For millions of fans, Happy Days was the feel-good sitcom that defined a generation.
But behind the laughter, the jukebox and Fonzie’s famous leather jacket, things weren’t always quite so cheerful.
Henry Winkler, who became one of television’s most beloved characters as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, has revealed that one of his former co-stars apparently let fame go to his head — something Winkler wasn’t afraid to call out.
The beloved ABC sitcom was a television phenomenon during the 1970s, at one point attracting an estimated 50 million viewers a week. Yet Winkler says the cast largely avoided the egos that could come with that kind of success.
“The truth of the matter is really on our set, there was no stardom,” Winkler, 80, said during a July 11 panel at Fanboy Expo Knoxville alongside former castmates Anson Williams and Don Most.
“We were an ensemble. We worked hard at making it funny every week.”
But there was apparently one exception.
Winkler recalled a guest actor who appeared on the sitcom several times and repeatedly talked about the amount of fan mail he was receiving.
“One guy came on as a guest star, and then he was brought back a few times. And he would mention his fan mail. And I said, ‘You don’t wanna talk to me about fan mail. I got 50,000 letters a week.’”
Winkler apparently made it clear that he didn’t want celebrity status becoming a competition on set.
“And I said, ‘We don’t talk about that on the set. We are all here as one,’” the actor added.
But according to Winkler, the message didn’t get through.
“And he kept doing it, and he was an assback.”
Winkler initially refused to reveal the actor’s name, but he did offer one major clue.
”He played Eugene.”
For longtime Happy Days fans, that clue points toward Denis Mandel, who played Eugene Belvin in 10 episodes during the show’s eighth and ninth seasons between 1980 and 1982.
Mandel later appeared in shows including Knots Landing and Homefront, before eventually stepping away from acting. Some media outlets have attempted to reach Denis Mandel for comment, but he has not responded so far.
“I was having trouble with a scene..”
Despite that uncomfortable experience, Winkler has often spoken warmly about the people he worked with during the show’s legendary run.
He has particularly praised former co-star Ron Howard, who played Richie Cunningham before going on to become an acclaimed director.
Winkler recalled one moment when he became frustrated while working on a scene and began hitting his script.
Howard noticed and quietly pulled him aside.
“I was having trouble with a scene. I started punching my script,” Winkler said, adding that Howard “put his arm around me, he walked me to the back of the soundstage, and he said, ‘You know, the writers are working as hard as they can. Let’s not hit our script.’”
The advice stayed with him.
“I said, ‘Ron, I will never hit my script as long as I live,’” Winkler said. “And he is, and was, even at that tender age, so wise. He just is easy, he just kind of goes through life and he’s an amazing fellow.”
More than five decades after Happy Days first became a television sensation, Winkler is still working — and has repeatedly said retirement isn’t something he has seriously considered.
“It never occurred to me [to retire] because I am so happy in my house with [my wife] Stacey and our children and our grandchildren, and I am so happy when I am working,” he previously told PEOPLE.
“When I’m doing what I dreamed of doing, and I still get to do it. I still get to be at the table. That is an amazement to me. I am not kidding. I don’t take it for granted,” he added.
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