This may surprise readers who love classic TV: in real life, Henry Winkler, who played Casanova greaser Arthur Fonzarelli in the 1950s-set sitcom Happy Days, could pass for a Woody Allen character. In the surpassingly honest and equally charming Being Henry: The Fonz… and Beyond, written with James Kaplan, Winkler presents himself as a chronic worrier and a hive of negative thinking. Despite this--or because of it--readers couldn't ask for a more entertaining guide through the life of a working actor.
Born in 1945, Winkler grew up privileged in Manhattan, the son of refugees from Nazi Germany. An undiagnosed dyslexic, he did wretchedly in school but excelled at acting, eventually graduating from the Yale School of Drama. In 1973, he scored the role of Fonzie, who became an international phenomenon; Winkler played him until Happy Days ended in 1984. The second half of the memoir chronicles Winkler's post-Fonzie life, much of it spent, thanks to typecasting, in "the Valley of Career Death." After several rocky decades, Winkler ended up with a 2018 Emmy for his supporting work in the HBO comedy Barry.
Winkler writes sheepishly of how his chatterbox ways have occasionally hurt him professionally, but his loquaciousness sure serves his book. (It also served him as coauthor of the successful Hank Zipzer middle-grade series, about a kid with dyslexia.) Being Henry is full of endearing asides ("Is this making you sad? Me too!"), and even Winkler's accounts of his most shattering career disappointments are offset by his abiding warmth--not to be mistaken for optimism. --Nell Beram, author and freelance writer