I don’t know about you, but when I think of Happy Days my mind immediately goes to The Fonz, his leather jacket, and his motorcycle.
Henry Winkler’s character was the epitome of cool.
It wasn’t until recently that the 77-year-old actor admitted he wasn’t as smooth as Fonzie. In fact, he was anything but.
During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Winkler shared a mishap he had on The Fonz’s motorcycle which led to him never riding it again.
“I rode it really for 17 seconds, in the beginning, going up the hill. That was it,” he said.
Winker explained he had been given simple instructions on what he needed to do, but due to suffering from dyslexia, he couldn’t figure out where the brake was located.
“And there was a moment when they had me on soundstage 5 at Paramount. I was on the bike and all I had to do was rev it and move it five feet. I revved it and I be so dyslexic I had no idea where the brake was, where the gear was and I shot forward.”
He remembered nearly hitting the director of photography, then putting the bike down and sliding under the truck on the soundstage.
Everyone on set immediately expressed their concern… for the bike.
According to the Barry actor, the motorcycle, which had been rented was also used by Steve McQueen in the 1963 film The Great Escape.
After that incident the motorcycle was mounted on a platform for everyone’s protection.
“They scare me, actually,” he said. “They put it on a board with four rubber wheels, attached it to a truck.”
Even though he wasn’t actually riding the bike, he definitely sold it.
“Did I not lean on that bike like it was my bike?” he joked with Hudson.
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