Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes) - Henry Winkler

Episode Date: June 17, 2026

Henry Winkler talks to his longtime friend Ted Danson about the first time he used the Fonz to get out of a jam, why he grew up feeling like a failure, producing shows like “MacGyver,” his experience with Hopi culture, his pivot to children’s author, the time he pissed off Anne Bancroft, and much more.    Like watching your podcasts?  Visit http://youtube.com/teamcoco to see full episodes.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It is the beginning and the end of living on this earth. If you know what you want without ambivalence. Welcome back to where everybody knows your name. Our guest today, a friend for many years, is Henry Winkler, a man who has meant so much to so many. He played the Fonz, obviously, and so many other astounding parts over the years. The man radiates warmth, kindness, and joy. He's an acting legend, a producer.

and director and an author of 40 books. I fell in love with Henry all over again during this hour I spent with him. Anyway, here's Henry Winkler. Hi, Henry. Wow, it's amazing, isn't it? It is amazing. What year did you start Cheers? What year did that start?

I'll handle the questions, Henry. No, I was just wondering. Because I don't remember. 82. Okay, so we met. in 1982. No. Why? No. And this was so wonderful. Yeah. Because you are, your personality, your energy, what you put out in the world is so consistently, up, kind, funny, all the adjectives you want, but really nice. Thanks. And I can,

I can say that you have been consistently that. Since the day I met you in New York City, You were auditioning for a man on... No, man, that's me. For Tom Stopper play, After McGreet and The Real Inspector Hound. The Real Inspector Hound, I auditioned for that. Yes. And Lenny Baker got it,

because he got everything that I auditioned for. Yes. And I have... You know how sometimes you have snapshots? Because I was in understudy. Yes. And I was in the lobby. You know, we had probably been rehearsing,

and then the audition started. So we all came out and we were sitting around in the lobby. There were crew people around. And I don't have a photograph, you know, how you take. I have a video of you coming out. If you're looking at the stage, it was, you know, the right-hand doors into the lobby. Yeah. And you said goodbye, nice to meet you to literally everybody there, legitimately, sincerely.

And I had no idea who you were, but I went, wow. How about that guy? And I didn't get it. And you didn't get it. I didn't get it. Perhaps if you'd known you weren't going to get it, maybe you would have been a dick. I would never have said goodbye. But seriously, that's amazing.

Thanks. But you know what? I'm grateful just to be on the earth. Honest to go. I mean, that is just true. That is my mantra. I am too when I'm on it. And when I remind myself, if I could go, I can go moody.

I can go, you know, not humble or whatever that takes me in the wrong direction. And I do go, Ted, this is your life. Be grateful. So I am there. I live there most of them. Do you go dark ever within yourself? I don't mean towards other people. You know what, if darkness is that I assume I am, I'm away from the way.

the table, I'm off the table, that it's over, then yes, I go dark. Well, give me an example of what that means. I look at a talk show. Yes. Okay. Dave. You're watching it. I'm watching Dave. And all of his guests, my guest needs no introduction.

Yes. Except I'm never asked. and I think that's it. Yes. How about award shows? No. No, I'm used to that. In 50 years of award shows, I have won two.

My batting average is pretty much the same. I've been nominated for, I don't know. Yeah, but we're still here. No, no, we are. We are. We are. I'm talking about the little glitches in gratitude. The little glitches.

I'll give you another one. Why am I trying to poke holes in your wonderfulness? No, and it's okay because this is the truth. You know, I always feel like I'm on the kid looking in the glass, looking in the window, and everybody is on the other side of the window. Yeah. And Saturday Night Live. Yeah.

Everybody has five jackets. Yes. I don't even have an invitation. I don't have a T-shirt. I don't have a T-shirt. You know, I did sit in the audience once in 1977. Paul Simon was the musical guest, and I did fall asleep. I was so tired from auditioning during the day.

Now, his music will do that to you. I don't think it was the music. Oh, okay. Yeah. But, you know, people come and go, and I've never. Okay. I mean, I have to bounce around because, you know, you think you know somebody, and then I started looking and going, holy moly, you've written 40? 41 books. The 41 books. The 41 first comes out in November. And we have to talk about that. We have to talk about, obviously, you know, the funds and all of that.

Right up the street. Yes. That we're on large months. And right up the street at Paramount, I was there for 14 years. I did, and now that was, after Happy Days finished, I'm sitting in my office, all I'm getting are Fonzie-like. I have no idea. Am I ever going to do anything that is as powerful? and I went dark.

I went dark. How could you not? Yeah. I know. I thought I have no idea what I'm going to do whether I could do it again and I'm over. Right. Can we just back up for a second?

Sure, go ahead. About the impact. No, no, no, no, no. Not that far back. But the impact, I think it's hard for people to understand the massive nature of your fame. And without trying to do ego

and all of that stuff, just the fact that you walked around in the world, everywhere in the world, with so much attention pouring your way because they knew you, loved you, had watched you. It was rock star times.

And then they were shocked that I was a short Jew that I was playing a tall Italian. Was that depending on the country or no? No, no, basically. Everybody went, There was a great story. Are you making a joke?

Oh, I'm not. I'm so serious. We're in Dallas. Now, in the beginning, the show was not doing very well. Happy Days was not doing very well. There were 100 shows. We were 48th. And in that calculus, we were not doing well.

So they sent us out into the world. They sent us to different cities to make personal appearances. We're in Dallas. We're at Neiman Marr. Marcus the flagship store. 25,000 people came to say hello. But they are standing between us and the limo, the car that is going to take us back to the hotel.

Oh, you mean after you did your Neiman Marcus thing, you started to come out? Yes. And the crowd had spilled into the parking lot. Yeah. Donnie Most is not the most. secure. And he goes, oh my God, we're going to die.

