View source for Fonzie

{{short description|Sitcom character}}
{{Distinguish|Fonsi (disambiguation){{!}}Fonsi|Fonzi (disambiguation){{!}}Fonzi|Fonzy|Fonzie (band)|Fozzie}}
{{Redirect|Fonz}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Fonzie
| image = Henry Winkler Fonzie 1977.JPG
| caption = Winkler as Fonzie in 1977
| first = "[[List of Happy Days episodes|All the Way]]" (1974)
| last = “Ron Howard’s Call To Action” (2008)
| occupation = Mechanic, co-owner of Arnold's Drive-In, high school teacher
| family = {{Plainlist|
* Vito Fonzarelli (father, deceased)
* Angela Fonzarelli (mother)
* Arthur 'Artie' Fonzarelli (half-brother)
}}
| relatives = {{Plainlist|
* Grandma Nussbaum (grandmother)
* Louisa Delvecchio (aunt)
* [[Happy Days#Minor/recurring|Spike Fonzarelli]] (nephew)
* [[Chachi Arcola]] (cousin)
}}
| children = Danny Corrigan Jr. (adoptive son)
| portrayer = [[Henry Winkler]]
| alias = "Fonzie"<br />"The Fonz"
| affiliation = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| nationality = American
}}

'''Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli''', better known as "'''Fonzie'''" or "'''The Fonz'''", is a fictional character played by [[Henry Winkler]] in the American sitcom ''[[Happy Days]]'' (1974–1984). He was originally a secondary character, but was soon positioned as a lead character when he began [[List of breakout characters|surpassing the other characters in popularity]]. The Fonzie character was so popular that in the second season producers considered renaming the show to "Fonzie's Happy Days."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-23 |title=Ron Howard |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/ron-howard |access-date=2023-06-27 |website=Television Academy Interviews |language=en}}</ref> Fonzie was seen by many as the epitome of [[Cool (aesthetic)|coolness]] and a [[sex symbol]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Waters|first=Darren|title=Remembering Happy Days|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3542412.stm|work=BBC News|publisher=([[BBC]])|access-date=August 28, 2011|date=August 12, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= From failure to Fonz – actor Winkler aims to inspire|work= Reuters|date=April 27, 2007|url= http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN2440323420070427|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120724142858/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN2440323420070427|url-status= dead|archive-date= July 24, 2012|access-date=August 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Is Uncool Urkel the '90s Answer to the Fonz?|work= The Los Angeles Times|date=January 4, 1991|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-04-ca-7948-story.html|access-date=November 7, 2010|first=Diane|last=Haithman}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Sex Symbol Henry Winkler, aka 'The Fonz,' Admits, "I Was Insecure" Growing Up|url=https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/sex-symbol-henry-winkler-aka-the-fonz-admits-i-was-insecure-growing-up-35737/?preview_token=HyZs1dKSdyTniS1dxNXn|work=Closer Weekly|publisher=(Closer)|access-date=June 11, 2021|date=March 5, 2014}}</ref>

''Happy Days'' producer and writer [[Bob Brunner]] created both Arthur Fonzarelli's "Fonzie" nickname, and the invented put-down, "Sit on it".<ref name=variety>{{cite news |title=Bob Brunner, 'Happy Days' writer, dies |url=https://variety.com/2012/scene/news/bob-brunner-happy-days-writer-dies-1118061908/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=November 8, 2012 |access-date=November 27, 2012}}</ref><ref name=dspy>{{cite news |title=Bob Brunner, 'Happy Days' writer and producer, dies aged 78 |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrity/news/a436565/bob-brunner-happy-days-writer-and-producer-dies-aged-78.html |work=[[Digital Spy]] |date=November 7, 2012 |access-date=November 27, 2012}}</ref><ref name=thr>{{cite news |first=Mike|last=Barnes|title='Happy Days' Writer-Producer Bob Brunner Dies at 78 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bob-brunner-happy-days-jump-the-shark-387593 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=November 7, 2012 |access-date=November 27, 2012}}</ref> The character was a stereotypical [[greaser (subculture)|greaser]] who was frequently seen on his [[motorcycle]], wore a leather jacket, and typified the essence of [[cool (aesthetic)|cool]], in contrast to his circle of friends.

