Ayyyy! Fonzie and Richie Cunningham are back!
Nostalgia is the theme of the 2024 Emmys at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre, and television’s most famous night — hosted by “Schitt’s Creek” and real-life father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy — saw Ron Howard and Henry Winkler reminisce about their 1974 sitcom “Happy Days” in honor of the show’s 50th anniversary.
Howard, 70, and Winkler, 78, took fans back in time by reuniting on the recreated set of the series' famous Arnold's Drive-In and chatting around the jukebox just as their characters did five decades ago.
Winker did not dress like The Fonz. He opted for a black tuxedo and silver tie instead of the leather jacket that became so famous that Acquired by the Smithsonian Institution.
Howard wore a black tux and matching bow tie for this iconic reunion.
Winkler began the program by paying tribute to his co-star, “Jim Henson,” for winning the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special award.
Winkler and Howard then began joking about their appearance at the Emmy Awards ceremony, quipping the TV Academy that there was “no music” or “theme song” when they took the stage.
“Candice Bergen's got a theme song,” Howard joked, referring to the “Murphy Brown” actress' appearance at tonight's awards show. “Of course she'll get one,” a visibly annoyed Winkler responded.
That's when Winkler imitated Fonzie as his iconic theme song played on the jukebox.
“Happy Days” is based on the Milwaukee-based Cunningham family — including father Howard (Tom Bosley), mother Marion (Marion Ross), son Richie (Howard) and daughter Joanie (Erin Moran) — and takes place in the 1950s and 1960s.
Richie's friend group — Potsie (Anson Williams) and Ralph (Don Most) — were also highlighted, but the standout star was Winkler's character, Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli.
“Fonzie” was the leather-jacket-wearing bad boy of the town who, having dropped out of high school, loved to fix cars, ride motorcycles and date girls. Winkler had notable one-liners and sayings – such as his catchphrase, “Ayyy!” – that stood the test of time.
The show premiered on ABC on January 15, 1974. It ran for 11 seasons before ending on July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes.
“Happy Days” earned 9 Emmy nominations and won an award for Outstanding Film Editing in a Comedy Series in 1978.
Sadly, Bosley and Moran have passed away.
Bosley was battling lung cancer when he died in 2010 at the age of 83. After his role in “Happy Days,” he starred in several projects including “Murder, She Wrote,” “Joanie Loves Chachi” and “The Back-Up Plan” with Jennifer Lopez.
His TV daughter, Moran, died in 2017 at the age of 56 Ross (aka Mama Cunningham) will pass away on Oct. 25 at the age of 96 due to complications from cancer.
Tonight isn’t the first time there’s a “Happy Days” reunion.
Three decades after the show ended, the cast reunited in 2004 on the restored set of the iconic Arnold's Drive-In for the “Happy Days 30th Anniversary Reunion.” The two-hour ABC special aired on February 3, 2005.
In February, Howard supported Winkler at an event for his memoir 'Being Henry: The Fonz…And Beyond' in Sydney, Australia after he found out they were both in Australia.
“When I reached out to Henry, I found out he was going to be here in support of his amazing best-selling memoir #BeingHenry: The Fonz…And Beyond. Amazing! We connected backstage and I got to see him give a great speech in front of a huge crowd. What a blast!” he wrote, a smiling selfie of two.
Winkler reposted the photo on X (formerly Twitter) and added, “LIFE! As the world turns @RealRonHoward came to my book festival in Sydney Australia. So exciting for everyone!!!!”
Television Academy chairman Cris Abrego and president and CEO Maury McIntyre promised Sunday's 76th Emmy Awards ceremony would be a nostalgic experience, and they did!
The Emmys 2024 red carpet was filled with former TV icons, including Meredith Baxter (“Family Ties”,Zach Braff (“Scrubs”), Don Johnson (“Miami Vice”), Dick Van Dyke and others.
“The response to January was incredible, and we felt people really connected with the nostalgia,” said Dionne Harmon, who executive produces for Jesse Collins Entertainment along with Collins and Jenna Ruzan-Clay. told Variety Before the show.
“So, we wanted to figure out a way to bring that same nostalgia to the shows on Sundays without doing exactly the same thing. We really focused on the television shows that everybody loved in January and on Sundays, we're going to focus on characters, different characters from all kinds of shows.”
This is the second ceremony this year, as the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards was postponed due to the writers and actors strike and was held in January.