How are we getting out of here? This is amazing. There are a lot of people in the show. And I have never used the Fonz character off screen. And I turned to Donnie and I saw his panic. I said, I will

take care of this. And I just looked at the crowd and I said, alright, listen up. Loud of you, four of us. You are now going to part like the red seat. I swear to God.

Oh, God, I love that. And we started walking. Now somebody said, he's so short. I turned to where I thought I heard it and I said, fuck you, I'm not short. And then somebody else yelled,

he's so cool. And when you got it. And we got in the car and left. Henry, I love it. True story. Happened. Unbelievable. But they thought you weren't,

that the show wasn't doing well. And then they sent us out to bolster it. Now, then Gary Marshall had the idea to make the show three camera. Wait, I didn't know that there was one camera. Yes, we were one camera for the first 12. And in 75 in September, we went on the air as a three camera.

Ron Howard never have worked working in front of the live audience. Almost vomiting. Yeah. Except when you see him, you would never know. He could do anything this man. I mean, as a performer, you know that when we would, Cheers, it was live audience. And whenever we would have to dismiss the audience at the end of the evening

and go back in and shoot something without the audience, because of the angle of a camera or whatever. Or rewriting a scene. Right. They would rarely use it because the energy that the audience brings to your performance, it was like a huge drop that you just couldn't somehow deal with. So do you think the audience raised the level of people's awareness?

The audience, when we eventually, if you meet a person and you have a nice reaction with that person, if you look at them for three seconds in the eye, they believe they've been with you, they're going to tell 10 people. Yeah. And if you do that often enough, people come and at least sample what you're doing.

And if you don't deliver, they don't show back up. I didn't really hear what you said. I'm trying to make eye contact. So you don't forget me. Yeah, no, I feel like I'm with you. And goodbye. You know, Cheers was 70th out of 70. Yeah.

But funny, funny. But it took a while. The relationship that you all had in that one room was shocking. Right. And the writing? Oh, my God. Yes, we're both so blessed, so blessed. Grew up on 78th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam across the street from Jim Browers.

Wow. Yeah. I studied with San Diego. Meisner student on 74th right on the corner of Amsterdam between Amsterdam and Brombe. Yeah. It's my neighborhood. Yeah. Yeah. Let me stay on the fame,

the level of fame, and this is not to fan you, but... No, no, I really understand, because... Hard to navigate at first. Do you know why it wasn't? I figured this out lately. I am very dyslexic, but I mean I'm in the bottom 3% academically in America.

I had no sense of self. My parents didn't help. I embarrassed my parents. They were short Germans who escaped Nazi Germany. And because I did not do well, and they could spell in three languages, I was in embarrassment. So when people...

For real. For real. Noticably to you. You knew that, felt that. Oh, my God. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, and I really do.

and I now at 80 appreciate they escaped another country. They started another business. They lost. They lost everything. They lost all of their. I never had a grandparent. I love being a grandparent to make up. But the fact of the matter is that I was told I would never achieve.

People talking to me, people saying, oh my God, you are. Oh, you don't know. I watch with my... I'm looking... Who are they talking to? Can't be me. I know who I am.

Right, but that can mess you up. I mean, it kind of messed me up a little bit because I was still a toad in my own eyes. Right, right. So to be called all these... I'm in the same pond. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm in the same pond with you. So how did you deal with them? Because there was another part of me. I understood, oh, this is practical. I'm making a living. I can put a dinner on the table. I can put a roof over our head. I just struggled in New York after drama school.

This is good. So I saw that of value. And then it took. me 60 years to let all of that love in and realize for that person, that's what I meant, for that person. Right. Let's do just a little bit of an anecdote. Is that the right word?

I keep wanting to say antidote. Yes. Antidote, you would save me from a poison. Yes. So here's my background. quickly and you'll understand where I'm going. Okay. And we're talking about the,

I mean, every fiber of society knew you. Every whatever, little nook and cranny. I grew up in northern Arizona. Flagstaff, my father was an archaeologist. First movie I ever made, sorry, for a television movie with Sissy Spaceek in your hometown. Blackstaff.

Yeah. And Tucson. Which was also my hometown. What was the name of it? It was called Catherine. It was the story of Patty Hurst. Oh, wow.

And I was the revolutionary, and Sissy was the I fell in love with her and she was the pristine, very wealthy. One of our great actors and most wonderful human being.

Wow. I get this from my wife, Mary, who's worked with her. All my friends growing up were Hopi. Now you know where I'm going. Yes. Hopi, my friend Raymond. Okay, see, Hopi?

I took. Yes, and this is about the scope of your fame. I went there. I know. Okay. Go. I'm not saying another word. No, okay.

But what I'm saying is you did go to the Hopi villages. I did. And you saw their dances. The Kachina dances, which I grew up around. I have the Kachina doll on my bookshelf. Love you, my friend. I had them all over my house. Yes, I made one. I was taught by Jimmy Kwanwatewa how to make Kachina dolls. But here's the deal. Getting on to, even with my father, who they all knew

because of his job. What was his job? He was the, at that point, he was the director of the museum and research center. And the museum was dedicated partly besides being a natural history museum to the culture, to nurturing the culture and arts and crafts, the whole. Hopi, Navajo, Zuni, Pueblo, Indians. Oh, my God. So he would go out to each and every village and bring in their baskets, their jewelry, their kachina dolls, everything, and there'd be a show, which they would benefit from. So they knew them by name.

And we could get into the kachina, to the dances and the villages. Impossible to get there. Right. You got there. I did. Also, if you bring out a camera in those villages, you are. kind of asked to leave. You just don't take it.

