Being Henry

May 1, 2023

For millions, Winkler will forever be the Fonz of the durable TV series Happy Days, but he's worked steadily since those happy days, recently winning a Primetime Emmy Award and two Television Critics Choice Awards for his work on the HBO comedy series Barry. This memoir moves from his childhood struggles with dyslexia to his success in Hollywood to the joys of family life and sharing, all from an actor known as one of Hollywood's nicest men. With a 600,000-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2023
The beloved actor, director, and producer tells his warm-hearted story. Life after being the Fonz wasn't all happy days for Winkler (b. 1945), but this well-crafted autobiography--complete with welcome interjections from Stacey, his wife of 45 years--shows how the acclaimed yet anxious actor learned how to be cool. This is no celebrity tell-all. The author regularly holds back on names or distinguishing details when he offers unflattering tales about anyone other than himself. Instead, he goes deep into his troubled relationship with his Holocaust-surviving parents, his long-undiagnosed dyslexia, and his struggle to find work following his superstar breakthrough as Arthur Fonzarelli in Happy Days. Whether he's relaying a difficult stretch of his life; how he came to co-author the Hank Zipzer children's book series; or how he landed the memorable roles of Barry Zuckerkorn on Arrested Development and Gene Cousineau on Barry, Winkler tells stories like he would at a dinner with friends. One minute, he's discussing his role in Adam Sandler's The Waterboy; the next, it's a failed meeting with Neil Simon. In a less genuine writer's hands, the chapter in which he discusses the family dogs and how they interact with him and each other could come across as filler. With Winkler, it's clearly a deeply felt explanation of his love for Linus, Charlotte, Hamlet, Scruffy, and Ringo. The author also offers plenty of occasionally offbeat but largely sage advice. "When I give talks these days, I say, 'Your head knows some things; your tummy knows everything'," he writes. "I say it to kindergarteners, I say it to seniors. I say it to everybody, because it is the law of living." Winkler's current late-career, Emmy-winning resurgence shows that his tummy knows what it's doing. This charming autobiography of personal struggles during times of career success and challenge deserves a big thumbs-up.

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August 28, 2023
In this winning memoir, former Happy Days star Winkler (I’ve Never Met an Idiot on the River) discusses his career, long-undiagnosed dyslexia, and lifelong struggles with self-esteem. He begins with his academic failures as a child in 1950s New York City, which caused regular clashes with his father, a stern Jewish refugee who wanted Winkler to take over the family lumber business. Drawn to performance as a means of coping (“I used humor to cover everything I couldn’t do—which was most things”), Winkler pursued theater instead, nursing dreams of a Hollywood career while he attended the Yale School of Drama. Shortly after Winkler decamped to California in the early 1970s, those dreams came true when he booked the role of Arthur Fonzarelli on Happy Days. He was often unable to participate in cold-reads, however, because of his dyslexia (for which he wouldn’t receive a diagnosis until he was 31). Winkler is candid about the ways such experiences stunted him emotionally, and at one point allows his wife, Stacey, to weigh in: “I have to admit there were times when I thought, ‘What the fuck? Now I have another child?’ ” Though Winkler includes plenty of inside-Hollywood fare, the book’s frankness sets it apart from standard-issue actor memoirs. The result is a heartfelt chronicle of learning to love one’s self, shortcomings and all. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM Partners.

September 1, 2023
In 1973, Henry Winkler was a 28-year-old auditioning for the role of Arthur Fonzarelli on the sitcom Happy Days. His ability to take charge and lose himself in the role got him the part and launched his career. Throughout the author's youth, acting provided a worthwhile escape from the learning difficulties he experienced in school, though he wouldn't receive a dyslexia diagnosis until his thirties. Winkler's enthusiasm for acting led him to Los Angeles, where he surfed from one friend's couch to another while awaiting his big break. Initially, his role on Happy Days was a supporting one, but Winkler's charisma and popularity turned Fonzie into the show's centerpiece. After Happy Days' 11-season run, Winkler would continue a long career in show business, both in front of and behind the camera, while also co-writing the Hank Zipzer series of children's books dealing with dyslexia. Sharing memorable and funny behind-the-scenes moments, Being Henry entertains as an introspective, self-deprecating, and quite moving memoir from a versatile actor.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The many, many fans Winkler has gathered over his 50 years in Hollywood won't be disappointed by this charming memoir.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 22, 2023

With heartwarming honesty and self-deprecating humor, Emmy-winning actor, producer, and writer Winkler opens up about life after the role of a lifetime, his becoming a children's-book author, and his struggles with dyslexia in this charming memoir. Winkler's iconic portrayal of Arthur "the Fonz" Fonzarelli on TV's Happy Days (1974-84) brought both fame and the unexpected issue of his overpowering the show and being typecast thereafter. Winkler's discovery in his thirties that his inability to read scripts and follow directions stemmed from undiagnosed dyslexia provided both relief and fodder for two new roles, as a motivational speaker and a creator of middle-grade novels featuring a young dyslexic boy named Hank Zipzer. Winkler's memoir also gives readers insight into show business as he traces his career's lows (being fired as director after just 13 days on the set of Turner and Hooch) and joyful highs (amazing roles in Arrested Development and Barry). More importantly, he describes his personal journey toward accepting his faults and improving his relationship with his wife. He even turns the writing over to her occasionally, to keep him honest. VERDICT Winkler's personality shines through in this memoir and cements his status as a beloved celebrity for multiple generations.--Lisa Henry

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