Henry Winkler reveals “Happy Days” guest star he couldn't go 'toe to toe' with: 'Stay out of his way'
- - Henry Winkler reveals “Happy Days” guest star he couldn't go 'toe to toe' with: 'Stay out of his way'
Daysia TolentinoDecember 26, 2025 at 6:30 PM
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Gene Trindl/TV Guide/ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Henry Winkler as Fonzie on 'Happy Days'
Even the Fonz knows that Robin Williams had a je ne sais quoi he couldn't compete with.
Henry Winkler recalled Williams' audition for Mork the Orkan on Happy Days. He shared that the Good Will Hunting actor seemed "unassuming" on first sight. Once the comedian got a script in his hand, Winkler saw the magic in the then up-and-coming Williams.
"All I thought about was, 'Know your lines so you don't have to do it over and over again and stay out of his way because you will never stand toe-to-toe with this Mount Vesuvius of an imagination,'" Winkler said during a Fan Expo San Francisco panel, which was captured by It's Rec Time Media on TikTok.
Courtesy Everett Collection
Robin Williams as Mork in 'Mork & Mindy'
Williams rose to prominence as the quirky, comical alien Mork, first as a guest star on Happy Days and then as the protagonist of its spin-off Mork & Mindy. His show ran for four seasons between 1978 and 1982.
The Barry actor recalled the late comedian's improv skills. He said that Mork & Mindy scripts were half the size of Happy Days ones because writers would leave space for Williams to do his own thing.
"It said, 'Robin will say something here," Winkler recounted.
Courtesy Everett Collection
Penny Marshall, Robin Williams, Henry Winkler on 'Happy Days'
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Williams died by suicide in 2014 at the age of 63. Shortly after his death, Winkler paid tribute to the Dead Poets Society star and his talents in an interview with Today. He similarly remarked on Williams' role as Mork and his colorful imagination.
"This man was from another plane," the Fonzie actor said at the time. "His imagination flew out of him, out of every pore like a torrent."
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