It is true. Because they believe if you take a picture, you take their soul with that picture. Yeah. And it's like going into the middle of a Catholic ceremony with the Pope and starting to flash. It's a sacred place. Okay. You take it from here because I read what happened. Okay. So my son Jed, who is now, my stepson, because his father has said I couldn't call him.

So Jed was in third grade studying Native Americans. Right. Easter vacation, we drive across the country to Arizona to visit the Hopi and the Navajo. Yes. And you're in the midst of happy days. Oh, my God. So now I go with my family to the Hopi Nation and we see the oldest house. In America, the chief's residence of the Hopi nation.

My camera, I know, I got the instruction to lock it in my car. As we are walking to watch the Kachina celebration, they say, go get your camera. Who says? I don't know. But I don't remember. A hope he does. A member of the tribe. Oh.

My God, I got my camera, and I was able to take pictures of the Kachina dances. And I talk about that. Yeah. Because it's one of the great honors of my life. It is astounding. You would have to go to some place in Africa to see something so powerfully different than our everyday life. They've been celebrating on the same plazas, dirt plazas, for the last 500. years praying to their gods.

Right. And you've got to be there. Now we're leaving. And a grandmother comes out of her house as we're walking to the car delivering me a hot, freshly baked bread. Yeah. And she said, we watch Happy Days using our car battery for electricity. Yeah.

I have nothing else to give you. this is for you. And I said, this is the most magnificent baked good I will ever receive in my life. That is, I love that. I hadn't heard this before, and I read it someplace from our research. Yeah. And it made me so happy. And it made me kind of, even though I know you, appreciate you, love you, and have known you for many years, it just took me to a different place. because that is my upbringing, my heart and soul. These are the kids at seven. I was running around the dances, you know, being silly with my friend Raymond. And that to me means so much.

I just love that. But it also goes through the point. You were someplace where not many people can even go, and the Fonz had been there. The Fons had been there because we did one episode of, A Thanksgiving episode where the Fonz was respectful to Native Americans, and they just absorbed me in. Oh, what a thing that was.

Yeah, what a thing. Here's another little thing about the scope of your fame that I remember Mary and I were, I was trying to talk Marion to going on some sort of cruise with the kids. Yeah. And I guess you had gone on a cruise. And it was not a nightmare, but you were trapped. Okay, so everything was great. The great friend of mine, the late Gary Smith,

asked me to come on the cruise on the Norwegian line. My daughter is three. We're making splatter art in the room with finger paints, and you go out of your room and somebody, hey, come over here. Let me take a picture with you. Yeah. Okay, hi, nice to see you. I don't have any camera in mind.

You wait right there, okay? And I'll be right back. I said, sir, I don't think I'm going to do that. So that part of the cruise was hard. But the food was pretty great. Yeah. Yeah. But there's nowhere to run or hide.

There's no way to run or hide on a boat. Yeah. Okay, things grind to a halt. Yes, they do. Yeah, for the next eight or nine years. Yeah. But it's like you didn't grind or a halt. You started to produce and direct and write?

No, not yet. Not yet. I produced, I tried to produce and direct. But this is a life lesson I learned that is vital in everybody's life who is listening. And I'll be that bold. The greatest thing you learn is to pivot. You're going on away and you're thinking, oh, I got to stay. I got to do.

I can't do anything else. Now, I don't want to do anything else. You have to learn to pivot. And when you pivot, the universe opens up and all of this generous stardust falls on you. Yeah. I did things I never knew how. My lawyer, rest his soul, Skip Brittenham, Thirdman. Did you know him?

Because he was your lawyer too. Thanks, in large part to you. We'll go back to that later. But how wonderful. Batman changed my life. Skip Brittenham the third. Okay. So Skip said to me, I'm going to start a production company for you. I said, ho, ho, ho, ho. I can't do that. I don't understand one thing about producing or the business. I only know how to do what I'm doing. He said, you'll learn. And then I met a group of men who eventually were my partners and most of them didn't turn out really well.

One guy, maybe one of the worst people I ever met on the planet in 80 years of living became my partner and I had, part of my compensation was an on-air commitment from ABC. Right. They would take a show. show I wanted to produce and put it on, that was the deal. Yeah. And we, this man and I developed, heard a lot of different stories and developed, McGiver.

Wow. I, I had forgotten that. First show I ever produced. Yeah. And you learn there are things I can do. There are things I can't do. But then there are wonderful people who do what I can't do. And then they become part of your world and the parts I can do.

Boom. You know, I'm up till three in the morning on Saturday night, putting the final edits with everybody on McGuiver. And then you deliver it to the network just in time. It goes on the air. And, you know, they call that wet. You deliver it wet because it's soaking and dripping down your television screen. But there it is. is. Yeah. And add to that, another thing you say, if you can will it, you can have it. You can make it

happen. That became my mantra. That if you will it, it is not a dream. Yeah. And I read it. It was said by, I think, Herzl, at the beginning, at the birth of Israel. And I have now realized whatever religion you are, it is the beginning and the end of living on this earth. If you know what you want without ambivalence, and you just visualize, if you will it without doubt, there is a very good chance you will end up where you want to be. Which is very law of attraction and add which you do the gratitude of where you are. Yes. And not use where you are as proof that you're not where, you want to be just thoroughly enjoy where you are and then will the rest. Yeah, people say to me, what is the favorite thing you've done?

And I said, the next thing I do. Yeah. The next thing I do will be my favorite. Yep. That's why I hate career talk. Yeah. Because it's like career is when I'm in my rocking chair at the shawl of my shoulder and I can't do anything else. Then I'll talk to you about career.

But my ego is such that, no, no, I haven't done it yet. Right. I'm with you. Yeah. A hundred percent. Yeah, that's cool. I haven't done it yet. But I love what I've done.

