Even though the Fonz was such a skilled cyclist that he could jump his bike over 14 garbage cans, Happy Days actor Henry Winkler could barely ride. In fact, he listed “ride a motorcycle” as the most dangerous thing he’s ever had to do as an actor.
“I am so dyslexic. I couldn’t figure out what was the gas, what was the gear, what was the brake,” Winkler told People. “And I nearly killed the head of cinematography on Happy Days.”
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How did he almost commit vehicular manslaughter? Winkler told Jennifer Hudson in 2023 that he only drove Fonzie’s bike once. “I rode it really for 17 seconds, in the beginning, going up the hill. That was it,” Winkler said. You can see a few seconds’ worth of Winkler’s ride in the show’s opening credits.
“And there was a moment when they had me on soundstage five at Paramount. I was on the bike and all I had to do was rev it and move it five feet,” he told Hudson. He wasn’t kidding about confusing the gas and the brake — he tried to stop the bike but instead shot forward.
The director of cinematography had to dive out of the way. “I put the bike down. We slid under the truck on the soundstage, and they came running. Everybody was, like, in a panic that the bike was fine because it was rented,” Winkler remembered. It was only after the crew confirmed the motorcycle was intact that they asked Winkler, “How about you? Are you okay?”
Winkler was done riding Fonzie’s bike. For the rare occasions when the show required a shot of the Fonz riding, “they put it on a board with four rubber wheels, attached it to a truck.”
If you recall multiple scenes of Fonzie on his motorcycle, you’re not having phantom memories. The show often featured Arthur Fonzarelli on his bike — he just wasn’t riding it. Those moments were crucial for establishing Fonzie’s character. That’s because nervous network executives had the heebie-jeebies about a leather-jacketed hoodlum as part of their family show. In the show’s earliest days, badass Fonzie often wore a “dorky” green windbreaker, as described by Marion Ross in her book, My Days: Happy and Otherwise.
The network suits feared Fonzie would look like a greasy gang member until producers convinced ABC that wearing a leather jacket was a safety issue for cyclists. Not wanting to encourage unsafe riding, the network agreed that the Fonz could wear the leather jacket, as long as he was sitting on the bike or standing near it. In the show’s first couple of seasons, Winkler could often be found doing just that.
As Fonzie became Happy Days’ breakout character, ABC gave in, allowing the leather-clad character to wander Arnold’s freely without holding on to his bike’s handlebars.
Even though Winkler was terrible at riding motorcycles, he used all his acting skills to convince viewers otherwise. “Did I not lean on that bike like it was my bike?”
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