From Emmy-award winning actor, author, comedian, producer, and director Henry Winkler, a deeply thoughtful memoir of the lifelong effects of stardom and the struggle to become whole.
BEING HENRY
The Fonz . . . and Beyond
by Henry Winkler
Celadon Books, November 2023
Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely-regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it’s simply not the case, he’s really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you.
Since the glorious era of Happy Days fame, Henry has endeared himself to a new generation with roles in such adored shows as Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, and Barry, where he’s been revealed as an actor with immense depth and pathos, a departure from the period of his life when he was so distinctly typecast as The Fonz, he could hardly find work.
Filled with profound heart, charm, and self-deprecating humor, BEING HENRY is a memoir about so much more than a life in Hollywood and the curse of stardom. It is a meaningful testament to the power of sharing truth and kindness and of finding fulfillment within yourself.
“Smart and entertaining.” —New York Times
“[An] inspirational story of one of Hollywood’s most beloved figures who became an unlikely TV screen icon and later a champion for those with dyslexia.” —Associated Press
“You want to brew him some tea, pat his arm. His tender memoir isn’t explicitly dishy. It’s an excavation of his challenges, pain and neuroses.” —Washington Post
In 2023, Henry Winkler celebrates 50 years of success in Hollywood and continues to be in demand as an actor, producer, and director. He co-stars as acting teacher Gene Cousineau on the hit HBO dark comedy, Barry. For this role, he won his first Primetime Emmy Award in 2018 for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy as well as two Television Critics Choice Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, he was cast in 1973 in the iconic role of Arthur Fonzarelli, aka “The Fonz,” in the TV series Happy Days. During his 10 years on the popular sitcom, he won two Golden Globe Awards, was nominated three times for an Emmy Award and was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In recent years, Winkler appeared in a number of series, including Medical Police, Arrested Development, Children’s Hospital, Royal Pains, New Girl, and Parks and Recreation. He is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous children’s books, including Alien Superstar, A Trilogy and Hank Zipzer the World’s Greatest Under-Achiever, a 28-book series inspired by Winkler’s own struggle with learning challenges. Of all the titles he has received, the ones he relishes most are husband, father and grandfather. Winkler and his wife, Stacey, have three children, Jed, Zoe and Max, and six grandchildren. They reside in Los Angeles with their two dogs.
Alice Kahn is a young Jewish physicist, one of the only female doctoral students in her class, studying with the famed Dr. Oppenheimer. An heiress, her family wants her to marry a man of her class and settle down; instead, Alice answers her country’s call to come to an unnamed city in the desert to work on a government project shrouded in secrecy.
It’s 1968, and the Watry-Ridder family is feared and respected in equal measure. The local farmers seek out their water charms and the teenagers their love spells. The family’s charms and spells have long served the town, passed down through generations of witches descending from the Black Forest.