I have to go back from my sec, not yours. And because you, you, when somebody said to me, you probably, in the early years of cheers, you probably should have a lawyer. And I talked to you about Skip. And you were very encouraging. And then I was with Skip for like 30 years. Right. And then towards, I don't know how many years ago, five years ago, something like that.

I hit a patch of fear and coming from scarcity. Right. So I can save money. This is an apology to Skip who's not here. Because he was so loyal, so sweet, so kind. We both considered each other friends. We did not go fly fishing like you did with him. But really made a huge difference to my life.

Oh, my God. And I expressed my gratitude all the time. And then I said, Skip, I'm going to leave because I thought I'd be saving X amount of money. Right. And I'm pretty sure it hurt his feelings, maybe pissed them off. And I feel like, wow, I wish I hadn't doubted that. But can I ask you a question? Did it help?

Did you, the next choices you make change your trajectory at all? No. I don't, I mean, I don't know how to answer that quite. But, you know, part of my rationale was, well, my days of big contracts or big deals are over, and that's where Skip comes in and makes this vast difference. But it's totally understandable. But another big thing came my way. So it's like, well, shoot, Ted.

You heard of friends' feelings for no reason. But at the moment, sometimes the way we feel in our insecurity, is so gigantic, it's so powerful. We cannot fight against it. No, but it does teach you to make decisions out of love, not out of fear. Yeah, that's okay. You know, because they turn out better.

Anyway, I just needed to say that because I know what a huge part. Yeah. Not only of, he was a huge part in your life, but you were a huge part in his life. I mean, we don't have to go into it. You know what, I never knew that really until like, People at the memorial service said, would say to me as I walked around getting an hors d'oeuvre, because I'm a good eater and would say, oh, my God, he loved you. He loved you. But I didn't always know that. He also credited you for his career. Didn't know that?

Yeah, or he did to me. All I knew was he changed my life. He told me to stay. He told me to stay. stay home in the fourth year of happy days for one day, which is something I have never done. I went to work with pneumonia. And he said, stay home. I said, I don't know if I can do this. He said, you can. And ABC called. And if you listened on the phone, it was like, who the fuck does he think he is?

Who do you think you are? Paramount called. Who do you think you are? and I'm shaking in the leap and I'm calling skip they're calling me they're saying that he said don't listen went okay and it changed my life yeah yeah and his that's a scary thing to go contrary to who you are who people know you are too I met him through my agent at the time Joan Scott who came out here from New York to open a satellite office. The first thing she said to me is,

it's going to be hard to sell you. And so I went in the corner and shook. And the second thing, she said, you're going to need a lawyer. You want to meet this guy. I took a walk with him on Wilshire Boulevard. And I thought, oh, I like him. I'm going to go.

I'm in. He's starting a new firm. Boom, I'm in. That was it. That's very cool. And you directed during this period of not being able to transition into different kind of roles, right? Is that a happy place? No.

Well, I won an Emmy for an after-school special, but I could never. My directing career is like a lawnmower that you pull that never turns over. and I eventually I just cut the cord. I thought this is like I directed memories of me with Billy Crystal and Alan King. Yeah. I loved it. Didn't go anywhere.

I directed cop and a half with Bert Reynolds, who is like a story unto itself, and this African-American seven-year-old actor, open number one. Nothing happened. Yeah. And then I directed a major star and a dog. And I was fired within 13 days.

And that was it. That was the end of directing. And there, all right, there's proof positive, pivot. Proof positive, keep willing, and it will happen. Yeah. And don't take what. You have to get off the floor first. Yeah, you have to get up.

Yeah. You got to get up. Yeah. And Jim Wyatt, who was my agent at the time, bless him. He said, you need to be seen. And he took me to the famous steakhouse on Santa Monica Boulevard, just still in West Hollywood. It was big in New York. There were pictures on the wall.

The palm that was famous for its rude waiters. I mean, they were very kind of dismissive. It was part of the show. Absolutely. See, this is a great thing. being on TV, they would never rude to me. They put down their lobster and they would make, is this fine? Oh my God, I love this lobster.

Thank you. We do. We do get treated differently. I mean, people, I will think the nicest things of people who are, and I sometimes fear that if somebody likes my work, that's good enough for me to like them, even though they may be horrible people. Yeah, but I don't bother to find out. They gave me a compliment.

and I like them. They're in my will. Let's step back into the nice part. Okay. I mean, you had a tough, sometimes your reflection by your parents wasn't that complimentary to you, little boy, you know, because you weren't living up to or however you want to phrase it.

Where did you go? Oh, I want to put, when I saw you in New York, you were already without fame the way you are now. were kind, acknowledging of everybody sweet and polite. So when did that start? I don't know, but I sure know what it feels like not to be acknowledged. When I did, when I first came out here, the first job I ever got was Mary Tyler Moore, which were the friends of that time. I watched it. It was very funny. Thank you. Thank you.

And I, they called lunch and everybody scattered. Now, this is. My insanity. I, of course, am feeling abandoned. I'm standing on a professional set, being a professional, everybody's got a place to go. I will later learn they call lunch. You go to your room and you make a phone call. You meet a friend. You have a worst at the Paramount commissary.

I stood there, and it was like one of those shots where the camera is on a cruise. crane and it keeps going higher and higher and the floor is empty and it's just you. Like a moron. I could have asked somebody, hey, where does everybody go for lunch? No. I just felt sorry for myself. And I swore at that moment as the camera was pulling up on the crane, I will never let another actor feel that way on a set I'm on. Yeah.

and you didn't. But I saw that before you were, well, no, maybe not. You came out and did that show before you went back and did Flat. No, I did Lords of Flatbush before. You did. I did.

We had finished it in September. We reshot it after a year. We reshot the ending of the movie. And then the next day I got on a plane with Perry King, American Air. Airlines 10 o'clock in the morning and flew to see what I could do in California. And the first thing was M.T. The first thing was the Mary Tyler Moore show.

