Happy Days for You and I?
There’s an episode of Happy Days when Tom Hanks guest-starred as a character who wanted to fight Fonzie. It would seem that life had started to imitate art. Both Tom Hanks and Henry Winkler are known as the nicest guys in Hollywood, but somehow, there would be some bad blood between them that even bewilders Winkler to this day. What happened? Winkler recently revealed that he had originally been tapped to direct the cop comedy, Turner & Hooch. Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was the chairman of Walt Disney Studios around the time of the project, called Winkler up personally to offer him the chance to direct. But the collaboration was never meant to be.
Hooch is crazy
Ok, that sub-headline is a Scrubs quote, but it kind of applies here — maybe more so for Turner in this situation. Winkler recently appeared on In Depth with Graham Bensinger and addressed this situation. When talking with Katzenberg, Winkler says he was more interested in another project, but went ahead with Turner & Hooch anyway. He explained, “Here’s a lesson. When your instinct says, ‘Uh oh! Danger! Warning sign!’ you do not question your tummy. You can question your brain, but never your tummy. I went completely against my tummy, and it hit me in the face with a two-by-four.”
Winkler outlines his involvement in the casting process, saying,
I now meet the puppies, and I meet with Tom, and we auditioned women together, and he settles on Mare Winningham, who’s a very good actress. He has a connection, an electricity with Mare.”
When it came to giving his actors notes, it would somehow evoke some hostility. The Happy Days star expounded,
I guess at that time, being insecure, I talked too much. And I gave them direction — what I thought was my job — and I wanted to do it over again. And apparently, that pissed them off.”
The fallout from that moment would prove to be a big one for Winkler, as he stated,
And in 13 days of filming, I’m called into Jeff Katzenberg’s office. I then go to the set. I get my things. I drive home. I’m fired as a director.”
What happened?
The incident would prove to be too much for Winkler to handle at the time. He explained, “I don’t handle it well. I’m devastated.” His agent would quickly contact him for some damage control, “[He] calls me up immediately, says, ‘We’re going to lunch. You gotta get out there, you gotta be seen.’ I go, ‘Okay.’ I didn’t even have an appetite.”
So, why is there a rift between the two nicest guys in Hollywood? Winkler was asked that question and he said, “I don’t know. Tom, before he was a movie star, was on Happy Days. He was a guest star on Happy Days. And I don’t know.”
Check out this segment of the interview below.
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