On November 8, 1980, [[Hanna-Barbera]] Productions and [[Paramount Television (original)|Paramount Television]] produced the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[Saturday-morning cartoon|Saturday morning]] ''[[The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang]]'' [[animated series]] during the [[Saturday-morning cartoon|Saturday morning]] schedule on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].

Fonzie is one of only two characters (along with [[Howard Cunningham (Happy Days)|Howard Cunningham]]) to appear in all 255 episodes of the series.

== Character traits and development ==
[[File:Happy Days Fonzie Superstar 1976.JPG|right|thumb|225px|The Fonz becomes a singing superstar. Pictured are [[Cindy Williams]] as Shirley Feeney, Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham, Henry Winkler as Fonzie, and [[Penny Marshall]] as Laverne DeFazio.]]
[[File:Happy days at arnolds 1975.JPG|thumb|right|Potsie ([[Anson Williams]]), Richie (Ron Howard), Fonzie (Henry Winkler) and Ralph Malph ([[Donny Most]]) at Arnold's drive-in]]
[[File:Happy Days Fonzie and Mrs C 1977.JPG|left|thumb|225px|Marion ([[Marion Ross]]) feels life has passed her by; her children are growing up and she feels like she is not needed. Mrs. C turns to Fonzie (Henry Winkler), whose apartment is above the Cunningham's garage, for a sympathetic ear.]]
[[File:Happy Days Arnold's Wedding 1976.jpg|thumb|Arnold's wedding from ''Happy Days''. Arnold, the original owner of Arnold's drive-in ([[Pat Morita]]), asks Fonzie to be his best man at his traditional Japanese wedding ceremony.]]

Arthur Fonzarelli was born to an [[Italian-American]] family. He and his mother were abandoned by his father when Arthur was three, and Arthur holds few memories of him, but deep resentment toward him for the abandonment. In the season 6 episode "Christmas Time", a sailor delivers a Christmas present ostensibly from his father (played by [[Eddie Fontaine]]). Fonzie is resentful, but at the end of the episode he opens his father's letter explaining why he left and reads it. He also learns that the sailor was his father, who admits in the letter that he doubted he would have the courage to reveal the truth to his son. Fonzie only relents when [[Howard Cunningham (Happy Days)|Howard Cunningham]] agrees with Fonzie that his father was irresponsible and in the wrong. In a later episode, Fonzie unexpectedly meets a woman he believes is his mother in a diner. She convinces him she is not, but in the end, she looks at a picture of Fonzie she had in her possession. In the final season, Fonzie meets his half-brother 'Arte' Fonzarelli, who informs him that their father has by then died. Fonzie has mixed emotions upon hearing this, as this left so many questions about his past unanswered, but Fonzie bonded with Arte, who helped him cope.

Grandma Nussbaum appears to have been a primary caregiver to Fonzie since the age of six. When he (instead of Grandma Nussbaum) moves into the Cunninghams' [[garage apartment]]—a plot development that helped precipitate his increased presence in the series—he turns his old apartment over to his grandmother. Grandma Nussbaum (and she alone) calls Fonzie "Skippy". She is also the grandmother of Fonzie's cousin [[Chachi Arcola]] (played by [[Scott Baio]]).

Fonzie's devotion to her foreshadows his ongoing devotion to mother figures throughout the show, particularly to Marion Cunningham, whom Fonzie affectionately calls "Mrs. C."  Though at first looked down on and mistrusted (a result of his past and being a high school dropout), he eventually became accepted by the Cunninghams (his friend Richie's family), even more so after he rented an attic room over their garage. Even Richie's father, Howard ("Mr. C." to Fonzie and the most resistant to him living with them), a pillar of the community, came to regard Fonzie with affection and said "Ayyyy" when Fonzie moved into the garage. 

