Overall thoughts on the book:
I listened to the audiobook read by Henry Winkler. Usually when I want to read an autobiography or memoir, I’ll listen to it, if it is read by the author. Obviously the reading was great. Actors really know how to use their voices to tell a story. I enjoyed the listen. I don’t think it was the best autobiography I’ve ever read. Nowhere on the cover of the book does it give credit to Henry Winkler’s wife, Stacey, but I want to give her credit. At least in the audiobook, she had a big part. I was glad to be able to listen to her tell her side of the story.
Stacey was a good reader/speaker. I liked that I got to hear what she had to say about being married to Henry Winkler for so many years (45 years at the time that the book came out!). It was a good listen.
More details on the book and lots of spoilers:
This book shows the life of Henry Winkler from growing up relatively wealthy in Manhattan to The Fonz to writing children’s books to playing the doctor in Parks and Rec.
I didn’t realize that Winkler has a bad case of dislexia. This book discusses how badly Winkler’s parents treated him because they didn’t understand his learning disability. This book discusses how much Winkler loved improv mostly because he couldn’t read a script very well.
Henry Winkler was one of the lucky ones in Hollywood. He showed up and got jobs almost immediately. I know that there are lots of people who are in Hollywood for years before they get work. Being Henry obviously talks about Happy Days and Winkler’s relationship with Ron Howard.
Henry Winkler did seem to have a difficult relationship with fame. I think there were a few reasons for this. One reason might be that he was self conscious. He never seemed to think that he was good enough to be a Hollywood actor. I also think that maybe some part of him wasn’t grateful enough. His jump to fame was so quick that it seemed that he didn’t realize how difficult it is for so many people to make it. He’s never wanted to act as The Fonz in public because he wanted to be known as more than just one character but I think that there’s a certain level where you have to realize what you’ve been given. Starting from his college education, he always considered himself to be a stage actor so he never respected his TV character as much as he probably should have.
He did seem to have a very tumultuous relationship with his parents. They never respected him. His father took his bar mitzvah money with no intention of giving it back. His parents never liked that he wanted to be an actor until he was famous and then it was all they would talk about to their friends.
Stacey Winkler discusses how difficult it was to be married to an actor. They both state that Henry was not always emotionally available. I really enjoyed getting to hear Stacey’s views on Henry. How she helped him learn to be a better person.
Final thoughts:
I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. I will say that in some ways the fact that Henry Winkler wrote this book seems kinda forced. I know a lot of big names are writing autobiographies. He didn’t have a ton to say, but if you are a big Henry Winkler fan, you should read this book. I was able to learn a lot. I didn’t realize that he’s written children’s books or that he has severe dislexia.
Bayous and Books 