Henry Winkler, Ron Howard have ‘Happy Days’ reunion at the Emmys

Emmys Sunday, Monday, “Happy Days”!
Ron Howard and Henry Winkler staged a “Happy Days” reunion at the Emmys on Sunday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the classic sitcom. The two stars came together to present the award for outstanding directing in a comedy series, appearing on a set resembling Arnold’s Drive-In from the show.
After they jokingly questioned why the “Happy Days” theme did not play to introduce them, Winkler busted out a classic Fonzie move to punch a jukebox, which played the song.
Winkler also praised his “very good friend for 50 years,” Howard, and congratulated him after his documentary “Jim Henson Idea Man” won several awards at the Creative Arts Emmys.
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While introducing the segment, host Eugene Levy described “Happy Days” as a show that was part of the “strange phenomenon” of a “wave of nostalgia” for the 1950s.
Winkler famously played Fonzie on “Happy Days,” which aired from 1974 to 1984 on ABC, while Howard starred as Richie Cunningham. Howard left the show after its seventh season and went on to have a hugely successful directing career, winning an Oscar for “A Beautiful Mind” in 2002.
“Happy Days” celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year. The show received numerous Emmy nominations during its original run, including nods for Winkler, but the actor never won for his performance as Fonzie. Decades later, he finally received his first Emmy in 2018, for his performance on HBO’s “Barry.”
“I only have 37 seconds,” Winkler said in his best supporting actor acceptance speech that year. “I wrote this 43 years ago.”
Winkler released a book, “Being Henry: The Fonz…And Beyond”,” last year. In February, he shared a photo with Howard and said his former co-star had attended one of his book events.
“When I touched base with Henry, I discovered he was making an appearance here in support of his excellent best-selling memoir #BeingHenry: The Fonz … and Beyond,” Howard said on X at the time. “Fantastic! We connected backstage and I watched him give a great speech to a huge crowd. What a blast!”
Speaking to Today.com last year, Winkler described Howard as an “old soul,” adding, “There’s a wisdom in him that is big.”
This was another major reunion moment for the Emmys Awards, which similarly brought the stars of shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Cheers” back together at the previous ceremony in January.