Relive The Fonz’s 15 Coolest Moments on ‘Happy Days’—From Snapping Fingers to Jumping the Shark
From magic with the ladies to tears over nearl losing Richie, they're all here.
Being cool is… well, cool. That life lesson was instilled on a generation of TV watchers by Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli, aka “The Fonz” or “Fonzie” from the 1950s-set ABC sitcom Happy Days. Wearing his leather jacket and oftentimes on his motorcycle (even in his apartment), he helped turn the Ron Howard series into a pop culture sensation. He also made famous phrases like “Ayyy” (accompanied by thumbs up), “Correctamundo”, “exactamundoa”, “pefectamundo” and, in his own way, “cool it.” People watching Henry today may find it hard to believe that that’s the same guy who was the Fonz, but listen closely, because every now and then he slips into the voice and it’s an amazing transformation to watch.
While being interviewed by radio station WXOU, Henry addressed the impact Fonzie had on him: “He gave me a worldwide recognition, gave me a job in the very arena that I dreamt about. He was fun to play. I loved the people that I acted with. He put a roof on my head. He put my children through school. He created good will. He gave me the key to the door — now, once I walked through that door, I had to create it — but he gave me the key to the door to my future.”
1. Working the Jukebox
If we only had a nickel for every time Fonzie hit the jukebox with his fist and brought it to life. On one occasion he hit it out of frustration and as music started to play, he grumbled, “Not now!” Then he hit it again and turned it off. In one episode he hit the outside of a building and the power shut down completely.
The above is just in case anyone doubts if Henry Winkler’s still got it.
2. Free sodas for everyone
His magic wasn’t limited to jukeboxes. He could kick a soda machine and have two bottles come down for him and pal Richie Cunningham. We actually don’t want to think about this too long, ‘cause, you know, if you think about it, he’s stealing. And stealing ain’t cool.
3. It’s okay to cry
Fonzie gave off such a cool air about him, that his deeper emotions were kept pretty much in check. But then came the episode where Richie, after riding a motorcycle without a helmet, has an accident and is in a coma When he’s alone with Red in the hospital room, Fonzie confesses for the first time that Richie is his best friend and he doesn’t want to lose him, which leads to him striking a deal with God before he breaks down sobbing. A very powerful moment that caused a number of therapists to comment that by opening up he “gave permission” for many troubled kids to do the same. Of course the next week something happened to his dog and he got a little misty-eyed. C’mon, Fonzie, too much of a good thing…
Another great Richie/Fonzie moment came after Ron Howard left the show, but returned as a guest star. Right before Richie, his wife and son were getting ready to move to California permanently, the two of them had a heartfelt goodbye.
4. Co-starring status
This one shows you just how cool Henry Winkler is as a human being. He was originally brought on to Happy Days as a supporting player, with Ron Howard in the lead. But it wasn’t long before Henry’s popularity eclipsed everybody else’s. So big was the Fonz, that ABC offered him a spin-off, which he turned down, believing Fonzie was better interacting with his co-stars. Then they offered to boost him to the lead in the credits, which he also refused, unwilling to do that to Ron. Now that’s cool.
5. To be or not to be
In one of the early episodes, for some reason or another Fonzie agrees to be in the high school production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As he performs — beginning with the line, “To be, or not to be. Can you dig it?” — he notices that the audience isn’t paying attention. In response, he gives them a piece of his mind to get the adults to pay attention to their kids, who worked so hard to make the show happen. Another highlight is the identification the character feels with Hamlet, as shown in the video above.
6. Ice cream truck driver
In a disagreement with his boss, Fonzie quits working at the garage and, proving it ain’t cool to be unemployed, has to find another means of income. One of them is driving an ice cream truck, which goes about as well as you’d expect, with him complaining to Richie, “Every time I get that truck up to 90 miles an hour, some kid is standing there wavin’ a nickel!”
7. Instant dating
Pretty much anywhere he goes, if Fonzie snaps his fingers, a pretty girl (or two, or three) suddenly comes up to him. Sometimes he has to tell them to be patient; there’s plenty of him to go around. Whoa!
In the fan-edited clip above, it’s obvious that the Avengers could have used the Fonz’ snap when battling their arch-enemy Thanos.
8. His legendary love for his motorcycle
Pretty much part and parcel with Fonzie is his motorcycle, which was the subject of more than a few jokes. The best had to be when it was damaged and Tom Bosley’s Howard Cunningham (Richie’s father) comments to him, “Fonzie, it’s only a motorcycle,” to which he replies, “Only a motorcycle? Only a motorcycle? And I suppose your mother was only a mother.”
9. Jumping the shark
Now we all know the phrase means that a TV show has gone to a place it never should have, and likely will have a hard time getting back to where it once was. Well, the phrase originated on Happy Days, when Fonzie agrees to water ski over a water pen housing a shark. In most cases “jumping the shark” is applied to shows with declining audiences and any fix is temporary at best. Happy Days ran another six seasons or so after the infamous jump. So we say to the critics, sit on it.
10. Teaching life lessons
As noted earlier, when Fonzie cried, it opened up the floodgates for numerous people who had previously been afraid to let their emotional guards down. After that, we’d see him wear glasses when he had no choice (“Glasses aren’t for nerds,” he would say. “Glasses are cool”); singing the virtues of having a library card to Richie, which resulted in a massive uptick in kids getting them as well; and going to night school to get his high school diploma, again proclaiming that “Education is cool.” It went on from there, with Fonzie becoming a kind of leather-clad Superman, enlightening the world.
11. Despite all the girls, he did fall in love
Her name was Pinky Tuscadero (Roz Kelly), a demolition derby driver who had stolen his heart in the past and was doing it again in the present. Even with the amazing ability to snap his fingers and have a date, it was nice to see Fonzie truly in love. And heartbreaking (relatively speaking) when they went their separate ways.
12. He took on and beat an alien being
Robin Williams debuted his character of Mork from Ork on an episode of Happy Days, which proved so popular that he was spun off into his own show. But before that, he went into a comic duel with the Fonz, at one point freezing him in place. But then Fonzie’s thumb moved into an upright position, followed by the rest of him.
13. Singing despite being scared
For some reason (and damn if we can remember what it was), Fonzie agrees to sing at Arnold’s (the show’s hangout for the cast), but it turns out the thought of doing so is terrifying to him. Richie gives him a pep talk, though, and he ends up doing it, talk-singing his way through Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” and backed up by Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams). Speaking of which….
14. He gave the world Laverne & Shirley
Fonzie tells Richie that they can double date, and he turns to friends Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams). There was comic gold in that episode, and no surprise at all that ABC decided to do a spin-off featuring the brewery workers. Laverne & Shirley ran eight seasons to Happy Days’ 11.
15. Camping with the Fonz
After an adventure with the gang, Fonzie decides to sleep outside. As he settles down, head resting against a log, insects start making sounds, followed by frogs, assorted birds including an owl, and it grows to the point where there’s an orchestra of animal sounds. Fonzie sits up, throws his arms out and commands, “Cool it!” Complete silence, followed by his smirking comment, “Let’s see Tarzan do that.” Ayyyy!
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