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Ron Howard nearly left “Happy Days” after Henry Winkler’s popularity changed the course of the show.
Howard almost quit when producers floated the idea of calling the hit show “Fonzie’s Happy Days” in an effort to capitalize on fans’ love of Winkler’s character, Arthur Herbert “The Fonz” Fonzarelli.
“They came to me at ABC and they wanted to change the title to ‘Fonzie’s Happy Days,'” Winkler told the New York Times. “I said, ‘If you do that, it is an insult to everybody I’m working with. Why fix something that isn’t broken? We are really good. I live in the family and that’s why I’m successful. I’m asking you, if you never listen to me again, leave it alone.’”
Howard told producers he “would leave” even though he was “contractually” obligated to continue filming the show.
‘HAPPY DAYS’ CELEBRATES 50 YEARS: ‘I LOOK BACK NOW AND FEEL SO FORTUNATE’
Ron Howard almost left “Happy Days” as th producers floated the idea of changing the show’s name to “Fonzie’s Happy Days.” (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“But I told them if you really want to change the name of the show to that, I would rather go back to USC and film school and what I was doing before the show launched,” he recalled.
Winkler previously shared how his rise to popularity tested his friendship with Howard, who starred as Richie Cunningham on the show.
“I was very aware never to be less than respectful to him,” Winkler told Fox News Digital. “I was always careful never to flaunt anything that was happening to me on the sound stage in front of the cast members, including him. I’m lucky [my character’s popularity] was happening, but I was a member of an ensemble, which was higher than bragging.”
Ron Howard has gone on to produce and direct many successful films and television shows throughout his career. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for National Board of Review)
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Henry Winkler and Ron Howard starred alongside each other in the “Happy Days” sitcom. (Getty Images)
Winkler “learned a lot” from working alongside Howard.
“He was completely grounded by his parents, who never allowed any bad behavior,” he recalled. “He was being a professional. This was his job, and I learned from watching him. I’m older — 10 years older — so I had the experience of theater and commercials on the East Coast on how to be a professional. I never doubted my responsibility for what I had to do, but I still had a lot to learn.”
“I remember one time I got overly emotional [trying to memorize my lines],” Winkler continued. “It was Ron who took me back to the sound stage and said, ‘If I were you, I probably wouldn’t hit my script.’ I said, ‘Ron, I’ll never hit my script as long as I live.’ Nor did I ever.”
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Henry Winkler and Ron Howard were joined by Al Molinaro, Marion Ross, Tom Bosley, Cathy Silvers, Lynda Goodfriend, Scott Baio, Erin Moran, Anson Williams and Ted McGinley for “Happy Days.” (Bob D’Amico /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images)
“Happy Days” ran from 1974 to 1984 and featured the Cunningham family as they navigated middle-class life in the Midwest in the ‘50s and ’60s. The show helped solidify Howard as a Hollywood director and brought on Winkler’s rise to fame.
Anson Williams, who starred as Potsie Weber, went on to dabble in politics. The sitcom star ran for mayor of Ojai, California, in 2022. He was defeated by Betsy Stix, who received 42 more votes than the actor, according to the New York Post.
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