Fonzie shares a very close relationship with his younger cousin Chachi, and his nephew Spike. Fonzie was able to be the older brother figure that Chachi needed in his life. In having Chachi come to live and work with him, Fonzie grows too, becoming an overall better, more responsible and caring person. Fonzie serves as Chachi's best man when he marries Joanie. In the long shot at the end of Chachi and Joanie's wedding, Fonzie is the first person who comes to congratulate his younger cousin. He and Chachi embrace for several seconds. They share another hug at the end of Mr. C's toast. These are just a couple examples of Fonzie and Chachi's relationship. The last couple of seasons show how close Fonzie and Chachi really grew to be.

Fonzie also encourages Spike to follow his dreams, regardless of how they may be perceived by others.  Spike confesses to Fonzie his ambitions to own a "flower store", but is reluctant to make it known out of fear that it will ruin his self-perceived image of cool.  Using himself as an example, Fonzie tells Spike to not let others dictate his path in life, to follow his own instincts and take responsibility for his own happiness.

== Civic involvement ==
Fonzie was involved in community projects. He endorses Republican [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]'s 1956 presidential campaign. At a rally Fonzie declares, "Ayyy, he won the war, didn't he!?" and "I like Ike! My bike likes Ike! Ayyy..." Eisenhower carried Wisconsin with 62% of the vote, easily defeating [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] (supported by Richie Cunningham's more-researched speech). In [[1956 United States presidential election|that election]], Eisenhower got 457 electoral votes to 73 for Stevenson.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sitcomsonline.com/season2.html |title=Happy Days: Season 2 episode guide |publisher=Sitcomsonline.com |date=January 3, 1958 |access-date=March 30, 2012}}</ref>

Fonzie becomes involved with other issues. Highlighting actor [[Henry Winkler]]'s off-camera work, several episodes dealt with civil rights of people with disabilities. Concerned that students with [[epilepsy]] were denied their chance to attend public school and play sports, he intervenes to resolve the issue; he also learns [[sign language]] to communicate with a woman working at the municipal power company. And he pushes Chachi to continue working with his disability when Chachi himself just wants to quit because things will be hard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sitcomsonline.com/season11.html|title = Happy Days: Season 11 episode guide}}</ref> Such advocacy builds on the previous season's episode where Fonzie hired wheelchair-using Don King to work in his garage, promising to provide workplace accommodation for his employee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sitcomsonline.com/season8.html |title=Happy Days: Season 8 episode guide |publisher=Sitcomsonline.com |access-date=March 30, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sitcomsonline.com/season7.html |title=Happy Days: Season 7 episode guide |publisher=Sitcomsonline.com |access-date=March 30, 2012}}</ref>

Concerned about equal opportunity, Fonz wants Milwaukee racially integrated. Personally friends with African Americans, he becomes upset when a party in which Richie welcomes Hawaii into the Union is boycotted because it will be racially integrated. Initially wanting to force people to attend, Fonzie learns from Howard that people cannot be forced to change their minds overnight.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sitcomsonline.com/season3.html |title=Happy Days: Season 3 episode guide |publisher=Sitcomsonline.com |access-date=March 30, 2012}}</ref> In a later episode, Fonzie volunteers to go [[Southern United States|south]] with Al and a group of [[Freedom Riders]] to help integrate a segregated diner. Normally flirtatious with women, Fonzie is instead disgusted that the waitress does not serve black customers. At one point he tells her that he cannot date her because of her compliance with the diner policy.<ref name="sitcomsonline.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.sitcomsonline.com/season9.html |title=Happy Days: Season 9 episode guide |publisher=Sitcomsonline.com |access-date=March 30, 2012}}</ref> Another episode that dealt with racial issues was where Fonzie was a juror in a trial of a black biker accused of robbery. The episode dealt with circumstantial evidence and [[jury nullification]]. Mr. Cunningham, who was on the same jury, went to bat for Fonzie, saying all jurors are permitted to present arguments and he took it very seriously about taking a man's freedom away, which he refused to do without proof of guilt. The episode was based on ''[[Twelve Angry Men]]''. Fonzie was able to get the black biker acquitted, explaining that his English-made [[Triumph Motorcycles Ltd|Triumph]] Grand Mark 2 had its accelerators on the left handlebar. The robber had snatched the purse of the woman with his left hand. Therefore, there is no way that the black biker could have sped off on his bike if the purse was in his left hand.

