When Travolta Auditioned to Play Fonzie.
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 20 июн 2021
- Can you imagine John Travolta as not only the Fonz, but a blonde Fonzie? Find out in this episode how it could have happened!
#johntravolta #happydays #welcomebackkotter #fonzie #thefonz #themonkees #mickydolenz
Jumpin Boogie Woogie by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Artist: audionautix.com/ 
Развлечения
Micky Dolenz would have been wayyyyyyyy too silly as "Fonz".
In 1974, a movie came out called The Lords of Flatbush, about a group of biker friends in a neighborhood of NYC. Both Winkler and some guy named Stallone were in it. Shortly after that, Happy Days began.
Further, once Winkler became a star, he had the connections to put a little screenplay that Stallone had written before some producers. Something called, what was it? Oh yes - ROCKY. IIRC, one of the networks became interested but insisted on casting the character of Rocky with an established star. Stallone insisted that he pay the role himself, said no and found a different way to finance it. Big pet peeve - when people refer to Rocky as Rocky One.
HENRY will never know how many nerds like me looked up to him,he was true super hero
Only during the first 2 seasons before they made him into some superhero.
@@wacobob56dad In the beginning of season 1 he didn't even wear the leather jacket. He was this mellow low-key biker dude passing along pearls of wisdom to Richie. He was kind of the Yoda of the show in the early days.
I use to love Love American Style !!!!
Me too, back in the day!
I remember the episode they mentioned here.
Great show on Friday night!!!!!
Sorry, I used to hate Love American Style, because I was much to young to understand it, so it was a boring talking show to me... I remember quickly changing the channel whenever it came on.
I love the theme song.
What does Fonzie feed his horse? Haaaaaaay
🤣😂🤪
Hey Fonzie.....let's hear you sing your ABCs. "Aaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy."
No thanks I just had a bail of straw
What does Fonzie do with his horse? Sit on it!
😄
John Travolta would have been good, too, but I can't imagine that now that Henry Winkler played him. John was great as Vinnie Barbarinno and Danny Zucko in Grease. ♥️♥️ Henry is an amazing actor! He made Fonzie! 👍👍
Yeah, it really worked out the way things went for everybody involved although it must have been disappointing for Travolta to have lost that part.
Absolutely Tracie. I also think he was avoiding typecasting. I think before Happy Days, he was in Lords of Flatbush with Sly Stallone, which was a Fonzie-look role.
Henry also helped Sly get Rocky made. It's too bad Sly doesn't own the rights to the Rocky franchise.
Travolta would have learned to ride the motorcycle. Not trailered like winkler.
I like Henry Winkler, but he would have been awful as Danny Zuko.
He was Fonzie
Micky Dolenz as the Fonz, I can’t picture it
Believe it or not he did try out for the part! I couldn’t picture it either. He was kind of wimpy on The Monkees!
Only for the monkees he could have been a has been Gerry Mathers Jay North to name a few
I never could either, until I saw him in that Adam-12 episode. Then I saw how it could have played out.
Same with Travolta as Forrest Gump.
I can he was actually a decent actor. He played as a child circus boy, was on Peyton Place & several other tv shows. But IMHO Henry Winkler, Dolenz or Travolta could never pull off a real tough guy biker. Wrinkler was maybe 5'5" tall with a wimpy body type. At least Travolta 6'2" & Dolenz 6' were taller. Hard to say who would have been a good fit that could look tough & have a comedic quality also back then. Thinking Keanu Reeves would have been perfect but he was way to young when the series was made. Maybe a Sam Elliot would have been interesting if he could pull off the comedic part. But could diffanatly pulled off the tough guy & biker part.
Looking back, all these years later, I totally could not imagine anyone else playing the part except Henry Winkler👍
That’s cause you been conditioned to accept winkler.
Me either! He is Fonzy to me. Always will be :)
i could see John Travolta playing the Fonz. It'd be his own, and he'd probably be a hybrid between Danny Zuko and Tony Manero.
I literally did not know that. Thanks for this information. Hard to believe happy days made its debut 50 years ago.
I know, time flies the older you get!
it's weird because Winkler was the best for the role as the Fonz, but he wouldn't have fit as Danny Zuko on Grease, Likewise, Travolta wouldn't have fit as the Fonz, but fit as Zuko in Grease.
Surprised Dolenz didn't get more roles. He was a talent that would only get much better with increased acting variety. If nothing else, he needed a better agent.
Metal Micky :)
Can you ride a motorbike? "Hell no. I'm scared shitless of bikes" Great, you got the part.
It's called "acting"
Henry Winkler doesn't play the Fonz. The Fonz plays Henry Winkler.
😅😅 👍👍
@@Mortthemoose And they both play the fool. And maybe the piano as well, who knows.
