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Ron Howard and Henry Winkler's teamwork helped Happy Days remain an ensemble show
Howard and Winkler were as close as Richie and Fonzie.
It can be difficult for some people to share the spotlight, but Ron Howard and Henry Winkler made it seem like easy work. Howard and Winkler both starred in the popular series Happy Days. Originally, Howard was undoubtedly the show’s star, but Winkler’s character, Arthur Fonzarelli, exploded like a television supernova in a way that no one could have ever expected. As time went on, Happy Days became more of an ensemble series, with Fonzie taking on a larger and larger role.
While Howard was patient with the changes, he drew the line when an idea was floated over to rename the series Fonzie’s Happy Days.
"I never, ever challenged what they were doing creatively," Howard said during an interview with Vulture. “It made perfect sense that you’d build this Fonzie character and maximize that. But the optics of now being in a show called Fonzie’s Happy Days, my ego wouldn’t allow for that. I wasn’t bluffing. I would’ve left. And my contract, I’m sure, had no clause connected to titles...But thank God for great bosses. Garry Marshall said, ‘If you’re not cool with it …’”
Howard wasn’t the only one who took issue with the potential name change. "I later found out Henry himself thought it was a terrible idea," said Howard. "I think the position I took made it easy for both Garry and Henry to also say, 'No, let’s not do that.' Years later, Henry said they were ready to do a spinoff and other things for Fonzie, and he just said, 'Why fix it if it’s not broken? My success depends on the ensemble I’m in.'"
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