Henry Winkler is reflecting on the 17 seconds it took for him to crash his character’s iconic motorcycle on the set of “Happy Days.”
Known for his breakout role as Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli in 1974, Winkler candidly detailed the crash, revealing that someone had to leap out of his way.
“I rode it really for 17 seconds, in the beginning, going up the hill. That was it,” the actor said during an appearance on “The Jennifer Hudson Show.”
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Henry Winkler is best known for his role as Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli on “Happy Days.” (Getty Images)
“And there was a moment . . . I was on the bike, and all I had to do was rev it and move it five feet. I revved it and [I’m] so dyslexic I had no idea where the brake was, where the gear was, and I shot forward.”
The 77-year-old actor recalled almost running over the director of photography on set before crashing the motorcycle.
“He leaped out of the way,” he continued.
“Happy Days” star Henry Winkler detailed how he crashed his character Fonzie’s motorcycle, on “The Jennifer Hudson Show.” (Chris Millard/Warner Bros.)
“I put the bike down. We slid under the truck on the soundstage, and they came running. Everybody was, like, in a panic that the bike was fine, because it was rented,” he said as the audience laughed. “And then they [said], ‘How about you? Are you okay?'”
After the chaotic incident, Winkler confessed he never rode that motorcycle again.
“They scare me, actually,” he pointed out.
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Henry Winkler is celebrating 50 years of acting in Hollywood. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
As for how his character “The Fonz” rode the bike on the show, Winkler confessed, “They put it on a board with four rubber wheels, attached it to a truck.”
The Emmy winner laughed at the customized prop and said, “Did I not lean on that bike like it was my bike?”
Winkler went on to say that the motorcycle was the same one that Steve McQueen used in “The Great Escape.”
“My tush and Steve McQueen hit the same seat!” Winkler joked.
Opening up about his time as Fonzie, Winkler gushed about the “Happy Days” cast and called them his “second family.”
“I dreamt of doing this . . . I went to an audition for ‘Happy Days,’ and it changed my life,” Winkler remarked.
It turns out it didn’t take him very long to make that dream come true 50 years ago. After he moved to Hollywood in 1973, it took him only five days to land a role on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” and two weeks after that he secured his spot on “Happy Days.”
Henry Winkler revealed that he would only do a reboot of “Happy Days” if certain cast members were involved. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content)
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Winkler has previously shared he would only return for a “Happy Days” revival if the original cast were a part of it.
“I wouldn’t want to do it without Ron [Howard], without Don [Most], without Anson [Williams] and without Marion [Ross],” Winkler explained to Fox News Digital earlier this year.
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He also said he would not want to do the show without Garry Marshall, who created and produced “Happy Days.” Marshall died in 2016.
