Henry Winkler

Summary

Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)

Guest: Henry Winkler
Episode Date: June 17, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode is a heartfelt, funny, and deeply reflective conversation between Ted Danson and legendary actor Henry Winkler. Through personal stories, raw honesty, and a full spectrum of emotion, Ted (and occasionally Woody) draw out Winkler’s wisdom on gratitude, resilience, the ups and downs of fame, pivots in life and career, and the lasting power of kindness. It’s a rich look at the man behind the Fonz, traversing challenges of dyslexia, immense celebrity, and a remarkable creative reinvention—while keeping humor and humility at the center.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Meeting Henry: Gratitude, Kindness, and Lasting Impressions

• Ted’s First Impression: Ted recalls first meeting Henry during auditions for a Tom Stoppard play in New York, noting his genuine warmth.

  • Ted: “You said goodbye, nice to meet you, to literally everybody there, legitimately, sincerely, and I had no idea who you were, but I went, wow, wow.” (03:22)

• Henry’s Consistency: Ted emphasizes that Henry’s kindness hasn’t dimmed over the years.

The Emotional Landscape of Fame

• Navigating “Darkness” Despite Success: Both discuss struggles with self-doubt and feeling like outsiders, even at the height of fame.

  • Henry: “I always feel like I’m a kid looking in the window, and everybody is on the other side of the window.” (05:37)
  • Henry: “I have no idea what I’m going to do, whether I could do it again. And I’m over.” (07:26)

• Impact of Fandom/Public Image: Henry shares memories of becoming world-famous as the Fonz, and how he felt both revered and, at times, isolated.

• Travel and Visibility: Anecdotes about fan encounters in unexpected places (e.g., Hopi villages and cruise ships):

  • Henry: “We watch Happy Days using our car battery for electricity. I have nothing else to give you. This is for you.” (Grandmother in a Hopi village gifting bread, 23:40)

Pivoting in Career and Life

• The Power of Pivoting: After Happy Days, Henry faced years of being typecast and not being able to find acting work, learning to reinvent himself.

  • Henry: “The greatest thing you learn is to pivot. ... When you pivot, the universe opens up and all of this generous stardust falls on you.” (27:00)

• Producing and MacGyver: Henry describes how a lawyer’s belief led to him producing shows, notably MacGyver, despite self-doubt and unfamiliarity with the business side.

  • Henry: “My mantra, that if you will it, it is not a dream.” (29:37)

Deeper Reflections: Dyslexia, Family, and Self-Worth

• Struggles with Dyslexia: Henry opens up about feeling less-than intelligent due to undiagnosed dyslexia, and coming from a family of German Jewish refugees who he felt he disappointed.

  • Henry: “My parents ... escaped Nazi Germany. ... I was an embarrassment. So when people ... say, ‘Oh my God, you are ...’ I’m looking, who are they talking to? Can’t be me. I know who I am.” (13:13–14:21)

• Letting in Love and Acceptance: It took Henry decades to allow himself to internalize public affection and positive feedback.

Abundance Versus Scarcity and the Neurotic Side of Actors

• The Money Mindset: Both Ted and Henry talk about ingrained fears of scarcity, and their efforts—encouraged by their spouses—to focus on abundance and gratitude.

  • Ted: “Why are you always planning on penury? Why aren’t you planning on abundance?” (74:42)
  • Henry: “I am always penure ... Every minute of my life.” (76:10)

• The Importance of Giving Actors a Home: Henry shares a formative moment when he felt alone on a TV set and vowed to never let another actor feel unacknowledged (39:17).

Creative Evolution: Books and Children’s Literature

• Children’s Books as a Second Act: Henry explains how a career lull led to him co-writing dozens of children’s books about learning differences.

  • Henry: “I was told I would never achieve ... And now with our 41st book...I didn’t know that. One out of five kids has something that is going on in their wiring ... not their fault.” (60:21; 62:42)

• Using Fame for Good: Ted highlights that Winkler’s platform lets him advocate for children struggling with dyslexia.

Showbiz Tales: Collaboration, Influence, and Professional Pride

• Comedic Legacy and Collaborators: They swap stories about beloved comedy icons—Garry Marshall, Bob Newhart, Dick Van Dyke, Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, and more.

  • Henry: “I am...so proud that I was in their camp.” (43:41)

• Gary Marshall’s Quirks & Wisdom: Gary Marshall used multi-faith icons as a ritual before takeoff, loved spaghetti with ketchup, added a fourth camera for Robin Williams (44:29, 46:20).

The Baggage of Fame & Subverting Expectations

• Typecasting’s Double-Edged Sword: Both discuss how their likable on-screen personas led to being cast against type (or sometimes not cast at all) after massive TV hits.

  • Henry: “The nice guy can get away with more ... the audience will still struggle ... because it’s Henry.” (68:25)

• Favorite Projects and the Next Thing: Henry says his favorite project is always “the next thing I do.” (30:33)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Gratitude:

  • “I’m grateful just to be on the earth. Honest to God, I mean, that is just true. That is my mantra.”
    — Henry Winkler (03:49)

• On Feeling Like an Outsider:

  • “I always feel like I’m a kid looking in the glass, looking in the window, and everybody is on the other side of the window.”
    — Henry Winkler (05:37)

• Handling Massive Fame:

  • “Then they were shocked that I was a short Jew, that I was playing a tall Italian.”
    — Henry Winkler (08:08)

• On Reinvention and Career Change:

  • “The greatest thing you learn is to pivot ... When you pivot, the universe opens up.”
    — Henry Winkler (27:00)

• Letting in Love:

  • “It took me 60 years to let all of that love in and realize for that person. That’s what I meant.”
    — Henry Winkler (14:38)

• On Abundance vs. Scarcity:

  • “Why are you always planning on penury? Why aren’t you planning on abundance?”
    — Ted Danson (74:42)

• On Dyslexia and Writing:

  • “I didn’t know that one out of five kids has something going on in their wiring having nothing to do with them.”
    — Henry Winkler (62:42)

• Encounter with Mel Brooks:

  • “Two weeks ago, I got a call from Mel Brooks because he heard I wanted to chat with him... What a circle.”
    — Henry Winkler (64:04)

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Key Timestamps

Early Career & First Meeting (02:34–03:35)

• Ted’s memory of first meeting Henry at auditions.

Self-Doubt & Dark Periods (05:37–07:26)

• Henry and Ted discuss feeling on the outside despite fame.

Stories of Massive Fame (08:06–10:17)

• Winkler recounts fan encounters and how Happy Days’ popularity exploded.

Showbiz Evolution, Three-Camera Sitcoms (10:23–12:00)

• The move to three-camera filming and the live audience effect.

Dyslexia, Family, and Self-Value (12:59–15:21)

• Henry speaks about his parents, academic challenges, and eventual acceptance.

Hopi Village and Cultural Connection (21:26–24:57)

• Gifted bread by a Hopi grandmother—impact of pop culture in remote places.

Pivoting to Producing, Life Lessons (27:00–30:33)

• Importance of embracing pivots and finding new opportunities.

Henry’s Children’s Books (60:05–64:34)

• Founding the Hank Zipzer series and using his lived experience to help others.

