear to him through literature. Winkler, who grew up in a Jewish family in New York, is ­dyslexic and ­always had trouble reading, so he ­listened to recordings of Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes. By the end, he had seen a reflection of his own life, he says. He ­connected with McCourt by phone afterwards and told him of the book’s impact.