Surprising Stories from the Set of Happy Days

By the time Happy Days hit the air, TV greasers were almost always shown combing their hair nonstop. It was a well-worn cliché — the tough guy obsessing over every strand. Henry Winkler felt that if Fonzie followed that pattern, he’d look like just another hoodlum instead of someone iconic.

So Winkler argued against the constant combing. Then, on the spur of the moment, he flipped the trope. The Fonz would reach for his comb, glance in the mirror… and shrug. No touch-up needed. “Ayyy.” His hair was already perfect. The joke instantly defined Fonzie’s effortless cool.