Importance of Acknowledgment on Set (38:20–39:39)

• Henry’s promise to make sure no one feels alone or overlooked professionally.

Comic Collaborators & Sitcom History (44:10–47:44)

• Working with Garry Marshall, Robin Williams, Bob Newhart, and others.

Abundance, Scarcity, and Family Influence (74:41–76:18)

• Ted and Henry discuss shifting their minds from anxiety about scarcity towards present gratitude.

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Flow & Tone

The episode is warm, reflective, occasionally self-deprecating, and rich with humorous asides and heartfelt admissions. Ted and Henry’s mutual respect is clear, creating an open space for vulnerability and celebration alike.

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For New Listeners: Why This Matters

If you haven’t heard the podcast, this episode is much more than a celebrity interview. It’s about two icons stripping away personas, bravely discussing insecurity, evolution, and finding joy in both what’s next and what’s now. Winkler’s story—how he leveraged pain, learning differences, and typecasting into new creative directions—offers humor, hope, and practical wisdom for anyone facing reinvention or self-doubt.

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Further Listening Suggestions

For more personal, unscripted stories from beloved TV icons, check out:

• Episodes featuring other actors who pivoted careers or talk openly about vulnerability and gratitude.
• Deep dives into the comedy lineage referenced: (Garry Marshall, Carol Burnett, Bob Newhart)

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Episode in a Sentence

A moving, hilarious, and deeply honest look at Henry Winkler’s journey from the Fonz to author, advocate, and ever-evolving artist—guided by resilience, humor, and an unshakeable kindness.

Transcript

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[A]

Welcome back to where everybody knows your name. Our guest today, a friend for many years, is Henry Winkler, a man who has meant so much to so many. He played the Fonz, obviously and so many other astounding parts over the years. The man radiates warmth, kindness and joy. He's an acting legend, a producer and director and an author of 40 books. I fell in love with Henry all over again during this hour I spent with him. Anyway, here's Henry Winkler. Hi, Henry.

[B]

Wow. It's amazing, isn't it?

[A]

It is amazing.

[B]

What year did you start? Cheers. What year did that start?

[A]

I'll handle the questions, Henry. No, I was just wondering because I don't remember. 82.

[B]

Okay, so we met in 1982.

[A]

No.

[B]

Why?

[A]

No. And this was so wonderful.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because you are. Your personality, your energy, what you put out in the world is so consistently up. Kind, funny, all, all the adjectives you want, but really nice.

[B]

Thanks.

[A]

And I can, I can say that you have been consistent.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Lee. That since the day I met you in New York City, you were auditioning for a man on no man, that's me. For Tom Stoppard play after Magritte. And the real Inspector Hound.

[B]

The real Inspector Hound. I. I auditioned for that.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And Lenny Baker got it because he got everything that I auditioned for.

[A]

Yes. And I have. You know how sometimes you have snapshots because I was an understudy.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And I was in the lobby, you know, we had probably been rehearsing and then the audition started. So we all came out and we sitting around in the lobby. There were crew people around. And I. I don't have a photograph. You know how you take. I have a video of you coming out. If you're looking at the stage was, you know, the right hand doors into the lobby, and you said goodbye, nice to meet you. To literally everybody there, legitimately, sincerely, and I had no idea who you were, but I went, wow, wow.

[B]

How about.

[A]

How about that guy?

[B]

And I didn't get it.

[A]

And you didn't get it.

[B]

I didn't get it.

[A]

Perhaps if you'd known you weren't gonna get it, maybe you would have been.

[B]

I would never have said goodbye.

[A]

But seriously, that's amazing.

[B]

Thanks. But you know what? I'm grateful just to be on the earth. Honest to God, I mean, that is just true. That is my mantra.

[A]

I am, too, when I'm on it. And when I remind myself, because I can go moody, I can go not humble or whatever, that takes me in the wrong direction. And I do go, ted, this is your life. Be grateful. So I am there. I live there mostly. Do you go dark ever within yourself? I don't mean towards other people.

[B]

You know what? If darkness is that I assume. I'm away from the table, I'm off the table, that it's over, then, yes, I go dark.

[A]

Well, give me an example of what that means.

[B]

I look at a talk show.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay. Dave.

[A]

You're watching it.

[B]

I'm watching Dave and all of his guests. My guest needs no introduction.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Except I'm never asked, and I think that's it.

[A]

Yes. How about award shows?

[B]

No, no. I'm used to that. In 50 years of award shows, I have won two.

[A]

My batting average is pretty much the same. I've been nominated for. I don't know.

[B]

Yeah, but we're still here.

[A]

No, no, we are. We are.

[B]

We are.

[A]

We are. I'm talking about the little glitches in gratitude. The little glitches.

[B]

I'll give you another one.

[A]

Why am I trying to poke holes in your wonderfulness?

[B]

No, it's okay. Because this is the truth. You know, I always feel like I'm a kid looking in the glass, looking in the window, and everybody is on the other side of the window.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And that Saturday Night Live.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Everybody has five jackets.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I don't even have an invitation.

[A]

I don't have a T shirt.

[B]

I don't have a T shirt. You know, I did sit in the audience once in 1977. Paul Simon was the musical guest. And I did fall asleep. I was so tired from Auditioning.

[A]

No, his music will do that to you.

[B]

You know what? I don't think it was the music.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[B]

Yeah. But, you know, people come and go, and I've never.

[A]

Okay, I have to bounce around because, you know, you think you know somebody. And then I started looking and going, holy moly. You've written 40.

[B]

41 books.

[A]

41 books.

[B]

The 41st comes out in November, and

[A]

we have to talk about that. We have to talk about, obviously, you know, the Fonz and all of that.

[B]

Right up the street. Yes, that we're on large amount. And right up the street at Paramount. I was there for 14 years. I did. Now, that was after Happy Days finished. I'm sitting in my office, all I'm getting are Fonzie. Like, I have no idea. Am I ever going to do anything that is as powerful? And I went dark. I went dark.

[A]

How could you not? Yeah, I know.

[B]

I thought, I have no idea what I'm going to do, whether I could do it again. And I'm over.

[A]

Right. Can we just back up for a second?

[B]

Sure, go ahead.

[A]

About.

[B]

I went to nursery school.

[A]

No, no, no, no. Not that far back. But the impact. I think it's hard for people to understand the massive nature of your fame. And without trying to do ego and all of that stuff, just the fact that you walked around in the world, everywhere in the world, with so much attention pouring your way because they knew you, loved you, had watched you. It was rock star.

[B]

And then they were shocked that I was a short Jew, that I was playing a tall Italian.

[A]

Was that depending on the country or. No, no, no.

[B]

Basically, everybody went. There was a. There's a great show.

[A]

Are you making a joke or you.

[B]

Oh, I'm not. I'm so serious. We're in Dallas now. In the beginning, the show was not doing very well. Happy Days was not doing very well. There were a hundred shows. We were 48. And in that calculus, we were not doing well. So they sent us out into the world. They sent us to different cities to make personal appearances. We're in Dallas. We're at Neiman Marcus, the flagship store. 25,000 people came to say hello, but they are standing between us and the limo, the car that is gonna take us back to the hotel.