And the second thing was Bob Newhart because Mary Tyler, my husband, Mary Tyler Moore's husband, Grant Tinker, the most handsome man may be to walk the earth. Yeah. I never saw anything like that in my life. Yeah. Every gene fought to get his face. No, get out of the way. I'm going to be his chin.

Okay. But anyway, they were very loyal. And so then I got hired. And then I got happy days. Who was, I mean, I'm just so thrilled. that I'm not, I don't have that stand-up comedian. I'm not a comedian.

I am a, whatever. A wonderful, funny actor is what you are. An actor who loves funny material. Who has unbelievable breath. Yes. I mean, you're on a show now even. You just keep going. Yes, as do you.

We're very lucky. Oh, wait a minute. That's a big thing. You cannot just go by that. You know, there are so many actors our age who are sitting by the, phone or who have put the phone in the closet. Yeah.

No, we're very, very, very lucky. And then how about this? When we first started, everybody poo-poohed making commercials. Yeah. Everybody pooh-pooded. I made my living making commercials. I earned my money to come out here for the month for commercials. And now, Helen Mirren is making commercials for Uber fucking Eats.

And I wrote her a fan letter. I know. Boy, times have changed. Yeah. Here's a, that's another lesson I learned. If you get a job as an actor and it doesn't completely destroy your soul, you do it, you show up and you take it. And you do it the best you could. Like it was Chekhov.

Yeah. I'm with you. But the reason why. I started down that path was being part of the lineage of funny, you know, of people who chase the giggle who know, who just love funny. Yeah. You married Tyler Moore, MTF was one of the strands of funny. Yeah.

That came out. Newhart. Newhart. Similar same strand. Yeah. But aren't you so proud's the wrong word, but whatever, proud to be proud. Part of that funny union. I am absolutely proud.

I have had that thought recently when doing, you know, interviews for, I do a show on the history channel. I'm about to follow your steps. I am your understanding, by the way. Yes. It is. How great is that? I haven't started it yet, but I'm so excited. Do you love that?

But I love my information. Yeah. Oh, that's great. I love those facts. But anyway, so I'm doing the information. And I'm thinking, I'm thinking. I'm talking about all of the men and women that I worked with. Yeah.

And they're all, I am so proud that I was in their camp. Yeah. Now, a writer who wrote some of the great episodes of Barry. Yeah. Has her show Scarpetta. I'm sure that's the same Liz Sarnoff. Yeah. Yeah.

Boom. And no. So amazing. Give me some of your favorites going back. Gary Marshall will be, is the champion of my life. Wow. Talk about also being able to do broad, comedy, pretty woman, drama, everything. It was all in him.

Yeah. And he was as idiosyncratic as the day is long. Give me an example. We would take off on a plane. he had an attache case and the only thing in that attache case were statues of

Buddha the Jesus Jewistar the Koran Muhammad and he lined them up on his attache case

on his knees as we took off we were in the air he opened the attach case, put them all back in and put it under a seat. Only had spaghetti with ketchup. As all the same stu. The flavors he missed.

Only had spaghetti with ketchup. Yes. What about vodka sauce? Yes. Really? Oh, my God. Gary. Yeah.

But, oh, great. Gary, Gary. Yeah. Was so successful in three camera. Yeah. Robin Williams comes and does one episode on Happy Days gets his own show. Same cameramen who did the original parting of the Red Sea in Ten Commandments. The original Ten Commandments are the men sitting on our cameras.

Wow. Yeah. They are now doing Robin's show. There are three cameras. and Gary said, all right, how we do? Camera one? He didn't come by me. Camera two, I didn't see him.

Camera three, I never saw Robin. Gary put in the fourth camera only for Robin. Wow. Wow. Because we had four, too, even though you call it three cameras. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Tell me about sitting. But remember, we see. started way before you. You did, yeah. So, you know, we, we, we had three Mitchells with 10-minute canisters. We had that. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And Jimmy, Jimmy Burroughs, our director. Oh, my God. It was pre-video and digital stuff where people now sit there and watch, you know, the video feedback. He would just kind of look and think, and just trust his camera operators that they had gotten. To be there, yeah. Yeah. But,

I'll tell you, for me, one of the greatest things about Jimmy was he was like a conductor. Yeah. Like he only, he directed through his ear. Yep. I did a, unfortunately the series was the only series that he did the pilot for that didn't go. But I don't hold any grudges. And about used car salesman. but he would stop.

Hold it. He would stop you as you were revving up to the joke because he knew you were going to miss it. That's, yes. And also he would, the setup perhaps the joke was incorrect so he knew the joke wouldn't work. He'd go, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

In case you were about to say it, he would overdo it. He also laughed. Yes. And at first it was like, oh, come on, that's, I don't quite believe that during rehearsal, you're finding it's that funny. But what he was also doing was saying, this is where the laugh will be. Right.

So get used to a laugh. So you don't plow through it. I never knew that. I remember that laugh. Yeah. You can hear it. Yeah. Wow.

So lucky. How brilliant was that. But his father. Abe. Oh, my God. One of the greatest Broadway creators, directors, writers of all time. Bob Newhart, you were on his show, did I see or no? I was.

Yeah. There's another God. I had his albums. Yes. Oh, my God. I had his albums. And then I was on the set with him. Couldn't believe it.