It took me a minute
Henry Winkler was a cast member of The Lords Of Flatbush, a film about a 1950's greaser gang. That really showed how perfect Winkler could pull off the Fonzie character.
Winkler says he based his Fonzie portrayal on Stallone's Stan character in The Lords Of Flatbush. I saw The Lords Of Flatbush at a drive-in in 1974. It's a really good movie. Winkler's Butchie Weinstein character was more of a joker, but you can definitely see that he had the right look for Fonzie. He was a better fit for Fonzie than Mickey Dolenz, who was the first choice, would have been.
that was a good movie and Sylvester Stallone was also in that movie as one of the gang members!!!
@@kencoakley3959 So true! I'm a Mickey Dolenz fan but that would have been some casting shenanigans. Winkler had the whole Sicilian machismo thing down pat that created the Fonzie cool factor. I was a 4th or 5th grader at the time and I had a Fonzie leather jacket with a lining covered in Fonzie's thumbs-up gesture. My mom threw it out!
Oh yeah! I remember seeing ads for it on TV. It had a really catchy song "The Lords of Flatbush is a movie....(Doe-Doe-DEE-D0E), about how life was in the 50s(Doe-Dee-Doe-Doe. We don't mean to boast, but you will dig it the most (Do-wop style of course! It also starred a young Sylvester Stallone.
@@toddholmes4480 lol. I remember the ending chorus of that jingle "The Lord's of Flatbush..Flatbush..Flatbuuuuuush..."
After seeing Henry Winkler I can't imagine anyone playing the Fonz!
I hear you there. I liked Winkler as Fonzie. But if there ever was someone else to play Fonzie, I think Sylvester Stallone could of pulled it off. Obviously Stallone would of been more believable being a bigger guy as well as italian. I always thought Fonzarelli sounded italian. But Winkler did pretty good as the Fonz.
Agreed. The show was MASSIVE worldwide and I can't imagine it could have been bigger or as big with any other actor.
That wouldve been interesting. I loved John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino!
Me too!
Nah. He’d have left early and it wouldn’t be the classic it is.
@@Chalwa It still would have been interesting.
Sure, those of us who are kids of the '70s loved WBK. But try watching it now. It is literally unwatchable, but so are most shows from the '70s and '80s.
Having Mickey Dolenz as the Fonz, would’ve been like having Gary Busey play brother Chuck.
The original episode of Love, American Style was titled Love and the Television Set. It was renamed Love and the Happy Days once it went into syndication. I just found this out yesterday!
I grew up watching Happy Days and thinking how Cool The Fonz was. Watching it now he’s so small and short! I can’t imagine him winning any Rumbles lol.
One of my favorite shows my idols were the fonz and Elvis
The worlds just not the same if John Travolta plays Fonzie and Fonzie plays Danny in Grease. Great video!!
I agree!
That was the original way it went before the Mandela Effect. LOL!
i remember Love American Style 💕 loved the theme music 👍
They need to bring back Love American Style. I used to walk past Paramount Studios on my way to Jr. High in the 70's and we could see the A from the Arnolds set location from over the wall of the studio. I have a feeling Travolta's Fonzie would be the same as his Vinnie.
Nobody tops Henry Winkler in this role❤
Coincidentally H. Winkler played an unrelated street thug in a movie with S. Stallone. The Lord's Of Flatbush.
I always found that interesting. Winkler has said he patterned Fonzi on Stallone's voice and character in the film.
Butchie
Indeed! And the Slyer looked PEC-tacular!!
Perry King was one of the Lords as well.
I can't imagine the Fonz played by Travolta Henry Winkler added a lot of traits off his character to play Fonzie.
Mickey Dolenz too tall for Happy Days, there is another thing that I did not know.
If he was too tall for Happy Days? Using that logic, he’s way too tall be standing next to Davy Jones.
@@MikeCee7 I think it worked because davy was supposed to be a cute, lovable little munchkin.
@@LuckyFlesh ha ha
HENRY was and is still is the fonze,forever
Actually, Travolta went back to his Kotter role occasionally AFTER 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Grease'.
Henry Winkler is a genuinely good person! Met him in person.
I've heard that.
As are you.
Henry wrinkler was the Best fonz ever he did a great job
In his new autobiography, Henry Winkler explains that he mostly turned down the role of Danny in the movie “Grease” because he didn’t want to be further typecast as a 1950s greaser.
He was so good in Grease!
Gary Marshal wanted actors to put their own personal ad libs to their roles. Winkler in front of the mirror and Robin sitting upside down for example.
all I got to say about Travolta as the Fonz... is... "Naaaayyyy!"
🤣😂🤣
Sometimes it pays to be short. 😂
Blonde hair? With the character’s name being Arthur Fonzerelli (who I presume was supposed to be an Italian-American greaser? Why would they want that character to have blonde hair?
