Henry Winkler ‘went dark’ after Happy Days

Henry Winkler has opened up about his life after Happy Days.

Henry Winkler went “dark” after Happy Days ended.

The 80-year-old actor shot to stardom as Arthur ‘Fonzie’ Fonzarelli on Happy Days, the hit TV show, between 1974 and 1984, and Henry admits that he struggled to cope with his new reality when the series ended.

During an appearance on the Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, Henry explained: “After Happy Days finished, I’m sitting in my office [and] all I’m getting are Fonzi-like [offers]. I have no idea, ‘Am I ever going to do anything that is as powerful?’ And I went dark. I went dark.”

Henry admitted to feeling lost and unsure of his future when the show ended. The actor explained that his career ground to a halt for “eight or nine years” after Happy Days.

The Hollywood star said: “The greatest thing you learn is to pivot.

“You’re going on a way and you’re thinking, ‘Oh, I’ve got to stay. I can’t do anything else. 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.”

Last year, Henry confessed that he thought his “life [was] over” when Ron Howard quit Happy Days.

The actor-turned-director quit the TV show in order to pursue other ambitions, but the decision left his showbiz pal feeling devastated.

Speaking to People, Henry recalled: “When we worked together, there was something that happens out of the blue. We had a shorthand with the script. He went where I went, I went where he went, and it became something else.”

However, Ron decided to quit the show in 1980, and Henry has vivid memories of the day he found out.

Henry shared: “There was a phone booth right by the front door of stage 19. They said, ‘Oh, the phone is for you, Henry.'”

Ron – who has subsequently become one of the most successful directors in Hollywood – told his co-star at the time: “It’s going to come out in the press in about 10 minutes, but I wanted you to know first, I’m not coming back.”