{"id":46199,"date":"2025-09-03T14:35:21","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T18:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=46199"},"modified":"2025-09-03T14:35:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T18:35:21","slug":"after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html","title":{"rendered":"After Decades-long Career, Henry Winkler Says This One Thing Hasn\u2019t Changed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Fox News Digital-Inset-Kathy Hutchins-Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Actor Henry Winkler has been in the business for over five decades. Best known for his role as Fonzie on \u201cHappy Days,\u201d Winkler\u2019s prolific career has included roles in a number of Adam Sandler-helmed projects, cartoons, movies, and commercials. Now, as his 80<\/span>th<\/span> birthday draws near, Winkler told <\/span>Fox News<\/span><\/i><\/a> he is still enjoying life and acting. \u201cI love getting up in the morning. I love being alive. I love that I’m still at the table,” he said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked about which role impacted his life the most, Winkler mentioned some of his most well-known. \u201cI don’t know,\u201d he said. \u201cI got the Fonz when I was 27, I got Barry when I [was] 72 and now \u2026 \u2018Hazardous History.\u2019\u201d As \u201cthe Fonz,\u201d Winkler became a national heartthrob. And while that may not be quite as true for the soon-to-be octogenarian, he says there is still one thing that hasn\u2019t changed. \u201cThe way that I view the world, the way that I view my family and our puppies, the way that I view the human beings I meet all over the world,\u201d he said. He said he\u2019d like to be remembered as \u201ca good human being.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Winkler also offered some acting advice. \u201cOne is, you must be tenacious. You must really eat and sleep and breathe you want to be in this industry,\u201d he said. He also encouraged aspiring actors to be teachable. \u201cThe ear is the center of all things. Listening \u2014 listening to the creators, listening to yourself and listening to your fellow actors,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Winkler\u2019s earnest attitude towards life has earned him a \u201cnice guy\u201d image. He stated that kindness has never been a disadvantage. \u201cKindness has never been a disadvantage. Also, I don’t think of myself as a nice guy,\u201d he said. \u201cI think of myself as a grateful guy. My gratitude allows the journey \u2014 with all the bumps and the bruises and all of the success \u2014 to equal out.\u201d His drive has earned him numerous awards, including being inducted into the 27th Television Academy Hall of Fame event. According to Winkler as he accepted the award, it\u2019s more than he ever expected. \u201cI dreamt maybe I would win an award. I never dreamt Hall of Fame,\u201d he said. \u201cUnbelievable. I am living my dream, and what I am the most proud of is\u2026 that I am still at the table.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Actor Henry Winkler has been in the business for over five decades. Best known for his role as Fonzie on \u201cHappy Days,\u201d Winkler\u2019s prolific career has included roles in a number of Adam Sandler-helmed projects, cartoons, movies, and commercials. Now, as his 80th birthday draws near, Winkler told Fox News he is still enjoying life…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":46202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter Decades-long Career, Henry Winkler Says This One Thing Hasn\u2019t Changed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As Henry Winkler nears 80, the \u201cHappy Days\u201d star reflects on life, gratitude, and a career spanning five decades.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After Decades-long Career, Henry Winkler Says This One Thing Hasn\u2019t Changed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Henry Winkler nears 80, the \u201cHappy Days\u201d star reflects on life, gratitude, and a career spanning five decades.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Idol Chatter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-03T18:35:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2025\/09\/Henry-Winkler_credit-Fox-News-Digital-Inset-Kathy-Hutchins-Shutterstock.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cecilia Buchanan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"After Decades-long Career, Henry Winkler Says This One Thing Hasn\u2019t Changed","description":"As Henry Winkler nears 80, the \u201cHappy Days\u201d star reflects on life, gratitude, and a career spanning five decades.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"After Decades-long Career, Henry Winkler Says This One Thing Hasn\u2019t Changed","og_description":"As Henry Winkler nears 80, the \u201cHappy Days\u201d star reflects on life, gratitude, and a career spanning five decades.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html","og_site_name":"Idol Chatter","article_published_time":"2025-09-03T18:35:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2025\/09\/Henry-Winkler_credit-Fox-News-Digital-Inset-Kathy-Hutchins-Shutterstock.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cecilia Buchanan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html","name":"After Decades-long Career, Henry Winkler Says This One Thing Hasn\u2019t Changed","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2025\/09\/Henry-Winkler_credit-Fox-News-Digital-Inset-Kathy-Hutchins-Shutterstock.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-03T18:35:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-03T18:35:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/#\/schema\/person\/450625ec20bf3e8a84060b9321455f3d"},"description":"As Henry Winkler nears 80, the \u201cHappy Days\u201d star reflects on life, gratitude, and a career spanning five decades.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2025\/09\/Henry-Winkler_credit-Fox-News-Digital-Inset-Kathy-Hutchins-Shutterstock.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2025\/09\/Henry-Winkler_credit-Fox-News-Digital-Inset-Kathy-Hutchins-Shutterstock.jpg","width":1200,"height":900,"caption":"Fox News Digital-Inset-Kathy Hutchins-Shutterstock"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/09\/after-decades-long-career-henry-winkler-says-this-one-thing-hasnt-changed.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"After Decades-long Career, Henry Winkler Says This One Thing Hasn\u2019t Changed"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/","name":"Idol Chatter","description":"Beliefnet Entertainment blog, TV blog, Movie blog, Religion in entertainment blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/#\/schema\/person\/450625ec20bf3e8a84060b9321455f3d","name":"Brandy Grenier","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/e53\/e53f6ea4c6b15081d4df68e2d7d7750ex96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/e53\/e53f6ea4c6b15081d4df68e2d7d7750ex96.jpg","caption":"Brandy Grenier"},"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/author\/bgrenier"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/516"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46205,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46199\/revisions\/46205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}