I know. The people in Hollywood are insane sometimes.
Have you never heard of northern Italy?
Henry was the perfect pick as Fonzie.
Travolta's first on screen TV role, a trauma victim on EMERGENCY
Did he get depart?
Yep I saw that episode I don't know how many people know that
Mickey Dolenz, was too tall for Happy Days? Using that logic, he’s way too tall be standing next to Davy Jones.
to be fair anyone was way too tall to be standing next to Davy Jones.
Love American Style put out a lot of shows.
Yes, it was a uniquely popular show back in the day.
@TonyBoyOhBoy I was really young but definately remember them on Saturday nights , I think.
Travolta didn't have the force to back up the Fonzi's cool that Winkler did.
People are saying, "I can't see Micky Dolenz as Fonzie because of his character on The Monkees." For all that Mick, Michael Nesmith, and David Jones more or less played themselves on that show (not so much Peter Tork), it WAS an acting role. Garry Marshall obviously saw something in Micky that would have been perfect for the part. If not for the aforementioned height issue, folks would instead be saying, "I can't imagine anyone BUT Micky Dolenz playing The Fonz!"
I can imagine John Travolta as Fonzie and I can imagine Henry Winkler saying "Up your nose with a rubber hose" but i cannot imagine Winkler as Danny Zuko or as a Tony Manero type character. Winkler might have done a good job in Pulp Fiction though although now that I think about it, Uma Thurman is tall and would have towered over him during the dance scene. I think everything worked out for the best for Winkler and Travolta. They both have iconic careers.
Everything worked out for us and for John. Winkler didn't have a career other than Fonz.
I love the rare comment streams that are as sweet as the ones here.
Winkler was hilarious in The Dinner Party on Broadway. He couldn't move or speak without making me laugh. At dinner, before the show, a couple sat at the table next to me. They were in a rush and I overheard them oohing when me steak arrived. I was ready with a little slice for them, and they were surprised and chatted with me. They were Gary Sinese's parents Bob and Millie from Idaho, just landed from a flight to see him in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest across the street.
Great story, thanks for sharing it!
What year was this that this happenned. I studied ONe Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in HIght School in the 1970's. My English Teacher who really loved the book thought the Movie was OK, but he thought the Play was really great. He really liked William Devane (the Non-Nazi Villain in Marathon Movie and he did a lot of other Movies and TV Series as well) when he played RPM
What was the Dinner Party about? I am not familiar with that play
Any point to the name dropping given the context.
@@randolphkersey5155
Why do you care?! They’re telling their story about that night, if you don’t like it, downvote it and move along.
It was initially called "Love and the Television Set," on Love, American Style, and its original title was: "New Family in Town."
I use to watch Happy Days mid 80s, before school. It was on about 7:30am 🥶. All my mates wanted to be like Fonzy! 😂😅 -
Travolta became a TV star anyway. When Saturday Night Fever was being filmed the filming locations were inundated with thousands of screaming girls.
Even when SNF was a mega hit, Travolta stayed on Welcome Back, Kotter.
Didn’t know he stayed. Wow.
Great video. Thank you
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Thank you for this great channel!
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks so much for letting me know!
The picture of Travolta and Winkler now shows how little Travolta has aged!!!
It's just like Bo and Luke Duke no one can be them. I believe certain people are born for the role they play.
Fonzie Barbarino
Theres only 1 fonz and thats henry!! And noone could say AYYYYYY as gd cool as him
Great video . Travolta grew up in wehawkin NJ.
Michael Lambreck from One Day at a Time auditioned for the part of The Fonz and, he didn't get the role, but he was about 5'8 or 5'9".
Interesting! I had to look him up - I think he actually resembles Winkler!
Johnny T was FIRE 🔥 in the Band-Aid commersh!
Missing the part was the best career move ever💪🏻
I'm soooo confuuused!
Henry,Winkler was the Fonz
Oh my goodness I love Mickey! Had no idea he was up for the part, but nobody in this world could have played Fonzie as well as Henry.
Regardless of who could of been ….Happy Days was a great show ….like 99 % of the TV shows …they wouldn’t of have worked so well with a different cast ….same as Gillian’s Island …..Hogans Heroes….Miami Vice….The Musters ….etc …..still great info ….so much I didn’t know ….❤
it's simply too hard to imagine anybody but henry winkler in the fonz role now but i can definitely see travolta doing it. Dolenz - NO WAY.
Travolta definitely had the looks to play Fonzie, and in the real world a tough guy greaser that has everyone scared like Fonzie would likely have been tall like Travolta. I also think Travolta could have grown into playing a controlled and smooth cool guy instead of the goofball cool guy he was known as later. Henry Winkler had some real acting chops though, I believe he studied at Yale, and despite being short, he exuded that small street punk cool guy confidence and charm. It was the way Winkler carried himself as Fonzie that sold it. I do think Travolta could have worked, but he would have been the same age as the younger cast, and you needed someone older than the others like Winkler to play "big brother".