My introduction to television, because I didn't have one growing up, I got it at Stanford University. Freshman year, I got it off the street, put it up, wired it up, turned it on. And Dick Van Dyke. was tripping over the Ottoman in a rerun. Dick Van Dyke was my, I don't know, hero sounds stupid, but his physical comedy miss. His timing with Mary, oh my God. All of it was just, and I got to do this podcast with him,

Mary and I went out to his house and talked to him. I got to talk with Carol Burnett and become friends with Carol Burnett. I love, the thing that I love most about having, have any kind of statue, stature license in this business is I go up to anybody I want. Yes, right. And tell them how much I appreciate. I agree. It's so wonderful

to be able to do that. I never I met Carol Burnett. She came to Emerson College and gave money for an acting scholarship. And she said she liked my last name. That was it. That was my entire.

But I got to direct Tim Conway. Oh. Really? On her show you mean? No, no, no. On a different show.

Clueless. Clueless. I directed him in Clueless, and I realized all I had to do is point the camera and shut the fuck. Not say a word. Then I produced a comedy show, which unfortunately didn't work,

but we took Tim Conway around the country, and he, would become like a policeman on the street and stop people because he didn't like their fashion. Again, we had boxes built where the cameramen were hidden. Oh, my God, what a man, what a man. Robert De Niro, this is one of my favorite stories of all time. Ronnie and I, Ron Howard and I, are walking down the street on Paramount, and they are making Godfather, too.

And they are using the mill where they make all of the sets for everything, television and movies for Paramount. And we're walking by the mill and Bobby De Niro is leaning up against the wall. I said,

we gotta say hello. Ronnie said, are you sure? I said, I promise, we're not going to disturb him. I said, I don't care. We went up and I said, Mr. De Niro, Ron Howard. any grunts and I said

I just have to tell you one thing before we leave the first movie I ever saw in a screening I was invited to a screening of a movie that wasn't out yet in Hollywood

1973 mean streets I said Mr. De Niro you use the word fuck better than anybody in the entire

entertainment industry and we walked away. Forty years later, he does the intern. He is in the back. I'm invited to the intern with my wife because the director, Nancy, is a friend of ours.

I walk up to Bob. Bob, calling him Bob. I walk up to his majesty. He is wearing an Irish cap. He's leaning against the wall. And I said, I'm so sorry. I have to do what every person does to me.

I need to take a selfie with you. I'm holding. He said, all right. I'm holding up the camera. And he said, you said I used the word fuck better than anybody in the industry. I dropped and smashed my camera.

That is my, and my dream is to do a scene with him. Forget about doing the movie with him. to do a scene with him. Yes, my God, yes. Mary was lucky not to do it. Of course. I think you can look at his films.

You could see, I think, and Mary and I talk about it where he did heavy, heavy duty, you know, De Niro. And then he had a little nibble of funny. Yeah. And it was like, oh, maybe I want to spend my life more often being funny. Yeah.

And then funny stuff. And he started just doing all this funny stuff. I have no idea if that's true. Midnight Run, one of the most perfect films ever made. I just used it as an example. I'm with you 100%. Yeah. I mean, that was amazing.

Yeah. Okay, just in case somebody says we've been going two hours, which we haven't. I have to start talking books, okay? Books. Okay. When did that start? It started. A pivot. I did a Broadway play.

During the Middle Ages. That was the 2000. Oh, let me interrupt. Sorry, we both had one thing about Broadway in common. I had a one-night stand too. Yeah. I had a, I was in status quo vatis. Right.

In Broadway. My parents came. It was one of those shows who was directed so well that the rim shots were brilliant. In the audience, we go, ha, ha! Yes. And then it would fade because there was no meat behind it. And they go, why are we laughing? And we got killed by Clive Byrams.

By the barns. Yeah. And I went in to the, to do, said goodbye to my parents who had flown from Arizona. Yeah. You know, in a taxi and I went to the backstage and I walked in to my job. And the doorman said, whoa, whoa, Bob, where are you going? And I went, I work here. And he went, not anymore you don't.

Any point in this. But you had one of those before your other victory. Two of them. Oh, really? I had, they, two of them. And in between, I had the dinner party by Neil Simon. and with the great John Ritter, who was a good, good friend,

and I adored him with every fiber of my people. And we flew back on the plane together. We had finished nine months of being on Broadway. I enjoyed every performance. Get back to California. Cannot get hired. Cannot get hired. get hired.

Like personal persona nangrata, I call a friend, Alan Berger, who is a manager at Mike Ovitz's management company. The art on the wall was a museum.

I said, Alan, I'm having a problem. I can't get hired. He said, write books for children about your dyslexia. I said, well, I can't Wow. Out of the blue. Out of the blue. He said, I can't do that. I'm dyslexic.

I can't write a book. I don't, I haven't read a book. He said, I'll introduce you to Lynn Oliver. She knows everything about children's literature. As a writer or as a agent or a, she started with her partner, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. There are 40,000 members, World. Worldwide.

Wow. And she has written many, many, many, many, many books. I meet her for lunch at Gower Gulch, Sunset and Gower. It's where Republic Studios was, and that's where the Cowboys would have lunch. The fish was horrible. The meeting was great. We hatched Hank Zipser, the world's greatest underachiever. Hank is me. I call the head of the book agency in ICM. Her name is Esther Newberg. She has done every power hitter. She has done every book. Hi, Esther, Henry Winkler. I know who you are. I'm with the agency. I know that you. I've written a proposal. I don't do Chulner's books. I said, I understand.

But there's always that first time, mister. Don't do Trojan's books. Would you just take a look at the proposal? All right, send it to me. She sent it to five publishers. Three said no. One said maybe. And one said, you know what, he's a celebrity.

We'll give you a contract for four books. And Lynn and I sat in her office from 2003. and wrote, and we are now coming out with our 41st children's book. Yeah, that's truly amazing. And now with our 41st book, the last four have been another series about a duck, detective duck. She lives on a pond. She's also an environmentalist.

