BEING HENRY-The Fonz a.k.a. Henry Winkler Looks Back with Fondness and Gratitude

There are plenty of happy days in the life of 79 years young, Henry Winkler who first garnered fame as the Fonz on the ABC hit sitcom HAPPY DAYS.  Winkler's bio is an enjoyable, fast read. At the end he writes, "I have gratitude for everything. I love being on the earth. I love everything."  Despite sounding saccharine, Winkler's memoir is a candid and joyous journey filled with happiness, set-backs and an irrepressible spirit that feels genuine. There's much Winkler has to be thankful for, especially his wife of more than 40 years, three children, five grandchildren and a bevy of beloved dogs. Childhood growing up as the only son of German born immigrants wasn't pleasurable due to cold, dismissive parents and dyslexia making academics arduous.  Despite his dyslexia, Winkler finished college and Yale's Drama School. In addition to his long career in front of the camera, he's directed, produced and written a score of children's books about a child dealing with dyslexia. Winkler is up front about the ongoing difficulties dyslexia imposes in his career from script readings to learning lines. This isn't amounting to a hard knock life, but it was excruciating for him after being typecast making getting cast difficult.  "I was saddened that the world could only see me as the Fonz. But, I never lost sight of what the character gave me, a roof over my head, food on the table, my children's education."  He nabbed the role as Fonzie, his first gig soon after  he arrived in LA (while coachsurfing) and pinching pennies.  Winkler touts relying on one's intuition. "Trust your tummy, not your head.  Your head only knows some things; your tummy knows everything, if you just listen."  More importantly, he emphasized giving respect to the cast, crew and everyone without sounding holier-than-thou. Winkler came across not only exemplary, but as someone you'd be fortunate to know.  An aspect Winkler weighs in on too heavily is psychotherapy.  He proselytized this as a panacea for getting in touch with one's emotions.  "I slowly realized there was still a lot of little boy in me, desperately trying to make everyone in the world love me, because my parents didn't seem to. The little boy who knew less than everyone else."  Winkler was aware he wasn't emotionally there for his wife as needed. He credits therapy for enlightening him.  "After almost forty years together, something in me still couldn't let her in, and this was causing intense pain to both of us."  He felt he wasn't advocating for his views at work. "I was unable, again physically unable to hold up my side of any argument; I would just cave, then keep quiet and build a thunderhead of resentment."  The long career Winkler has maintained in the entertainment industry is testament to his tenacity.  "This Emmy {for BARRY} was a validation, not only of the kind of work I could do, but of the kind of work I could do at 70. Reading about Winkler's life was engrossing and a master class in acting.  I took away winning attitudes from Winkler.  Still, it's his decency in a business known more for its sleaziness that resonated. "The cornerstone of my existence: never finish a negative sentence...Release the negative thought before you put a period on the end of it...get it out of your brain by replacing it with a positive.  What kind of positive? What I always say in my talks is that it is a moist chocolate Bundt cake with soft chocolate chips. No frosting."  And as Fonzie, "AAAYYY! I don't wanna see where I've been. I wanna see how cool I look getting there!"