Happy Days

At the height of the show's popularity, a call came through to Paramount Studios, from a teen-aged boy who was contemplating suicide, and "wanted to talk to Fonzie". Henry Winkler took the call, and gave the boy a pep-talk about life, convincing him to give it another chance.

Both Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith of The Monkees auditioned for the role of Fonzie. However, both were considerably taller than the other main cast members and the producers decided that the Fonzie character should be more at an eye level with his peers. A search for a shorter actor resulted in Henry Winkler's hiring.

After the show became successful, Garry Marshall was approached and asked if the show could do anything that would help convince kids to read. In one episode, the Fonz realized that he would go to the library and check out a book, despite his reputation. (Said the Fonz, "Everybody is allowed to read.") That week, registration for library cards went up 500 percent.