Cherished actor Henry Winkler and legendary director Ron Howard assembled at Sunday’s Emmys ceremony. The Television Academy enabled their onstage Happy Days reunion to celebrate the sitcom’s fiftieth anniversary. The pair presented the award for Best Direction of a Comedy Series with aplomb, hanging out in a replica of Arnold’s Drive-In, with jukebox and all.
Ron Howard and Henry Winkler Reunite
In recent years, the Emmys has used the awards telecast to honor past glories alongside new industry successes. Apart from the natural off-camera catchups between former colleagues meeting again at big industry shindigs, old friends also reunited on stage to briefly revisit their time together.
Under the guise of presenting statues, the casts of esteemed shows from television’s past have gathered jointly on stage in front of an audience once more. The Emmys can pull from decades of classic television history. This year, they brought past performers from Saturday Night Live, The West Wing, and Happy Days.
The Fonz Fixes the Jukebox
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On a reproduction of an iconic set from the 1970s sitcom Happy Days, former castmates Ron Howard and Henry Winkler stepped out to present the award for Best Direction of a Comedy Series. Howard and Winkler starred as Richie Cunningham and The Fonz respectively.
Put off by the lack of appropriate music when they walked onto the stage, Howard provoked Winkler to pull Fonzie’s signature jukebox smack-and-repair maneuver. Fresh from the last season of Barry, Winkler demurred, immediately refusing and making actorly excuses. “First of all, I’m out of practice,” he insisted. “And second of all, it takes schooling.” But Howard managed to convince him. Winkler obliged and the audience was finally treated to the Happy Days theme tune.
The Iconic History of Happy Days
For a show produced in the 1970s, set in the 1950s, Happy Days remains highly influential today. One of the most well-known industry terms has its roots in an episode of the show. Late in the series, Fonzie finds himself jumping (successfully) over a live shark – Because The Fonz is cool.
“Jumping the shark” became the go-to descriptive phrase for a show nearing its end, with the creative team flailing for new ideas for an overfamiliar concept. Of course, for the jump to be so memorable, the sitcom had to have enjoyed huge popularity and cultural affection beforehand. The iconography of the jukebox, Fonzie’s leather jacket – and the shark – all endure today, 50 years after Happy Days first premiered.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps the show’s greatest legacy, however, is the continuing work of its stars. In the intervening years since his portrayal of Richie Cunningham, Ron Howard became both an Academy Award-winner and blockbuster director. He is responsible for gems like Cocoon, Willow, Frost/Nixon, Apollo 13, and Cinderella Man. In the meantime, Henry Winkler has been a beloved television fixture, known for Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, and his recent Emmy-winning turn in Bill Hader’s Barry. Truly, the cast lives on as Happy Days’ most enduring asset.
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