[A]

Oh, you mean after you did your Neiman Marcus thing, you started to come out?

[B]

Yes. And the crowd had spilled into the parking lot. Donnie Most is not the most secure. And he goes, oh, my God, we're gonna die. How are we getting out of here? This is amazing. There are a lot of people. And then. And I have never used the Fonz character off screen. And I turned to Donnie and I saw his panic. I said, I, I will take care of this. And I just looked at the crowd and I said, all right, listen up. Lie to you four of us, you are now going to part like the Red Sea. I swear to God.

[A]

Oh, God, I love that.

[B]

And we started walking. Now somebody said, he's so short. I turned to the. Where I thought I heard it and I said, you. I'm not short. Then somebody else yelled, he's so cool. I went, you got it. And we got, we got in the car and left. True story Happened. Unbelievable.

[A]

But they thought you weren't. That the show wasn't doing well. I mean.

[B]

And then they sent us out to, to bolster it. Now then Garry Marshall had the idea to make the show three camera.

[A]

Wait, I didn't know that.

[B]

Yes. We were one camera for the first 12 and in 75 in September, we went on the air as a three camera. Ron Howard never have worked working in front of the live audience, almost vomiting.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Except when you see him, you would never know he could do anything, this man.

[A]

I mean, as a performer, you know that when we would Cheers was live audience. And whenever we would have to dismiss the audience at the end of the evening and go back in and shoot something without the audience because of the

[B]

angle of the camera or whatever, or rewriting a scene.

[A]

Right. They would rarely use it because the energy that the audience brings to your performance, Performance, it was like a huge drop that you just couldn't somehow deal with. So do you think the audience raised the level of people's awareness and the audience when we.

[B]

Eventually, if you meet a person and you have a nice reaction with that person, if you look at them for three seconds in the eye, they believe they've been with you. They're going to tell 10 people.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And if you do that often enough, people come and at least sample what you're doing. And if you don't deliver, they don't show back up.

[A]

I didn't really hear what you said. I'm trying to make eye contact so you don't forget me.

[B]

Yeah, no, I feel like I'm with you. And goodbye.

[A]

You know, cheers was 70th out of 70. That first thing.

[B]

Funny, funny.

[A]

But it took a while.

[B]

The relationship that you all had in that one room was shocking. And the writing. Oh my God.

[A]

Yes. We're both so blessed. So blessed.

[B]

On 78th street between Broadway and Amsterdam across The street from Jim Burrows.

[A]

Wow. I studied with a Sandy meissner student on 74th between. Right on the corner of Amsterdam. Between Amsterdam and Broadway.

[B]

Yeah. It's my neighborhood.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Let me stay on the fame, the level of fame. And this is not to fan you, but.

[B]

No, no, I really understand because Hard

[A]

to navigate at first.

[B]

Do you know why it wasn't. I figured this out lately. I am very dyslexic. But, I mean, I'm in the bottom 3% academically in America. I had no sense of self. My parents didn't help. I embarrassed my parents. They were short Germans who escaped Nazi Germany. And because I did not do well and they could spell in three languages, I was in embarrassment. So when people, for real, for real

[A]

noticeably to you, you knew that, felt that.

[B]

Oh, my God. Yeah. And you know, and I really do. And I now, at 80, appreciate. They escaped another country, they started another business. They lost everything. They lost all of their. Never had a grandparent. I love being a grandparent, you know, to make up. But the fact of the matter is that I was told I would never achieve people talking to me, people saying, oh, my God, you are. Oh, you don't know. I watch with my. I'm looking. Who are they talking to? Can't be me. I know who I am.

[A]

Right. But that can mess you up. I mean, it kind of messed me up a little bit because I. I was still a toad in my own eyes.

[B]

Right. Right.

[A]

So to be called all these, I'm

[B]

in the same pond.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I'm in the same pond with you.

[A]

So how did you deal with that?

[B]

Because there was another part of me I understood, oh, this is practical. I'm making a living. I can put a dinner on the table. I can put a roof over our head. I just struggled in New York after drama school. This is good. So I saw that of value. And then it took me 60 years to let all of that love in and realize for that person. That's what I meant, for that person.

[A]

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[B]

Sure.

[A]

I keep wanting to say anecdote. Yes, because antidote.

[B]

You would save me from a poison.

[A]

Yes. So here's my background quickly. And you'll understand where I'm going. And we're talking about the. I mean, every fiber of society knew you. Every. Whatever little nook and cranny. I grew up in Northern Arizona. Flagstaff. My father was an archaeologist.

[B]

First movie I ever made. Sorry. For a television movie with Sissy Spacek in your hometown?

[A]

Flagstaff.

[B]

Yeah. And Tucson, which was also my hometown.

[A]

What was the name of it?

[B]

It was called Catherine. It was the story of Patty Hearst.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

And I was the revolutionary. And Cissy was the. I fell in love with her. And she was the pristine, very wealthy,

[A]

one of our great actresses and most wonderful human being.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

I get this from my wife Mary, who's worked with her. All my friends growing up were Hopi. Now you know where I'm going.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Hopi. My friend Raymond. Okay.

[B]

See, Hopi.

[A]

Yes. And this is about the scope of your fame.

[B]

I went there.

[A]

I know.

[B]

Okay, go. I'm not saying another word.

[A]

No. Okay. But what I'm saying is you did go to the Hopi villages.

[B]

I did.

[A]

And you saw their dance, the kachina dances, which I grew up around

[B]

on my bookshelf.

[A]

Love you, my friend. Made out of containers all over my house. Yes. I made one. I was taught by Jimmy Kwanwatewa. Wow. How to make kachina dolls. But here's the deal. Getting onto even with my father, who they all knew because of his job. And what was his job at that point? He was the director of the museum and research center. And the museum was dedicated partly, besides being a natural history museum, to the culture, to nurturing the culture and arts and crafts. The Hopi, Navajo, Zuni, Pueblo Indians. So he would go out to each and every village and bring in their baskets, their jewelry, their kachina dolls, everything. And there'd be a show, which they would benefit from. So they knew him by name. And we could get into the Kachina, to the dances. Villages. Impossible to get there, right? You got there.

[B]

I did.

[A]

Also, if you bring out a camera in those villages, you are kind of asked to leave. You just don't.

[B]

It is true. Because they believe if you take a picture, you take their soul with that picture.

[A]

Yeah. And it's like going into the middle of a Catholic ceremony with the Pope and starting to flash. It's a sacred place.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

You take it from here, because I read what happened.

[B]

Okay. So my son Jed, who is now my stepson because his father has said I couldn't call him. So Jed was in third grade studying Native Americans Easter vacation, we drive across the country to Arizona to visit the Hopi and the Navajo.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And you're in the midst of happy days. Oh, my God. So now I go with my family to the Hopi Nation, and we see the oldest house in America.

[A]

Walp.

[B]

The chief's residence of the Hopi Nation. My camera. I know. I got the instruction to lock it in my car. As we are walking to watch the Kachina celebration, they say, go get your camera.

[A]

Who says?

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

I don't remember. I hope he does.

