The BBA

Being Henry – The Fonz…and Beyond

Henry Winkler, 246 pages


 

My fascination with Henry Winkler as the nicest guy going on Twitter continues. Devoured this easy to read bio where Winkler’s voice and personality showed through. A weirdo? Somewhat. Ego? Sure. But underneath it all there is something genuine about the dude—at least that’s the persona that’s projected. The story kept my interest while not being overly unique or revelatory. His struggle of being typecast and the post-Fonz era was the most entertaining part of the bio. I really wanted him to get into money as to what the Fonz meant to him financially, and what his cobbled together career after Happy Days (voice work, sporadic acting, sporadic directing, writing children’s books, etc.) also amounted to (literally). He didn’t go there, but described his unhealthy relationship with money and always feeling like he was going to go broke. Also enjoyed his references to Arrested Development and found his criticism of his parents’ lack of support and empathy engrossing.