Happy Daysbrought us joy, happiness, and some of our favorite stars. One of those stars isHenry Winkler. The actor played Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, aka The Fonz or Fonzie, on the series. And while he is close friends with his co-starRon Howardand became a legend due to the series,the role almost went to someone else.Micky DolenzfromThe Monkeesrecently spoke with PEOPLE and said that he was originally up for the role of The Fonz prior to Winkler taking on the character.
It wasn’t rare back then for rock stars to play roles on sitcoms. Dolenz and his fellow bandmates had been onThe Brady Bunch,especially sinceMarcia Brady had a crushon the lead singer,Davy Jones. The band also ended up being inThe Brady Bunch Moviebecause of how they’d pop up on the series. But Dolenz came from an acting family and said that after the success The Monkees found, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to get acting roles. “I knew I wouldn’t get an acting gig [after The Monkees],” he said. “I grew up in a showbiz family and heardthe term ‘typecasting’ before I could walk. My dad was an actor and got typecast as a swashbuckling romantic lead in sword-fighting movies.” Dolenz spoke about his show,Circus Boy, and how even after that, it is what he was connected to. “AfterCircus Boy, I went to a few auditions as a 12-year-old, and the minute I walked in, they’d say, ‘Circus Boy!’ That’s just typical in this business. I knew it was par for the course.”
Dolenz said that, while some people then labeled him as only a member of The Monkees – “‘What are you doing here? We don’t need any drummers!'” – he almost got one role: Fonzie. “I almost got it,” he said. “Supposedly it was between me and Henry [Winkler]. He remembers it too. The story I heard is thathe was in the waiting room, saw me come in, and thought, ‘Oh s—, I’ll never get this – Micky Dolenz is here!’ So we laugh about it now.He’s a good friend and a brilliant talent.”
Does Micky Dolenz Have Regrets About Not Getting Fonzie?
Since losing out on the role,Dolenz has had an impressive acting and directing career,sometimes playing himself in things. But when asked about losing the role to Winkler,Dolenz praised his friend.“Oh my God, he’s just so good. I was definitely not as good as he was. Come on –hewasThe Fonz!He had that New York, New Jersey thing down. I’m from Southern California. It wasn’t gonna happen!”
You can see Winkler shine as Fonzie onHappy Days.
Happy Days
Source:PEOPLE
