Ron Howard and Henry Winkler reunite at Emmys in nostalgic nod to ‘Happy Days’
Henry Winkler and Ron Howard had an epic “Happy Days” reunion at the 2024 Emmys in honor of the hit sitcom’s 50th anniversary.
While presenting the award for best direction of a comedy series during Sunday’s awards show, Howard, 70, and Winkler, 78, appeared on a set that paid homage to the series’ iconic Arnold’s Drive-In, complete with a vintage jukebox.
“This is fantastic,” Howard, who portrayed Richie Cunningham, marveled, while Winkler, best known for playing Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, added, “Feels like home.”
After joking that their theme song wasn’t played while they were introduced, Howard encouraged Winkler to recreate one of Fonzie’s signature moves – banging on the jukebox to get it to play.
“First of all, I’m out of practice,” the “Barry” alum said, while Howard insisted he give it a try.
“You went to the Yale School of Drama, Henry! C’mon, you know you can do it,” Howard exclaimed.
Winkler then shrugged his shoulders like Fonzie and bumped the machine, prompting the “Happy Days” theme song to begin to play.
“Well done,” said Howard, as the crowd erupted into applause.
The ABC sitcom premiered in 1974 and ran for 11 seasons. In addition to Howard and Winkler, the ensemble also included Tom Bosley, Marion Ross, Erin Moran, Scott Baio and Anson Williams.
While their appearance at Sunday’s Emmys marked an official public reunion for “Happy Days,” Howard and Winkler have remained close pals over the years.
“We immediately bonded and became great friends,” the Oscar-winning director said of his relationship with Winkler in an interview with Graham Norton in 2021. “We were a fantastic ensemble — we all got along great.”
The pals even met up earlier this year Down Under when they both happened to be in Australia. At the time, Winkler shared a photo of them together on social media after Howard came to support him on a book tour for his “Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond” memoir.