[B]

A member of the tribe.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, my God. I got my camera and I was able to take pictures of the Kachina dances. And I talk about that because it's one of the great honors of my life.

[A]

It is astounding. You would have to go to someplace in Africa to see something so powerfully different than our everyday life. They've been celebrating on the same plazas, dirt plazas, for the last 500 years, praying to their gods, and you got to be there.

[B]

Now we're leaving, and a grandmother comes out of her house as we're walking to the car, delivering me a hot, freshly baked bread. And she said, we watch Happy Days using our car battery for electricity. I have nothing else to give you. This is for you. And I said, this is the most magnificent baked good I will ever receive in my life.

[A]

That is. I love that. I hadn't heard this before, and I read it someplace from our research, and it made me so happy, and it made me kind of. Even though I know you, appreciate you, love you, and have known you for many years, it just took me to a different place because that's. That is my. My upbringing, my heart and soul. This. These are the kids. At 7, I was running around the dances, you know, being silly with my friend Raymond. And that to me means so much. I just love that. But it also goes to the point you are someplace where not many people can even go. And. And the Fonz had been there.

[B]

The Fonz had been there because we did one episode of Thanksgiving episode where the Fonz was respectful to Native Americans. And they just absorbed me in. Oh, what a thing that was.

[A]

Yeah, what a thing. Here's another little thing about the scope of your fame at. I remember Mary and I were. I was trying to talk Mary into going on some sort of cruise with the kids.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I guess you had gone on a cruise.

[B]

I did.

[A]

And it was not a nightmare, but you were trapped.

[B]

Okay. So everything was great. The great friend of Mine, the late Gary Smith asked me to come on the cruise on the Norwegian line. My daughter is three. We're making splatter art in the room with finger paints. And you go out of your room and somebody, hey, come over here, let me take a picture with you. Okay. Hi, nice to see you. Hey, I don't have any camera in my. You wait right there, okay. And I'll be right back. I said, sir, I don't think I'm gonna do that. So that part of the cruise was hard, but the food was pretty great.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But there's nowhere to run or hide.

[B]

There's no way to run or hide on a boat.

[A]

Yeah. Okay. Things grind to a halt.

[B]

Yes, they do.

[A]

Done Fonz.

[B]

And it's dark for the next eight or nine years.

[A]

Yeah. But it's like you didn't grind a halt. You started to produce.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And direct and write.

[B]

No, not yet.

[A]

Not yet.

[B]

I, I, I produced. I tried to produce and direct. But this is a life lesson I learned that is vital in everybody's life. Who is listening? And I'll be that bold. The greatest thing you learn is to pivot. You're going on a way and you're thinking, oh, I gotta stay, I gotta do, I can't do anything else. Nah, I don't want to do anything else. You have to learn to pivot. Pivot. And when you pivot, the universe opens up and all of this generous stardust falls on you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I did things I never knew how. My, my lawyer, rest his soul, Skip Britain did you know him because he was your lawyer, too.

[A]

Thanks in large part to you. We'll go back to that later.

[B]

But how wonderful. That man changed my life. Skip Britain iii. Okay, so Skip said to me, I'm going to start a production company for you. I said, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. I can't do that. I don't understand one thing about producing or the business. I only know how to do what I'm doing. He said, you'll learn. And then I met a group of men who eventually were my partners. And most of them didn't turn out really well. One guy, maybe one of the worst people I ever met on the planet in 80 years of living, became my partner. And I had. Part of my compensation was an on air commitment from abc. They would take a show I wanted to produce and put it on. That was the deal.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we, this man and I developed, heard a lot of different stories and developed MacGyver.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

I had forgotten that first show I ever Produced. And you learn, there are things I can do, there are things I can't do, but then there are wonderful people who do what I can't do. And then they become part of your world. And the parts I can do, boom. I'm up till three in the morning on Saturday night, putting the final edits with everybody on MacGyver. And then you deliver it to the network just in time, it goes on the air. And you know, they call that wet. You deliver it wet because it's soaking and dripping down your television screen. But there it is.

[A]

Yeah. And add to that another thing you say, if you can will it, you can have it, you can make it happen.

[B]

That became my mantra, that if you will it, it is not a dream.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I read was said by, I think, Herzl at the beginning, at the birth of Israel. And I have now realized, whatever religion you are, it is the beginning and the end of living on this earth. If you know what you want without ambivalence and you just visualize, if you will it, without doubt, there is a very good chance you will end up where you want to be, which is

[A]

very Law of Attraction. And add, which you do, the gratitude of where you are.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And not use where you are as proof that you're not where you want to be. Just thoroughly where I want to be where you are. And then will the rest.

[B]

Yeah. People say to me, what is the favorite thing you've done? And I say, the next thing I do, the next thing I do will be my favorite.

[A]

Yep. That's why I hate career talk. It's like career is when I'm in my rocking chair with the shawl over my shoulder and I can't do anything else. Then I'll talk to you about career, but my ego is such that. No, no, I haven't. I really. I haven't done it yet.

[B]

Right. I'm with you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

100%.

[A]

Yeah. That's great.

[B]

I haven't done it yet, but I love what I've done.

[A]

I have to go back for my sake, not yours. And because you. When somebody said to me in the early years of Cheers, you probably should have a lawyer, and I talked to you about Skip, and you were very encouraging. And then I was with Skip for like 30 years.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And then towards, I don't know how many years ago, five years ago or something like that, I hit a patch of fear. And coming from scarcity.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So I can save money. This is. This is an apology to Skip, who's not here, because he was so loyal, so sweet, so kind. We both considered each other friends. We did not go fly fishing like you did with him, but really made a huge difference to my life.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

And I expressed my gratitude all the time. And then I said, skip, I'm. I'm going to leave because I thought I'd be saving X amount of money.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And I pretty sure it hurt his feelings, maybe pissed them off. And I feel like, wow, I wish I had, but.

[B]

Can I ask you a question?

[A]

Did it help?

[B]

Did you. The next choices you make change your trajectory at all?

[A]

No, I don't. I mean, I don't know how to answer that quite, but. But part of my rationale was, well, my days of big contracts or big deals are over. And that's where Skip comes in and makes this vast difference.

[B]

But it's totally understandable.

[A]

But another big thing came my way. So it was like, well, shoot, Ted, you hurt a friend's feelings for.

[B]

But at the moment, sometimes the way we feel in our insecurity is so gigantic, it's so powerful, we cannot fight against it.

[A]

No. But it does give yourself a break. Make decisions out of love, not out of fear.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's okay, you know, because they turn out better anyway. I just needed to say that because I know what a wonderful thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Not only have he was a huge part in your life, but you were a huge part in his life. I mean, you know what?

[B]

I never. I never knew that, really, until, like, people at the memorial service would say to me as I walked around getting an hors d' oeuvre because I'm a good eater, and would say, oh, my God, he loved you. He loved you. But I didn't always know that.

[A]

He also credited you for his career.

[B]

Didn't know that.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, he did to me.

