“He could do anything, this man,” said the “Barry” actor of his former costar.

Henry Winkler says Ron Howard was ‘almost vomiting’ when Happy Days made this huge change

"He could do anything, this man," said the "Barry" actor of his former costar.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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June 19, 2026 5:31 p.m. ET

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Henry Winkler and Ron Howard on 'Happy Days'. Credit:

- Henry Winkler recalled *Happy Days* struggling with ratings in its early seasons: "We were not doing well."

- The actor said producer Garry Marshall made a significant change to the show during its third season.

- Winkler said that his costar, Ron Howard, was "almost vomiting" as a result of the change, but "you would never know."

Henry Winkler says one of his *Happy Days* castmates was freaked out after the show made a major change.

The *Barry* star spoke with Ted Danson on his podcast *Where Everybody Knows Your Name*, and reflected on the early era of the sitcom's run on ABC.

"Now, in the beginning, the show was not doing very well," Winkler said of the show's ratings. "There were 100 shows. We were 48th. And in that calculus, we were not doing well."

The sitcom was filmed with a single-camera setup with a laugh track added in post production for its first two seasons. However, producer Garry Marshall decided that the show might fare better if it switched to a three-camera production with a live audience reacting to the performers in real time.

"Garry Marshall had the idea to make the show three-camera," Winkler remembered. "In ’75, in September, we went on the air as a three-camera [show]."

Howard and Winkler in Los Angeles in 2019.

Rachel Luna/Getty

The switch to a live studio audience rattled the show's lead. "Ron Howard never [had] worked in front of the live audience," Winkler said. "[He was] almost vomiting."

However, Winkler said Howard was such a pro that his nerves were completely undetectable in his performance. "Except when you see him, you would never know," he said. "He could do anything, this man."

* *has reached out to a representative for Howard for comment.

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Winkler also told Danson that as *Happy Days* struggled with ratings, he and his costars made major promotional appearances to help bolster the show's audience.

"They sent us out into the world," he explained. "They sent us to different cities to make personal appearances."

One particular promo day stands out in Winkler's memory. "We're in Dallas. We're at Neiman Marcus, the flagship store," he said. "Twenty-five thousand people came to say hello. But they are standing between us and the limo, the car that is going to take us back to the hotel. And the crowd had spilled into the parking lot."

Winkler in New York on April 20.

Overwhelmed by the crowds, Winkler said he used a tactic that he ordinarily avoids to quell the masses. "I have never used the Fonz character off screen," he said, referring to his *Happy Days* character. "I said, 'I will take care of this,' And I just looked at the crowd and I said [in the Fonz's voice], 'All right, listen up: lot of you, four of us. You are now going to part like the Red Sea.'"

Winkler said that the crowd instantly responded by clearing a path in the center for the *Happy Days* stars. "And we started walking," he recalled. "Now somebody said, 'He's so short.'"

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Winkler didn't appreciate that. "I turned to where I thought I heard it and I said, 'F--- you, I'm not short,'" he said, once again in the Fonz's voice. "Then somebody else yelled, 'He's so cool.'"

That was the end of that. "We got in the car and left," Winkler recalled.

You can watch Winkler's full conversation with Danson above.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Comedy”