This little buckling who dreams about being a detective. Her best friend is Sal the Salamander who said, you know what, you could do anything you want. You really can. I've got yellow spots, but you could do anything you want. And he's also very jealous because one of the books is about going to the other pond on the other side of the mountain, and they're having spring games. You can't say Olympics.

They're having spring games, all of the incidents. insects and creatures. And we're invited. And we go and there's a mallard who is very handsome, green head, beautiful plume. And our little duckling is drawn. And Sal says, excuse me, I am her best friend. Why is she spending so much time with him? and Sal has to get it and find it in himself

to save the mallard who gets stuck in plastic. You know those six holders for cans? The mallard gets stuck in the end. The salamander, very few people know this, when they want to secrete a kind of gelatinous goo that helps the mallard, squeeze out of the plastic. I love it.

Let me go back to dyslexia. Going back. To dyslexia. Yeah. Huge. How I feel, it's probably not necessarily right, but this has to be one of the best reasons for you to be as famous as you are, is to put those books out into the world

and address this to people who are, Didn't know. Yeah. Didn't know at the time that I was only writing what I knew. Yeah. I didn't know that one out of five kids has something that is going on in their wiring, having nothing to do with them, not their fault. Makes them feel less, then.

Oh, my God. Makes them feel left out. No. I mean, name some of the people who are. Didn't somebody tell me like Einstein or somebody. Einstein, Tom Cruise, Cher. Yeah. Henry Winkler.

Yeah. Oh, yeah, he's got a bad. Yeah. He told me. Yeah. My Mary's sister, Nancy, who's a teacher, and I can't, is it Barton? There's a system of teaching kids to get through dyslexia and help them read. It's called the Barton program.

Yeah, there are several. So it could very well be Barton. But this is addressable now. I mean, people focus on it. You can learn how to negotiate your learning challenge. There are schools across this country that deal only with children who learn differently. And I, okay, I just had one of the moments of my life. My dream was to have any kind of meal with Mel Brooks.

Oh, wow. I never, I shook his hand one. two weeks ago, I got a call from Mel Brooks because he heard I wanted to chat with him. And he thanked me because his grandson went to Century Park East, which is a wonderful school for children who learn differently. And I read my books when his grandson was there. What a circle. Wow. Talk about comedic.

lineage. Oh, my God. I didn't have the courage to say, do you want to have a tuna sandwich together? I was just so excited that I was talking to him. And Bancroft. And Bancroft. Wow.

Okay, there was a big, I made a big mistake. Uh-oh. You hit on her once? No, I didn't hear. No, all right, all right. It was worse. Worse. She was doing a play at the Mark Taper Forum,

which is part of the theater in L.A. part of the music center downtown. I went to see it. I went, she was in it. I went backstage. And I saw it. I don't know why I thought this.

I literally lost my mind. I thought I should tell the truth. And I said to this woman when she said, how'd you like it? I said, you were great. The play not so much. The play might have been a little long. And the look on her face was,

I never want to see you again in my entire life. It's famous amongst actors that moment backstage. Because you have just worked your assaw for two and a half, three hours. Worked your ass off performing for an audience. And then you'll have friends. come back and go, oh, man, why you did it again. Where should we go for dinner? And it's just like...

They never say, how did you do? Oh, my God. I learned a big lesson. Yeah. I shut my mouth. I will sit there sometimes. Maybe I shouldn't be saying this. As an actor or as a...

As an actor, watching a play. And it just really is at least minimum, not my cup of tea. Yes. But it's a friend up there. Yes. Or just somebody that is famous that I know because we're famous, we're going to have to go back because they do know who's in the audience. I agree. I agree. So you go back.

I also enjoy that. Me too. Okay. So I will find something and finally go, yes, there's a moment that knocked my socks off. I will find the thing that knocks my socks off. Right. So I can be acknowledging. I know what it is to search for the right word.

Yeah. And it's, you know what, you should. You should search for the right word because it is a noble thing to stand up in front. God bless you for even telling that story. Oh, my God. It was, you know what, I have forgotten that I was so out of line. Yeah. I was insane.

Okay. What is some of the favorite things you've done that make use of your baggage? I always, you know, I am forever. Oh, this is Ted's, he's really a nice guy. He's really sweet, and he'll make you laugh. When you hear that I'm in something, the kind of America will go, oh, yeah, that's sweet. I like him. He's nice and he's funny.

And then you get hired by somebody who's doing a show like Damages or Fargo, where they make use of your baggage, which is nice guy, to flip it on its ear and Because the nice guy can get away with more, and the audience was still struggle because it's Henry. Just happened. Tell me. Bob Odenkirk, a friend. Amazing actor. Called me up and invited me to Winnipeg.

Very flat, very cold. Not bad food. To be in a movie called Normal. And I start off using my baggage. Yeah. And it flips on my head. Wonderful. Yeah.

But exactly, exactly that. Which is smart, because when you have as much baggage as I shouldn't put myself in the same because the Fonz was just huge. But I have that same kind of baggage. Yes, you do. But it's smart because you can't all of a sudden go, Henry Winkler is starring as Adolf Hitler. You know, you can't make a leap. Made a big mistake in the beginning. Yeah.

But I made a big mistake. I played a Vietnam War veteran with Sally Field. And the audience was not ready to see. They thought, oh, the Fonz, I'm going to go see the Fons. Then I did a wrestler in... No, can I just, can I drop a name? Yes. Jimmy Kimmel's favorite movie, the one and only.

Yeah, the one and only. Yeah. Yeah. He has a poster in his office. It actually was wonderful. It didn't do well as what you said. Didn't do well. Ed Bagley was in it.

Yeah. Ed. The walk-the-walk environmentalist of our time. The walk, the walk. The funniest. So we're in Hawaii together. He has his girlfriend at the time, Annette Benning, with him. And we go to dinner.