[B]

All I knew was he changed my life. He told me to stay home in the fourth year of Happy Days for one day, which is something I have never done. I went to work with pneumonia, and he said, stay home. I said, I don't know if I can do this. He said, you can. And ABC called. And if you listened on the phone,

[A]

it was like, who the does he think he is?

[B]

Who do you think you are? Paramount called. Who do you think you are? And I'm shaking in the leap. And I'm calling. I'm calling Skip. They're calling me. They're saying that he said, don't listen when. Okay. And it changed my life.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. And his. That's a scary thing to go Contrary to who you are and who. Who people know you are too.

[B]

I met him through my agent at the time, Joan Scott, who came out here from New York to open a satellite office. The first thing she said to me is, it's going to be hard to sell you. And so I went in the corner and shook. And the second thing she said, you're going to need a lawyer. You'll want to meet this guy. I took a walk with him on Wilshire Boulevard and I thought, oh, I like him. I'm gonna go, I'm in. He's starting a new firm. Boom, I'm in. That was it.

[A]

That's very cool. And you directed during this period of not being able to transition into different kind of roles. Right. Is that a happy place? No.

[B]

Well, I won an Emmy for an After School Special, but I could never. My directing career is like a lawnmower that you pull that never turns over. And I, eventually I just cut, I cut the cord. I thought this is like. I directed Memories of Me with Billy Crystal and Alan King. I loved it. Didn't go anywhere. I directed Cop and a Half with Burt Reynolds, who is like a story unto itself. And this African American seven year old actor, open number one. Nothing happened. And then I directed a major star and a dog. And I was fired within 13 days. And that was it. That was the end of directing.

[A]

And all right, there's proof positive. Pivot, proof positive. Keep willing and it will happen. And don't take what you have to get off the floor first you have to get up.

[B]

Yeah, you gotta get up.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And Jim Wyatt, who was my agent at the time, bless him, he said, you need to be seen. And he took me to the famous steakhouse on Santa Monica Boulevard, just still in West Hollywood. It was big in New York. There were pictures on the wall.

[A]

The Palm that was famous for its rude waiters. I mean, they were very kind of dismissive. It was part of the show.

[B]

Absolutely. See, this is a great thing on being on tv. They were never rude to me. They put down their lobster and they would make. Is this fine? Oh my God, I love this lobster. Thank you. I'm going to.

[A]

We do, we do get treated differently. I mean, people, I, I will think the nicest things of people who are. And I sometimes fear that if somebody likes my work, that's good enough for me to like them. Even though. Yeah, maybe horrible people.

[B]

Yeah. But I, I don't bother to find out. Yeah, they gave me a compliment. I like them. They're in my will.

[A]

Let's let's dip back into the nice part.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I mean, you had a tough. Sometimes your reflection by your parents wasn't that complimentary to you, little boy, you know, because you weren't living up to or however you want to phrase it. Where did you go? Oh, I want to put. When I saw you in New York, you were already without fame, the way you are now. You were kind acknowledging of everybody's sweet and polite. So when did that start?

[B]

I don't know. But I sure know what it feels like not to be acknowledged.

[A]

Ah.

[B]

When I did, when I first came out here, the first job I ever got was Mary Tyler Moore, which were the friends of that.

[A]

Very funny.

[B]

Thank you. Thank you. And I. They called lunch and everybody scattered. Now this is my insanity. I, of course, am feeling abandoned. I'm standing on a professional set, being a professional. Everybody's got a place to go. I will later learn. They call lunch. You go to your room and you make a phone call. You meet a friend. You have a worst. At the Paramount commissary. I stood there and it was like one of those shots where the camera is on a crane and it keeps going higher and higher and the floor is empty and it's just you like a moron. I could have asked somebody, hey, where does everybody go for lunch? No, I just felt sorry for myself. And I swore at that moment as the camera was pulling up on the crane. I will never let another actor feel that way on a set I'm on.

[A]

Yeah, and you didn't. But I saw that before you were. Well, no, maybe not. You came out and did that show before you went back and did Flat.

[B]

No, I did Lords of Flatbush before you did. I did. We had finished it in September. We reshot it after a year. We reshot the ending of the movie. And then the next day I got on a plane with Perry king, American Airlines, 10 o' clock in the morning and flew to see what I could do in California.

[A]

And the first thing was.

[B]

The first thing was the Mary Tyler Moore Show. And the second thing was Bob Newhart, because Mary Tyler Moore husband. Mary Tyler Moore's husband, Grant Tinker, the most handsome man maybe to walk the earth.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I never saw anything like it in my life.

[A]

Yeah,

[B]

every gene fought to get his face. No, get out of the way. I'm going to be his chin. Okay. But anyway, They were very loyal. And so then I got hired and then I got Happy Days.

[A]

I mean, I'm just so thrilled that I don't have that Stand up comedian. I'm not a comedian. I am. Whatever.

[B]

A wonderful funny actor.

[A]

An actor who loves funny material.

[B]

Believable. But breath.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I mean, you're on a show now. Even you just keep going.

[A]

Yes, as do you. We're very lucky.

[B]

Oh, wait a minute. That's a big thing. You cannot just go by that. You know, there are so many actors our age who are sitting by the phone or who have put the phone in the closet.

[A]

Yeah. No, we're very, very, very lucky.

[B]

And then how about this? When we first started, everybody pooh poohed making commercials.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Everybody pooh poohed it. I made my living making commercials. I earned my money to come out here for the month for commercials. And now Helen Mirren.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Is making commercials for Uber fucking Eats. And I wrote her a fan letter.

[A]

I know. Boy, times have changed.

[B]

Yeah. That's another lesson I learned. If you get a job as an actor and it doesn't completely destroy your soul, you do it. You show up and you take it

[A]

and you do it the best you could.

[B]

Like it was Chekhov. Yeah, I'm with you.

[A]

But the reason why I started down that path was being part of the lineage of funny, of people who chase the giggle, who just love funny. Mary Tyler Moore, MTM was one of the strands of funny that came out. Newhart.

[B]

Newhart.

[A]

Similar. Same strand. But aren't you so. Proud's the wrong word, but whatever. Proud to be part of that funny.

[B]

Absolutely proud. I have had that thought recently when doing, you know, interviews for I. I do a show on the History Channel.

[A]

I'm about to follow your steps. I am your union, by the way. Yes, it is.

[B]

How great is that?

[A]

I haven't started it yet, but I'm so excited.

[B]

Do you love that? But I love my information.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, that's great.

[B]

I love those facts. But anyway, so I'm doing the. And I'm thinking. I'm talking about all of the men and women that I worked with.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they're all. I am. I'm so proud that I was in their camp.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Now a writer who wrote some of the great episodes of Barry.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Has her show Scarpetta. I'm sure that's the same Liz Sarnoff.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Boom.

[A]

And so amazing. Give me some of your favorites going back.

[B]

Garry Marshall will be. Is the champion of my life.

[A]

Wow. Talk about also being able to do broad comedy, pretty Woman, drama, everything.

[B]

It was all in him. And he was as idiosyncratic as the day is long.