Fonzie also becomes involved with the Big Brother (later known a Big Brothers, Big Sisters) program.  After spending some time with his "Little Brother" Danny, Fonzie decides to adopt him.  While Fonzie is by this time a respected and responsible pillar of the community, the adoption process hits a snag when the adoption agency denies his application due to his marital status.  Devastated, Fonzie's first instincts are to take Danny and run, but then realizes that doing so would only prove the agency right.  He reluctantly returns Danny to the agency.  On the day of Joanie and Chachi's wedding, the agency surprises Fonzie by returning Danny to him, introducing Danny as his "son", with Danny calling the joyous Fonzie "Dad" for the first time.

== Production and legacy ==
[[File:1976 campaign button d.JPG|thumb|A campaign button for [[Gerald Ford]]'s [[1976 United States presidential election|1976 presidential campaign]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fordlibrarymuseum.tumblr.com/post/152294379072/election-collection-goes-pop-culture-today-what|title=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum • Election Collection goes Pop Culture today! What...|website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum}}</ref>]]

[[Micky Dolenz]] auditioned and was in the running to portray the Fonz,<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/micky-dolenz-interview-monkees-tour-dolenz-sings-nesmith-1170752/|title=Micky Dolenz on the Monkees' Farewell Tour, New LP 'Dolenz Sings Nesmith'|first1=Andy|last1=Greene|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=May 19, 2021}}</ref> whom the show creators envisioned as blonde Hollywood idol type. The part ultimately went to [[Henry Winkler]] who pitched a different vision. In the first season Fonz usually appeared in a green [[windbreaker]] jacket rather than the black leather jacket that the writers wanted, which ABC producers saw as suggestive of criminality. The writers negotiated an exception for scenes where Fonz appeared with his motorcycle, then proceeded to feature the motorcycle in all of his scenes, even indoors, until ABC relented.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/happy-days-heres-why-the-fonz-was-almost-never-seen-without-his-motorcycle-in-the-first-season.html/|title='Happy Days': Here's Why The Fonz Was Almost Never Seen Without His Motorcycle in the First Season|first=Laura|last=Dorwart |date=January 17, 2021}}</ref>

Winkler received three [[Primetime Emmy]] nominations and two [[Golden Globe]] awards for his portrayal of Fonzie. In addition, the [[National Museum of American History]], [[Smithsonian Institution]] asked him to donate one of Fonzie's leather jackets in 1980.<ref name=donates>{{cite web
|url=https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_8645
|title=Henry Winkler Donates his Jacket, NMHT
|access-date=2021-08-31
|last=
|first=
|date=
|publisher= [[National Museum of American History]], [[Smithsonian Institution]]
}}</ref><ref name=smithmag>{{cite web
|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/happy-days-fonz-jumped-the-shark-180964399/
|title=Why 'Happy Days' — and the Fonz — Never Truly 'Jumped the Shark'
|access-date=2021-09-10
|last=MacGregor
|first=Jeff
|date=September 2017
|work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]
}}</ref><ref name=exhibit>{{cite news
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/02/14/exhibit-a-a-a-a-y-the-fonz/d23c4b03-4277-48e7-968c-f24f3931cb4c/
|title=Exhibit A-a-a-a-y: 'The Fonz'
|access-date=2021-08-31
|last=Bumiller
|first=Elizabeth
|date=1980-02-14
|newspaper= [[The Washington Post]] 
}}</ref> The Smithsonian curator Eric Jentsch added the following to the jacket description: "Fonzie was a representation of cool at a time when you were learning about what cool was."<ref name=smithmag/> Years later, [[NPR]] would make a similar assessment, stating that for "kids growing up in the 1970s, there was one, absolute model of cool — not [[James Dean]] or [[Marlon Brando]], but The Fonz."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/11/26/142723714/actor-henry-winkler-plays-not-my-job|title=Actor Henry Winkler Plays Not My Job|website=[[NPR]] }}</ref>  In 1999 ''[[TV Guide]]'' ranked Fonzie as number 4 on its 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time list.<ref>{{cite book|title=TV Guide Guide to TV|year=2004|publisher=Barnes and Noble|isbn=0-7607-5634-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760756348/page/651 651]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760756348/page/651}}</ref> In a 2001 poll conducted by [[Channel 4]] in the UK, the Fonz was ranked 13th on their list of the [[100 Greatest (TV series)|100 Greatest TV Characters]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531160558/http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/tv_characters/results.html |archive-date=31 May 2009 |title=100 Greatest TV Characters |access-date=26 May 2019 |publisher=[[Channel 4]]}}</ref> A few decades later, American artist Gerald P. Sawyer, unveiled the [[Bronze Fonz]] (a public artwork) on the [[Milwaukee Riverwalk]] in downtown [[Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]], on August 18, 2008.<ref name=jsonline>{{cite news|title=The Fonz in bronze? Group hopes that's correctamundo, wants to put statue downtown|newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|date=September 26, 2007|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/29447164.html|access-date=December 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012192021/http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/29447164.html|archive-date=October 12, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 2021, when asked which books influenced him in childhood, American journalist [[Anderson Cooper]] (who is also dyslexic) responded that, "I also loved the Fonz and read a book when I was around 8 called ''The Fonz: The Henry Winkler Story''. I actually keep it in my office at CNN. Henry Winkler was very important to me when I was a child. Meeting him as an adult — and discovering what a kind and gracious person he is — was amazing."<ref name=wishes>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/16/books/review/anderson-cooper-by-the-book-interview.html
|title=Anderson Cooper Wishes His Parents and Truman Capote Could Reconcile Over Dinner
|access-date=2021-09-17
|last=Clark
|first=Rebecca
|date=2021-09-16
|work=[[The New York Times]]
}}</ref>

