Widely known as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the sitcom Happy Days (1974–1984), Winkler has distinguished himself as a character actor for roles on stage and screen.

Winkler acted in films such as Heroes (1977), Night Shift (1982), Scream (1996), The Waterboy (1998), Holes (2003), The French Dispatch (2021), and Black Adam (2022).

[10] During his childhood, Winkler and his family spent their summers at Lake Mahopac, New York,[3][11][12] and as a teenager he was a water skiing instructor at Blue Mountain camps.

[13][14][15] When his father grew frustrated with Winkler's focus on acting, he would ask his son why he had brought the business over from Germany to the United States.

[3][19][20][21] His parents were perpetually frustrated by his poor grades,[19][10] referred to him as "dummer Hund" (dumb dog), and repeatedly punished him for his inability to excel in school.

[28] In addition, he also appeared in a number of Yale Repertory Theatre productions while still a student, including, The Government Inspector,[25] The Rhesus Umbrella,[25] Don Juan,[25] Endgame,[25] and The Physicists.

[5][39] After meeting with his agency's west coast branch, and spending five days going to auditions, Winkler was hired for a small part on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, appearing in Season 4, Episode 10, "The Dinner Party".

[39][43][44] During his second week in Los Angeles, Winkler auditioned for the part of Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, better known as "Fonzie" or "The Fonz", on a new show called Happy Days.

[48][49] "The Fonz" was initially written as a minor role[39] and developed as the foil for the central protagonist of the series, Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard).

[39] By the middle of the second season in December 1974, "The Fonz" began his transition as a breakout character when he was featured as the central protagonist in the episode, "Guess Who's Coming to Christmas".

In film, he appeared in Heroes (1977) with Harrison Ford and Sally Field and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.

[54][55] He was also an executive producer for the ABC Afterschool Special: Run, Don't Walk (1981), based on the novel of the same name by Harriet May Savitz, and featuring his Happy Days co-star, Scott Baio.

[41] In 1993, he directed his second theatrical release, Cop and a Half, a film produced by Ron Howard's company, Imagine Entertainment, and starring Burt Reynolds.

[41] In 2000, Winkler was nominated for a Primetime Emmy, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, for his portrayal of Dr. Henry Olson in three episodes of The Practice.

[90] In 2014, Winkler was nominated as part of the cast for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

[92] In addition, there were a number of references to Happy Days, such as in the season three episode "Forget-Me-Now", where Scott Baio joined the cast as the potentially new lawyer Bob Loblaw, stating, "look, this is not the first time I've been brought in to replace Barry Zuckerkorn."

Vulture argues that this statement is "a nod to Happy Days, where [Baio] was brought on as Chachi, to be a new teen idol as Henry Winkler got older".

[94][93] Winkler's career as an author began with the Hank Zipzer series of children's books about the adventures of a dyslexic child, which he co-wrote with Lin Oliver.

[96] Winkler and Oliver's writing process, which involved developing ideas during in-person discussions, drew upon their mutual background in television.

[108] Additional television roles include Dr. Stewart Barnes in Out of Practice (2005–2006),[41] Eddie R. Lawson in Royal Pains (2010–2016),[14] Sy Mittleman in Childrens Hospital (2010–2016),[5][109] Dr. Saperstein in Parks and Recreation (2013–2015),[5][14] the villainous Uncle King Julien in animated series All Hail King Julien and its spinoff season Exiled (2014–2017),[110] and Fritz in the 2021–present animated streaming television series Monsters at Work.

He starred along with William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw, George Foreman, and Jeff Dye, in this adaptation of the South Korean reality series, Grandpas Over Flowers.

[6][121] The journey culminated at the site of a brass memorial plaque, known as a stolperstein, embedded in the pavement in front of the workplace and home of his uncle, Helmut Winkler.

[128][129] Winkler states that during his lifetime, he has worked with "five directing geniuses": Garry Marshall (Happy Days), Adam Sandler, Mitch Hurwitz (Arrested Development), Bill Hader and Alec Berg (Barry).

[60] After portraying Fonzie on Happy Days, Winkler evolved into a character actor,[5] with roles that include the high school principal Arthur Himbry in Scream, Coach Klein in The Waterboy, Barry Zuckerkorn in Arrested Development, Sy Mittleman in Childrens Hospital, Dr. Saperstein in Parks and Recreation, Mr. Rock in the Hank Zipzer BBC series, Eddie R. Lawson in Royal Pains, Fritz in Monsters at Work, Uncle Joe in The French Dispatch, Al Pratt in Black Adam, and Gene Cousineau in Barry.

On May 7, 2020, the Office of the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, posted a video of Winkler on Facebook and Twitter reminding Californians to practice social distancing and to follow stay-at-home orders.

[133][134] During this time, Winkler also offered aid "to SAG-AFTRA artists and their families"[135] through the virtual table read of Season 3, Episode 2 ("The Motorcycle", 1975) of Happy Days.

[135] Winkler met Stacey (formerly Weitzman (née Furstman) in a Beverly Hills clothing store in 1976[19] and they married in 1978[7] in the synagogue where he had his bar mitzvah.

[19][19] His cousin, the late actor and comedian Richard Belzer, starred as John Munch in the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–2013).

"[3][6][121] Winkler continues to remain close with members of the Happy Days cast, telling the Hollywood Reporter in November 2021 that "I loved the people.

He was given the Key to the City of Winnipeg for "contributions to education and literacy" in 2010,[151] was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to children with special educational needs and dyslexia in the UK" by Queen Elizabeth in 2011,[152][153] was named one of the United Kingdom's Top 10 Literacy Heroes in 2013,[154] and was awarded the Bill Rosendahl Public Service Award for Contributions to the Public Good for his children's books in 2019 by the Los Angeles Press Club.