Do Henry Winkler’s Grandkids Watch Happy Days?

Aaaaay! The Fonz is back when Henry Winkler, 70, embarks on an epic “bucket list” adventure throughout Asia with William Shatner, George Foreman and Terry Bradshaw in the unscripted NBC series Better Late Than Never, premiering August 23.

What was the highlight of the trip?

Meeting an elephant in Thailand. I’m telling you, that elephant looked me in the eye, and I looked at that elephant in the eye, and I started to cry.

What was the grossest thing you ate?

In Korea, after a night of partying, people go to a bar, have a beer and pick their own personal octopus. A woman chops it up and serves it at the very moment it is wiggling on the plate. You’re supposed to then eat it with gusto. I said I wouldn’t, but I did and I can’t believe it.

How did you overcome being typecast as the Fonz from the TV series Happy Days?

My ability and my training as an actor helped me create the Fonz, but once the Fonz was out there, I got typecast. That’s when I became a producer and a director.

Has being dyslexic helped you achieve more?

Yes. For the longest time, I was angry about having to take geometry for years, being yelled at and being humiliated by teachers and people telling me I was stupid. Fighting through that gave me this stick-to-itiveness that I think is essential for life.

Do your grandkids watch Happy Days?

My wife and I babysat our 4-year-old grandson, who is allowed to watch one show before he goes to bed. He has Happy Days on his DVR. He turned to me, he said, “That’s you. Your hair was different. You were skinnier then.”

You have co-authored 31 Hank Zipzer books. Do you love helping dyslexic children this way?

I literally am on a mission to talk to every child on the planet and tell them they’re not defined by their grades or by school. That’s who Hank is. He is resourceful, he is funny, he is a problem solver. He shows them there’s always another way to figure out what you need to do.

You also wrote a book on fly-fishing. Is that still a hobby of yours?

I just got back from fly-fishing with my wife in Idaho. It is one of the greatest things to do. There’s the excitement of watching the fish sink or fly, the sound of the river, the beauty of the river, the baby moose that comes out to look in curiosity at your boat going by. But I put the fish back after I catch them.

Do you have anything next actingwise?

I’m going to England do the fourth series of Hank Zipzer. It’s on the BBC—one of the top 10 of children’s programs there—and I could not sell it in America. It is a funny family comedy, and Hank happens to be dyslexic. Also, [for] next year, I did a great pilot with Bill Hader for HBO and that was picked up.

Why become the spokesperson for a reverse mortgage company?

After five years of being the spokesperson for One Reverse Mortgage, it has come out that it might be one of the most valuable tools for American citizens 62 or older. They’re safer now. I literally met the people at the company I was going to work with. I flew there and looked them in the eye before I said yes. They have kept people in their homes, where before they would have been asked to leave with no place to go.

Any plans to retire?

None! What I understand about living is that without purpose you shrivel. The purpose can be as simple as going to the animal shelter and walking some of the dogs. The reason I bring that up is I just heard a retiree say to me with pride, “Well, it’s not much, but…” And I thought to myself, “But it’s fantastic.” He’s happy, the dog is happy, the shelter is happy, everybody’s happy.