Winkler feared being [[Typecasting|typecast]] as a greaser after playing Fonzie (and for his previous role as a greaser in ''[[The Lords of Flatbush]]'' before ''Happy Days''); to avoid this, he turned down the role of Danny Zuko in [[Grease (film)|''Grease'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/henry-winkler-interview-french-dispatch-turning-down-snl-grease-1639341|title=Henry Winkler on 'Barry,' 'The French Dispatch' and some of his missed career chances|website=[[Newsweek]]|date=October 15, 2021}}</ref> He nonetheless had difficulty finding work in the 1980s after ''Happy Days'' ended because of his association with the Fonzie role; he would work mainly behind the camera in the 1980s, most notably as the Executive Producer of the popular adventure TV series, ''[[MacGyver (1985 TV series)|MacGyver]]'', and eventually begin getting other roles in the 1990s, prompting a career rejuvenation.<ref name=ruminating>{{cite web
|url=https://oldgoats.substack.com/p/ruminating-with-henry-winkler
|title=Ruminating with Henry Winkler
|access-date=September 26, 2021
|last=Alter
|first=Jonathon
|date=June 24, 2021
|publisher=OldGoats.com
|archive-date=September 27, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927023310/https://oldgoats.substack.com/p/ruminating-with-henry-winkler
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