[A]

Give me an Example, we would take

[B]

off on a plane. He had an attache case. And the only thing in that attache case were statues of Buddha, the Jesus, Jewish star, the Quran, Mohammed. And he lined them up on his attache case, on his knees. As we took off. We were in the air. He opened the attache case, put them all back in and put it under a seat. Only had spaghetti with ketchup,

[A]

as all the saints do. Only had spaghetti with ketchup.

[B]

Yes. What about vodka sauce?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Really? Oh, my God. Gary.

[A]

Yeah, But.

[B]

Oh, great. Gary. Gary.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Was so successful in three camera.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Robin Williams comes and does one episode on Happy Days, gets his own show. Same cameramen who did the original Parting of the Red Sea in Ten Commandments. The original Ten Commandments are the men sitting on our cameras.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah. They are now doing.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

They are now doing Robin's show. There are three cameras. And Gary said, all right, how we do camera one? He didn't come by me. Camera two, I didn't see him. Camera three, I never saw Robin. Gary put in the fourth camera only for Robin.

[A]

Wow. Wow. Because we had four, too. Even though you call it three camera. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Tell me about sitting.

[B]

But remember, we started way before you.

[A]

You did, so.

[B]

Yeah. So, you know, we had three Mitchells with 10 minute canisters.

[A]

We had that, right? Yeah, yeah. And Jimmy Burrows, our director. Oh, my God. It was pre video and digital stuff where people now sit there and watch, you know, the video feedback. He would just kind of look and think and just trust his camera operators that they had gotten to be there. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

But I'll tell you, for me, one of the greatest things about Jimmy was he was like a conductor.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like he only. He directed through his ear.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

I did a. Unfortunately, the series was the only series that he did the pilot for that didn't go, but I don't hold any grudges. And about used car salesmen. But he would stop. Hold it. He would stop you as you were revving up to the joke because he knew you were gonna miss it.

[A]

That's. Yes. And also he would. The setup, perhaps to the joke was incorrect. So he knew the joke wouldn't work. He'd go, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. In case you were about to say it, he would overdo it. He also laughed.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And at first it was like, oh, come on. That's. I don't quite believe that during rehearsal, you're finding us that funny. But what he was also doing was saying, this is where the laugh will be to get Used to a laugh so you don't plow through it.

[B]

I never knew that. I remember that laugh. You can hear it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So lucky.

[B]

How brilliant was that? But his father, Abe. Oh, my God. One of the greatest Broadway creators, directors, writers of all time, Bob Newhart.

[A]

You were on his show. Did I see or No, I was. Yeah. There's another God.

[B]

I had his albums.

[A]

Yes, yes. Oh, my God.

[B]

I had his albums. And then I was on the set with him. Couldn't believe it.

[A]

My introduction to television, because I didn't have one growing up. I got it at Stanford University freshman year. I got it off the street, put it up, wired it up, turned it on, and Dick Van Dyke was tripping over the ottoman in a rerun. Dick Van Dyke was my. I don't know, hero. Sounds stupid, but I.

[B]

His physical comediness, his timing with Mary. Oh, my God.

[A]

All of it was just. And I got to do this podcast with him. Mary and I went out to his house and talked to him. I got to talk with Carol Burnett and become friends with Carol Burnett. I love. The thing that I love most about have any kind of statue, stature, license in this business is I go up to anybody I want and tell them how much I appreciate.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

It's so wonderful to be able to do that.

[B]

I never. I met Carol Burnett. She came to Emerson College and gave money for an acting scholarship. And she said she liked my last name. That was it. That was my entire. But I got to direct Tim Conway.

[A]

Oh, really? On her show, you mean? No, no, no.

[B]

On a different show. Clueless.

[A]

Clueless, yeah.

[B]

I directed him in Clueless, and I realized all I had to do was point the camera and shut the fuck up, not say a word. Then I produced a comedy show which unfortunately didn't work. But we took Tim Conway around the country, and he would become like a policeman on the street and stop people because he didn't like their fashion again. We had boxes built where the cameramen were hidden. Oh, my God. What a man. What a man. Robert De Niro. This is one of my favorite stories of all time. Ronnie and I, Ron Howard and I are walking down the street on Paramount and they are making Godfather 2 and they are using the mill, where they make all of the sets for everything, Television and movies for Paramount. And we're walking by the mill and Bobby De Niro is leaning up against the wall. I said, we gotta say hello. Ronnie said, are you sure? I said, I promise we're not gonna disturb him. I said, I don't Care. We went up And I said, Mr. De Niro, Ron Howard. And he grunts. And I said, I just have to tell you one thing before we leave. The first movie I ever saw in a screening. I was invited to a screening of a movie that wasn't out yet in Hollywood. 1973, Mean Streets. I said, Mr. De Niro, you use the word fuck better than anybody in the entire entertainment industry. And we walked away. Forty years later, he does the intern. He is in the back. I'm invited to the intern with my wife because the director, Nancy, is a friend of ours. I walk up to Bob, Bob, calling him Bob. I walk up to His Majesty. He is wearing an Irish cap. He's leaning against the wall. And I said, I'm so sorry. I have to do what every person does to me. I need to take a selfie with you. I'm holding. He said, all right. I'm holding up the camera. And he said, you said. I used the word fuck better than anybody in the industry. I dropped and smashed my camera. That is my. And my dream is to do a scene with him. Forget about doing the movie with him. To do a scene with him.

[A]

Yes. My God, yes. Mary was lucky enough to do it. Of course you can. I think you can look at his films. You could see, I think. And Mary and I talk about it where he. He did heavy, heavy duty, you know, dinero. And then he had a little nibble of funny and it was like, oh, maybe I want to spend my life more often being funny. And then funny stuff. And he started just doing all this funny stuff. I have no idea if that's true, but. Midnight Run, one of the most perfect films ever made.

[B]

I just used it as an example. I'm with you 100%. I mean, that was amazing.

[A]

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[B]

Okay.

[A]

When did that start?

[B]

It started a pivot.

[A]

A pivot.

[B]

I did a Broadway play during the Middle Ages. That was the 2000s.

[A]

Oh, let me interrupt. Sorry. We both have one thing about Broadway in common. I had a one night stand too.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I was in Status Quo Vadis in Broadway. My parents came. It was one of those shows that was directed so well that the rim shots were brilliant and the audience would go, yes. And then it would fade because there was no meat. Right. And they go, why are we laughing? And we got killed by Clive Barnes.

[B]

Clive Barnes?

[A]

Yeah. And I went in to the to do, said goodbye to my parents who'd flown from Arizona, put them, you know, in a taxi, and I went to the backstage and I walked in to my job and this doorman said, whoa, whoa, bub, where you going? And I went, I'm. I work here anyway. Not anymore you don't. But you had one of those before your other victory.

[B]

Two of them.

[A]

Oh, really?

[B]

I had two of them. And in between, I had the Dinner Party by Neil Simon and with the great John Ritter, who was a good, good friend, and I adored him with every fiber of my peace. And we flew back on the plane together. We had finished nine months of being on Broadway. I enjoyed every performance. Get back to California. Cannot get hired, cannot get hired. It's like personal Persona non grata. I call a friend, Alan Berger, who is a manager at Mike Ovitz's management company, the art on the wall was a museum. I said, alan, I'm having a problem. I can't get hired. He said, write books for children about your dyslexia. I said, well, I can't do it.

