‘Happy Days’ actors take center stage at Iola Car Show 50 years after beloved sitcom’s debut
IOLA, Wis. (WFRV) – While the classic cars are the main attraction, bringing automobile enthusiasts from around the world, icons from 50 years ago are also attracting plenty of buzz at the Iola Car Show.
“Meeting as many people as we possibly can,” Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie in Happy Days, said. “We love what we do, and we love what we did. We all love Happy Days. It was a great event in our life.”
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He is joined at the car show by fellow Happy Days stars Anson Williams (Potsie) and Donny Most (Ralph Malph) to meet fans, taking pictures and signing autographs.
“The other half of the circle are the people who watch. They don’t watch, we go home,” Winkler said. “Now we get to meet the people who have enjoyed us, and they tell us with such warmth, I think it’s spectacular.”
All three will be at the car show through Saturday. The actors are amazed at how touched the fans have been by the show.
“I was surprised at how many people would come up and say ‘the show got me through such difficult times,” Most said.
Winkler thinks that is because the show is grounded on the theme of the American family.
“We were emotional. We were a family, we still are a family, and it came across,” he said. “It is the very basis of our show. It is America; we’re in America, and we love our country.”
Williams says that the show was a stepping stone for him to shift to focusing on a career mainly in directing.
“I wanted to get behind the camera, but being on Happy Days, and our boss Garry Marshall, was very inspiring in learning other parts of the business,” he said.
Though Williams and Winkler live in Los Angeles and Most live in Colorado, the trio are able to meet up together when they travel.
“I was in Kansas City doing a play for the last three months, and Henry’s been all over the world,” Most said, now focusing mostly on acting in theatre.
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Winkler said that it is incredibly enjoyable to travel to every part of the country to meet fans.
“Sometimes the pie is better. But the fact is we are all one country, and it is an honor to get to be invited to all these places,” he said. “To be backed by other human beings is the essence of living.”
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