Henry Winkler Had Four Firm Rules About Playing Fonzie On Happy Days

The 1970s television avatar for "cool" was undoubtedly Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler), the mechanic on "Happy Days" who lived above the Cunningham family garage and charmed audiences with his beaming smile, affability, and classic 1950s greaser look. When originally cast in the role, Winkler stablished a few guidelines for himself, vowing not to let the Fonz become a boilerplate '50s caricature. In an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, Winkler said these rules were meant to distinguish him from the era's typical slick, tough-guy characters.

"I made a deal with myself that I would never comb my hair [on camera]," he said. Winkler added that he also vowed never to chew gum on the show, wear a military-style garrison belt, or carry a pack of cigarettes in the sleeve of his t-shirt because "Every actor who had ever played this part did that." Winkler's choice to avoid these visual tropes actually led to the creation of a fresh one that helped define the character early in the series. On the second day of shooting he initially balked at performing a scene where he combs his hair, then brainstormed a workaround that would become one of the Fonz's signature moves.  It wasn't the only time Winkler fought to make the character his own, and the mannerism he created was repeated many times throughout the 11-season run of "Happy Days."

Realizing that he wanted to remain true to his pre-set guidelines without being disrespectful or risk getting fired, Winkler improvised a bit. "I walked to the mirror, took out the comb [exhales] 'Hey, I don't have to because it's perfect." Each time Winkler performed this little bit of visual self-affirmation, it reminded audiences that Fonzie's true superpower was his unshakable confidence.

The comb-in-mirror feint became as much of a Fonzie signature as the thumbs-up or brown leather jacket that is now on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, but it wasn't the last time the actor would perform the move. Winkler's long and fruitful post-"Happy Days" career includes his only Emmy win for playing Gene Cousineau on "Barry" and another recurring role that gave him a chance to bring back Fonzie's signature shrug.

Long after Fonzie jumped the shark and "Happy Days" had gone off the air, Winkler brought the move back in one of his 32 appearances on "Arrested Development" as attorney Barry Zuckercorn.

After a brief exchange in a public restroom with beleaguered Bluth brothers Michael (Jason Bateman) and Gob (Will Arnett), Zuckercorn's two clients adjust their  hair in the mirror before leaving. Barry then whips out a comb, sees his clearly ideal form reflected before him, and drops both hands to his sides. It's a undeniable callback to "Happy Days" — in that series Winkler's reaction to himself in the mirror told us more about The Fonz than a hundred punch-starts of the jukebox at Al's diner.