[A]

Wow. Out of the blue.

[B]

Out of the blue. He said, I can't do that. I'm dyslexic. I can't write a book. I haven't read a book. He said, I'll introduce you to Lynn Oliver. She knows everything about children's literature

[A]

as a writer or as a.

[B]

She started with her partner, the Society of Children's Book Writers and illustrators. There are 40,000 members worldwide.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And she has written many, many, many, many, many books. I meet her for lunch at Gower Gulch, Sunset and Gower. It's where Republic Studios was, and that's where the cowboys would have lunch. The fish was horrible. The meeting was great. We hatched Hank Zipser, the world's greatest underachiever. Hank is me. I call the head of the book agency in icm. Her name is Esther Newberg. She has done every power hitter. She has done every book. Hi, Esther. Henry Winkler. I know who you are. I'm with the agency. I know that you. I've written a proposal. I don't do children's books. I said, I understand, but there's always that first time. Esther, don't do children's books. Would you just take a look at the proposal? All right, send it to me. She sent it to five publishers. Three said, no. 1 said, maybe. And one said, you know what? He's a celebrity. We'll give you a contract for four books. And Lyn and I sat in her office from 2003 and wrote. And we are now coming out with our 41st children's book.

[A]

Yeah, that's truly amazing.

[B]

And now with our 41st book. The last four have been another series about a duck detective. Duck. She lives on a pond. She's also an environmentalist. This little duckling who dreams about being a detective. Her best friend is Sal the Salamander, who said, you know what? You could do anything you want. You really can. I've got yellow spots, but you could do anything you want. And he's also very jealous because one of the books is about going to the other pond on the other side of the mountain, and they're having spring games. You can't say Olympics. They're having spring games. All of the insects and creatures. And we're invited, and we go. And there's a mallard who is very handsome. Green head, beautiful Plume. And our little duckling is drawn. And Sal says, excuse me, I am her best friend. Why is she spending so much time with him? And Sal has to get it and find it in himself to save the mallard, who gets stuck in plastic. You know those six holders for cans?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The mallard gets stuck in the end. The salamander. When very few people know this, when they want to get. Secrete a kind of gelatinous goo that helps the mallard squeeze out of the plasma.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Let me go back to dyslexia. We're going back to dyslexia.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Huge. How I feel. It's probably not necessarily right, but this has to be one of the best reasons for you to be as famous as you are is to put those books out into the world and address this to people who didn't know. Yeah.

[B]

Didn't know at the time that I was only writing what I knew.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I didn't know that. One out of five kids has something that is going on in their wiring having nothing to do with them. Not their fault.

[A]

Makes them feel. Less than. Makes them feel dumb. Makes them feel.

[B]

And they're not left out.

[A]

No. I mean, name some of the 1 people who are so. Didn't somebody tell me, like Einstein or Einstein.

[B]

Tom Cruise.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Cher.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Henry Winkler.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, yeah. He's got a bad. Yeah, he told me.

[A]

Yeah. My Mary's sister Nancy, who's a teacher, and I can't. Is it Barton? There's a. A system of teaching kids to get through dyslexia and help them read. It's called the Barton Barton.

[B]

Yeah, There are several. So it could very well be Barton.

[A]

But this is addressable now. I mean, people focus on it.

[B]

You can learn how to negotiate your learning challenge. There are schools across this country that deal only with children who learn differently. And I.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I just had one of the moments of my life. My dream was to have any kind of meal with Mel Brooks.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

I never. I shook his hand once. Two weeks ago, I got a call from Mel Brooks because he heard I wanted to chat with him, and he thanked me because his grandson went to Century park east, which is a. A wonderful school for children who learn differently. And I read my books when his grandson was there. What a circle.

[A]

Wow. Talk about comedic lineage.

[B]

Oh, my God. Lord didn't have the courage to say, do you want to have a tuna sandwich together? I was just so excited that I was talking to him.

[A]

And Bancroft.

[B]

And Bancroft.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Okay. There was a big. I made a Big mistake.

[A]

Oh, you hit on her once.

[B]

No, I didn't hit on her.

[A]

All right, all right. It was worse. Worse.

[B]

She was doing a play at the Mark Taper Forum, which is part of the theater in la, part of the Music center downtown. I went to see it. I went. She was in it. I went backstage and I sought. I don't know why I thought this. I literally lost my mind. I thought I should tell the truth. And I said to this woman, when she said, how'd you like it? I said, you were great. The play, not so much. The play might have been a little long. And the look on her face was, I never want to see you again in my entire life.

[A]

It's famous amongst actors, that moment backstage. Cause you have just worked your ass off for two and a half, three hours. Worked your ass off performing for an audience. And then you'll have friends come back and go, oh, man. Well, you did it again. Where should we go for dinner?

[B]

And it's just like, they never say, how did you do? Oh, my God. I learned a big lesson.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I shut my mouth.

[A]

I will sit there sometimes. Maybe I shouldn't be saying this as

[B]

an actor or as a.

[A]

As an actor watching a play. And it's just really is at least minimum, not my cup of tea.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

But it's a friend up there.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Or just somebody that is famous, that I know because we're famous. We're gonna have to go back because they do know who's in the audience.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

So you go back.

[B]

I do enjoy that.

[A]

Me, too. Okay, so I will find something and finally go, yes. There's a moment that knocked my socks off. I will find the thing that knocks my socks off. So I can be.

[B]

I'm with you. I know what it is to search for the right word.

[A]

Yeah. And you know what? You should. You should search for the right word because it is a noble thing to stand up in front. God bless you for even telling that story.

[B]

Oh, my God. It was. You know what? I have forgotten that I was so out of line.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I was insane.

[A]

Okay. What are some of the favorite things you've done that make use of your baggage? I always. You know, I. I am forever. Oh, this is Ted. He's really a nice guy. He's really sweet, and he'll make you laugh when you hear that I'm in something. The kind of America will go, oh, yeah, that's sweet. I like him. He's nice and he's funny. And then you get hired by somebody who's doing a show like Damages or Fargo where they make use of your baggage, which is nice guy, to flip it on its ear because the nice guy can get away with more. And the audience will still struggle because it's Henry just happened. Tell me. Bob Odenkirk, a friend, amazing actor, called

[B]

me up and invited me to Winnipeg. Very flat, very cold, not bad food. To be in a movie called Normal. And I start off using my baggage.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it flips on my head.

[A]

Wonderful.

[B]

Yeah. But exactly. Exactly that.

[A]

Which is smart because when you have as much baggage as I shouldn't put myself in the same. Because the font is just huge. But I have that same kind of baggage. But it's smart because you can't all of a sudden go, henry Winkler is starring as Adolf Hitler.

[B]

You can't make a mistake in the beginning. Yeah, I made a big mistake. I played a Vietnam War veteran with Sally Field. And the audience was not ready to see. They thought, oh, the Fonz. I'm going to go see the fonts. Then I did a wrestler in. Can I just. Can I drop a name?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Jimmy Kimmel's favorite movie. The One and only.

[A]

Yeah, the one and only.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He has a poster in his office.