And he said, let me pay. And he takes out his credit card. And he slaps it on the table. It was the TWA airline's points card that the waitress said we don't take. And he went, you don't, oh, I'm so sorry. Did you read his book? No. It's magnificent because there's no reason he should be alive today after all of the drugs and alcohol he did in the late 60s, 3070s.

Yeah. But he knew the world. I never knew that. All I know is every time I see him, it is like we have seen each other 10 minutes ago. Yeah. He is one of my beloveds. I really, really respect him and love him. And an extraordinary environmentalist.

Yeah. How do we get off on Ed? Fuck Ed. How do we get back? Because it's a conversation. Yeah. Oh, right. Yeah.

Which I lose track up nowadays. Not me. No, you're sharp as attack, by the way. I am. How about names? Thank you. Names. Not good.

Yeah, nor I. I never was. Oh, what about this? You know that movie? We just saw them, we just saw... You know, starring... What's his name?

And it had the... You know him. You know him. Mary and I, we love doing... We're tied to the waist. We're just, you know, we're... Whatever.

And we love each other's company. And so we do everything together. So we do, in the morning, we sit in bed with our coffee and do Wirtle. Uh, connections. Who makes the coffee? What? Who makes the coffee? I do. It's my job. You get out? Oh, I get out.

How does she like it? She likes it with oat milk. It changes. Oak milk doesn't taste the same. Then before? Then, no, I use heavy cream. Yeah. I tried oat milk. Yeah. Go ahead. So. I think she says her stomach rumbles.

Oh, we don't do that. My stomach is normally right to seven. Yeah. Sorry. How do you like it? Black. Black. I like the. Easy. slam punch. Yeah. But we sit there and we do all the New York Times games, spelling B and all that stuff. But we do it together.

Yes. We never compete against each. No, no, no, right. And it's also, together we're a pretty good brain. Right. Together. I'm with you. And as you're sitting there talking in a conversation with friends or something,

the other person is watching the person who's talking, not super consciously, but knows when they're about to search for a name. And because you're not under pressure, you can come up with the name. Right. So you just feel, we're like, can I, can I live in your house? Yes. Yes. I need a person.

Yes. Memories that I miss, watching Max and Charlie play sports. Soccer. Soccer. Frazier Park. Yeah. Having just rained. Yeah.

Their cleats are, it's up to their ankles and they're running trying to kick that ball. Henry, I've never told you this. The second time I met Mary while we are still married to other people was at a barbecue birthday party in your backyard. In my backyard? Yes. And we were, I was sitting on a little grassy, no little, and she and Malcolm came by, and I was sitting with my then-wife Casey, and she walked by and said something about

like your work. It was one of those little. Yeah, right. But every moment I met Mary before. before we actually made a film together and fell in love. It's like a vivid snapshot. But you were part of that montage. That's amazing.

I love that story. My wife is, her middle name is abundance. And so we would have a barbecue in the backyard, but not a normal barbecue. She would have two 18-wheeler's come from Texas. I forgot, yes. Yes. They would bring a half a cow.

Yeah. They would barbecue and they would have tequila with little cups. Yeah. They would have hay and we would have accoutrement. Music. And so I would have a barbecue that was half my salary. Brilliant. And I remember it vividly.

But let's stick on the word abundance. Yes. Mary. Yes. Because every once I've learned. I have learned so much. Thank God. But what have you learned in this case?

In this case, I would, my mind used to plan for, what is the worst that could happen? Yeah, I can be broke. All right, I can live that. I can live with that. And then I would climb my way up. But she would always, she would turn to me and say, why are you always planning on penury? Why aren't you planning on abundance? First off, look where we are, which is abundant.

you know, and we... I actually bought an expensive piece of art, and it's a famous kind of... I don't remember who did it, but black and white in New York, and there's a police barricade sign, and on the other side are these two people kissing spontaneously in New York City.

And that was my gift to her saying, I will never ever cross over that line into penury again. And I catch myself. You know, don't do that. Yeah, you know where I am? on the other side of that line. Yeah. I'm in penury.

I don't even know what it means, but that's where I am. No, you're not. I think about it all the time. Really. Every minute of my life, I have written down all of the places

that I'm going to earn a living in the next six months. But that's not, that's abundance. That is not abundance because there's coming from the fear of. Of penury. Yeah. I am always

Penyer. Henry Winkler. I think I was nervous to talk to you. Perhaps I have used you unfairly, which is a horrible thing to do to anybody to compare myself to. And that's a rotten thing to do. Comparisons are odious.

So I always sometimes come up short in my comparison. I have had the best time talking talking to you. You were so generous and this was effortless and fun. My old friend who has given me so many memories over time. Thank you. But you know what I thought coming here, I'm just going to go with the conversation. I know it's going to be great. And look at us. Yeah. I will, it bears repeating Other human beings in our age group have given up, are done, are not called, and we keep moving ever forward. That is an amazement. Do you think it's peonyery to go, knock on wood?

I don't think it is because I've just done it, but under the desk. Henry Winkler, everyone. Henry, thank you so much for spending time with me. That's it for this week. Special thanks to Team Coco. If you've enjoyed this episode, send it to a loved one. Rate and review on Apple Podcasts, if you have a mind. Once again, you can watch our full-length video episodes

at YouTube.com slash Team Coco. See you next time. Everybody knows your name. You've been listening to Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson sometimes. The show is produced by me, Mick Leow. Our executive producers are Adam Sacks, Jeff Ross, and myself. Sarah Federovich is our supervising producer, engineering and mixing by Joanna Samuel with support from Eduardo Perez.

Research by Alyssa Grail. Talent booking by Paula Davis and Gene McEaster. Our theme music is by Woody Haraldson, Antoni, Yveson, and John Oswald. Thank you.