=== In popular culture ===
*"The Fonz Dance" ([[Happy Days season 4#Episode|''Happy Days,'' Season 4, Episode 8]]) refers to Winkler improvising a version of the [[Hora (dance)#Jewish hora|hora]] as Richie's band plays the song [[Hava Nagila]].<ref name=dance>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/henry-winkler-kicks-off-his-tonight-show-interview-with-the-fonz-dance/3902989
|title=Tonight Show: Henry Winkler Kicks Off His Tonight Show Interview with "The Fonz" Dance
|access-date=2021-09-18
|last=
|first=
|date=2018
|publisher=NBC
}}</ref><ref name=dance2>{{cite web
|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/henry-winkler-fonzie-dance-tonight-show_n_5c5ad4b4e4b0871047596797
|title=Henry Winkler Busts Out Strenuous Fonzie Dance On 'Tonight Show
|access-date=2021-09-18
|last=Dicker
|first=Ron
|date=2019-02-06
|publisher=Huffington Post
}}</ref> Years later in 2018, Winkler performed a version of the dance as a guest on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon]]''.<ref name=dance/><ref name=dance2/>
*In season 5 of the sitcom ''[[Friends]]'', the doctor who delivers Phoebe's triplets is a fan of Fonzie, which annoys her.
*In the 1994 film ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'' the character Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) calms would-be robber "Honey Bunny" (Amanda Plummer) by instructing her to "Be like Fonzie" ("That's right, we're all gonna be cool!")
*2019 it was reported that [[Dominic Cummings]], [[Special advisers (UK government)|special political adviser]] to [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Boris Johnson]], paraphrased Jules by telling [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MPs to "be cool like Fonzies" as political pressure built to request an extension to the date of [[Brexit negotiations in 2019#August 2019|the UK's withdrawal from the European Union]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.indy100.com/article/dominic-cummings-pulp-fiction-cool-like-fonzies-boris-johnson-brexit-9095526|title=Dominic Cummings: Boris Johnson's adviser 'quoted Pulp Fiction' by telling aides they need to be 'cool like Fonzies'|last=Duncan|first=Conrad|date=September 8, 2019|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=September 9, 2019}}</ref>
*In the 2015 sci-fi film [[The Martian (film)|''The Martian'']], the character Mark Watney poses as the Fonz for his first official "proof of life" picture.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Martian-5-Cool-Little-References-Movie-Works-86397.html|last=Eisenberg|first=Eric|date=October 5, 2015|title=The Martian: 5 Cool Little References The Movie Works In |work=Cinema Blend|access-date=October 20, 2020}}</ref>
*[[Jon Hein]] developed the phrase "[[jumping the shark]]" in response to [[Happy Days season 5|Season Five, Episode 3, "Hollywood: Part 3"]] of the sitcom ''[[Happy Days]]'', in which Fonzie jumps over a shark while on water-skis.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Few Pixels Short of a Personality | first=Ann | last=Hornaday |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date= July 25, 2003 |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2003/07/25/AR2005033117626_pf.html |access-date=April 12, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Joanne |last1=Hollows |first2=Rachel |last2=Moseley |title=Feminism in Popular Culture |year=2006 |publisher=Berg Publishers |isbn=1845202236}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Paul |last=McFedries |title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weird Word Origins |year=2008 |publisher=Alpha Books |isbn=978-1592577811}}</ref>
*Fonzie had the ability of hitting electrical equipment to make it work, and this became known as the ''Fonzarelli Fix'', a term that is still in use today.<ref name="touch">{{cite web |url=http://www.resourcenation.com/blog/how-to-fonzie-your-online-marketing-jukebox/32372/ |title=How To "Fonzie" Your Online Marketing Jukebox |last=Krautstrunk |first=Matt |publisher=[[Resource Nation]] |date=May 17, 2011 |access-date=August 6, 2011}}</ref>
*A [[garage apartment]] is sometimes called a Fonzie flat.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fonzie Flat|url=http://slll.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/andc/WOTM%20JAN%202013.pdf|work=[[Australian Oxford Dictionary]]|access-date=February 19, 2019}}</ref>
*The 2016 single "[[Lemon (N.E.R.D. and Rihanna song)|Lemon]]" by [[N.E.R.D.]] featuring [[Rihanna]], has the line in Rihanna's verse, "Waiting for my thumb like The Fonz" as a reference to Fonzie's trademark thumbs up.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://genius.com/12969798 | title=Just waitin' for my thumb like the Fonz }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Wikiquote}}

*''[[Bronze Fonz]]''
*[[Fonzie (band)]] – Punk rock band from Portugal
*[[Fonz (video game)|''Fonz'' (video game)]]
*[[List of breakout characters]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Henry Winkler}}
{{Happy Days}}

[[Category:Fictional characters from Milwaukee]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1974]]
[[Category:Fictional mechanics]]
[[Category:Happy Days characters]]
[[Category:Fictional Republicans (United States)]]
[[Category:Fictional gang members]]
[[Category:Teenage characters in television]]
[[Category:American male characters in sitcoms]]
[[Category:Fictional American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Greasers (subculture)]]