[A]

It actually was wonderful. It didn't do well as what you did do well.

[B]

Ed Begley was in it. Ed. Yeah, Ed.

[A]

The walk, The Walk. Environmentalist. The hardware walk.

[B]

The Walk. The funniest. So we're in Hawaii together. He has his girlfriend at the time, Annette Bening, with him. And we go to dinner and he said, let me pay. And he takes out his credit card and he slaps it on the table. It was the TWA Airlines points card that the waitress said, we don't take. And he went, you don't. Oh, I'm so sorry.

[A]

Did you read his book? No. It's magnificent. Because there's no reason he should be alive today after all of the drugs and alcohol he did.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

In the late 60s, early 70s.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But he knew the world.

[B]

I never knew that. All I know is every time I see him, it is like we have seen each other 10 minutes ago.

[A]

Yeah. He is. He is one of my beloveds. I really, really respect him and love him. And an extraordinary environmentalist.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Where. How do we get off on Ed? Fuck Ed. How do we get back?

[B]

Because it's a conversation.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Which I lose track of nowadays.

[B]

Not me.

[A]

No. You're sharp as attack, by the way. I am. How about names?

[B]

Thank you. Names. Not good.

[A]

Yeah. Nor I. But I never was.

[B]

What about this? You know that movie we just saw? Them.

[A]

We just saw, you know, starring. What's his name?

[B]

And it. It's. And it had the. You know him. You know him.

[A]

Mary Knight. Mary and I, we love doing. We're tied to the waist. We just, you know, we're. Whatever. And we love each other's company and so we do everything together. So we do. In the morning, we sit in bed with our coffee and do wordle connections. What?

[B]

Who makes the coffee?

[A]

I do.

[B]

You?

[A]

It's my job.

[B]

Get out.

[A]

Oh, I. Get out.

[B]

How does she like it?

[A]

She likes it with oat milk. It changes.

[B]

Oh, it doesn't taste the same than before then. No, I use heavy cream. Yeah, I tried oat milk.

[A]

Yeah, go ahead. So I think she says her stomach rumbles, so we don't.

[B]

My stomach is normally. Right this second.

[A]

Sorry.

[B]

How do you like it?

[A]

Black.

[B]

Black.

[A]

I like the easy slam punch. Yeah. But we sit there and we do all the New York Times games, spelling bee and all that stuff. But we do it together.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

We never compete against each other.

[B]

No, no, no. Right.

[A]

And it's also together. We're a pretty good brain.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Together.

[B]

I'm with you.

[A]

And as you're sitting there talking in a conversation with friends or something, the other person is watching the. The person who's talking not superconsciously, but knows when they're about to search for a name. And because you're not under pressure, you can come up with a name.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So you just feel.

[B]

We're like, can I. Can I live in your house?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Yes. I need a person.

[A]

Yes. Memories that I. I miss watching Max and Charlie play sports.

[B]

Soccer.

[A]

Soccer.

[B]

Fraser Park.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Having just rained.

[A]

Yeah. Their.

[B]

Their cleats are. It's up to their ankles and they're running, trying to kick that ball.

[A]

Henry, I've never told you this. The second time I met Mary, while we are still married to other people, was at a barbecue. Birthday party in your backyard.

[B]

In my backyard, yes.

[A]

And we were. I was sitting on a little grassy knoll and she and Malcolm came by and I was sitting with my then wife Casey, and they walked. She walked by and said something about like your work. It was one of those little.

[B]

Yeah, right.

[A]

But every moment I met Mary before we actually made a film together.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Fell in love is like a vivid snapshot. But you were part of that montage.

[B]

That's amazing. I love that story. My wife is. Her middle name is Abundance. And so we would have a barbecue in the backyard but not a normal barbecue. She would have two 18 wheelers come from.

[A]

Yes, yes.

[B]

They would bring a half a cow. They would barbecue and they would have tequila with little cups. They would have hay and we would have accoutrement. And so I would have a barbecue that was half my salary.

[A]

Brilliant. And I remember it vividly. But let's stick on the word abundance. Yes, Mary, yes. Because every once I've learned. I have learned so much. Thank God.

[B]

But what have you learned in this case?

[A]

In this case, I would. My mind used to plan for what is the worst that could happen. Yeah, I can be broke. All right. I can live that. I can live with that. And then I would climb my way up. But she would always. She would turn to me and say, why are you always planning on penury? Why aren't you planning on abundance? First off, look where we are. Which is abundant, you know, and it's.

[B]

We. Yeah.

[A]

I actually bought an expensive piece of art and it's a famous kind of. I don't remember who did it, but black and white in New York and there's a police barricade sign and on the other side are these two people kissing spontaneously in New York City. And that was my gift to her, saying I will never, ever cross over that line into penury again. And I catch myself, you know, don't do that.

[B]

Yeah. You know where I am on the other side of that line? I'm in penury. I don't even know what it means, but that's where I am.

[A]

No, no, you're not.

[B]

I think about.

[A]

It's the opposite all the time. Really.

[B]

Every minute of my life. I have written down all of the places that I'm going to earn a living in the next six months.

[A]

But that's abundance.

[B]

That is not abundance because it's coming

[A]

from the fear of.

[B]

Of penury.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I am always penure.

[A]

Henry Winkler. I think I was nervous to talk to you. Perhaps I have used you unfairly, which is a horrible thing to do to anybody to compare myself to. And that's a rotten thing to do. Comparisons are odious. So I always sometimes come up short in my comparison. I have had the best time talking to you. You were so generous and this was effortless and fun. My old friend, who has given me so many memories over time. Thank you.

[B]

But you know what I thought coming here. I'm just going to go with the conversation. I know it's going to be great. And look at us.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It bears repeating. Other human beings in our age group have given up, are done, are not called, and we keep moving ever forward. That is an amazement.

[A]

Do you think it's penury to go knock on wood?

[B]

I don't think it is because I've just done it, but under the desk.

[A]

Henry Winkler everyone. Henry, thank you so much for spending time with me. That's it for this week. Special thanks to Team Coco. If you've enjoyed this episode, send it to a loved one rate and review on Apple Podcasts. If you have a mind once again, you can watch our full length video [e-mail] coco See you next time. Everybody knows your name.

[B]

You've been listening to where everybody knows your name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson Sometimes. The show is produced by me, Nick Leal, our executive producer. Producers are Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and myself. Sarah Fedorovich is our supervising producer. Engineering and mixing by Joanna Samuel with support from Eduardo Perez, research by Alyssa Grohl, talent booking by Paula Davis and Jimmy Bautista.

[A]

Our theme music is by Woody Harrelson,

[B]

Anthony Yen, Mary Steenbergen and John.

[A]

Hey.

[B]

This is Will Arnett, host of Smartless. Smartless is a podcast with myself and Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman where each week one of us reveals a mystery guest to the other two. We dive deep with guests that you love like Bill Hader, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Aniston, David Beckham, Kristen Stewart and tons more. So join us for a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge. To find feed the Smartless mind, listen to Smartless now on the SiriusXM app. Download it today. Traditional home security only alerts you after a break in. And that's too late. SimpliSafe is changing that.

[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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