Whatever the opposite of “jumping the shark” is, this was that.
Henry Winkler, rocking a quality quarantine beard, piped-in to Friday’s virtual episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to do some socially distant schmoozing. It started out with the Happy Days and Barry star complimenting Jimmy Fallon on how he’s been holding down the late night fort, but one’s eye is immediately drawn to the back of the room, where Winkler’s cat and, later, dog are given the freedom to romp and sniff despite their owner appearing on national television.
Prompted by Fallon’s unsubtle “say, I hear you like to keep a little something from a project when you are done shooting” cue, the New York-born graduate of Yale’s drama school happened to have a stack of totemic clothing beside him.
He began with the leather jacket from his first significant role, that of Butchey Weinstein in The Lords of Flatbush. (The 1974 film, which co-stars Sylvester Stallone and Susan Blakely is streaming free to subscribers on Amazon Prime if you’ve never seen it.)
Fallon flipped out, but that’s just a build-up to the next jacket, one worn by Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli for 11 seasons on Happy Days. This glorious embodiment of cool is one of five that exist, the other four “under lock and key” according to Winkler.
He also showed off the jacket he wore opposite Michael Keaton in Night Shift (directed by his Happy Days buddy Ron Howard in 1982), and then told a heartwarming story about a sport coat purchased in 1975, and how that led to him meeting his wife, Stacey. (He asked her out “for a soda,” really blurring the line between Happy Days and life.)
“I’m a hoarder,” the hirsute Winkler joked, before talking about his daughter’s charity work and his tips on avoiding negative thinking. (It involves bundt cake.) Alas, he didn’t show off his whole wardrobe — we didn’t get a close up of this purple number or this gray jacket with southwestern patterns — so we’ll just have to hope Winker’s invited back for a sequel.
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