Great post. I agree with everything you said. Winkler wasn't anything like "The Fonz" in real life, so his transformation is a testament to his acting skills. And I think Travolta could have done the role, but Winkler was perfect, especially like you mentioned it was better that he was a little older.
👍 👍 “Heyyyyyyy”!
Good video thanks.
Thanks!
Interesting. Both are great actors.
Travolta was a right cheesey Gimp, no way for the Fonzie character
"What? Where?" -Vinnie Barbarino.
Amazing!
Thanks!
What is for you, is for you
The Love American Style segment was actually the failed pilot. ABC didn't want to waste it so they snuck it in Love American Style. That led to Ron Howard being cast in American Grafitti. which ironically led to Happy Days being green lit.
makes sense, because it doesn't really fit the theme of LAS..
Well there ya go 👍😎
Nah...it would have completely offset the universal balance of things! haha!! 😂 eeeyyyyy! 👍👍
Since Mickey Dolenz was 6' tall and was turned down, at 6' 2" Travolta never had a shot at the part
henry winkler stand up guy by all accounts.
I loved Henry Winkler as Fonzie but I always thought he was to short . Especially playing such a tough guy,
Well liking girls would have been a prerequisite for being the Fonz. 😂 So no John wouldn't work.
Wow, if Mickey was the Fonz, it would have changed my perception of him completely! I did not understand or notice Fonzie much... his attitude and concerns were alien to me, but Mickey was fun, and funny, and I loved the Monkees TV show. We didn't have cable as a kid, but my friend did, so I got to watch some of the episodes at her house.
didn't know Mickey is so tall. the last Monkee,
Surprised me too!
@@TonyBoyOhBoy he is the last Monkee. a world without the monkees. don't like that thought
Ooh I loved Adam 12, and Mickey Dolenz. god I'm old😅. tiger beat magazine covers. When did they die? Thanks for the walk down memory lane. 😊
It makes sense because of the similarity with Grease where he'd been doing that on stage
I always thought if a movie were made about Joe Namath in the mid-70s or '80s, John Travolta would have been PERFECT. Now, I would go with Aaron Rodgers for the role of Broadway Joe.
I've actually heard Travolta mention that he thought he looked like Namath. Travolta said he was the QB on his school team and he'd pretend he was Namath. www.azquotes.com/quote/296566
@@TonyBoyOhBoy Great pull ! Never knew Travolta felt that way.
I enjoyed that! I see that I am already Subscribed.
I like Michael Cohen. He always reminds me of The Fonze
"Yo, I got chills, they're multiplyin'. And the Fonz hates multiplication, whoa."
I just saw a clip of Jeff Conaway (Kenickie) on Happy Days. I did not remember him showing up on there.
Funny, I just saw one recently also. He was playing a thug in a gang who was hassling Richie.
Yeah he played the Johnny Frankie's mate who wanted to fight Richie and Fonzie showed Richie how to act tough to combat Frankie love Anthony Fed ex lol
Best thing that happened to John Travolta was not getting locked into Happy Days.
Hank winkla in real life s such a nerd!!
Travolta would been great, maybe fronzie's older brother
John Travolta would have made a great Fonzie, can't see anyone other than Henry Winkler now though
Henry Winkler also was afraid of being type casted after his roles in Happy Days and Lords of Flatbush...
I remember that. I was surprised when he did "Heroes" after he hit it big with Happy Days.I had expected him to come out with some kind of tough guy action film.
True but since Winkler isn't actually a tall Italian guy the odds were much lower than Travolta being typecast that way.
But can’t throw his voice into tough guy like Henry did- Henry disappears in the role!
@@tonypastor705 He really did.
Butchie Weinstein 👍
bob ross would have been the best fonz
Lol!
I use to get off the bus go out in the barn and clean up cow shit put new hay down and then on into the house to watch welcome back Cottet with Vinny Boberino and happy days with the fonz Ayyyy 😊 i miss them programs but i don't miss cleaning up cow shit 😂
So John Trovota wanted to be Fonzie? Hmm.
I like Travolta or Dolenz as Fonzie.
Wow they could have been each other's role in Grease and Fonzi?! That is insane
And when I was a kid I thought I was the biggest Monkees fan in the world, I wonder how I would have felt with Mickey as the Fonze?
It would have felt strange! I watched them every Saturday morning. I think it would have been hard to see Mickey as anything but a Monkee, but other actors have overcome typecasting, but it's not easy!
@@TonyBoyOhBoy :)))))) Yes true. Nothing but love to Mickey and RIP to the other Monkees.
Did you know Henry Wrinkler's "The Fonz" didn't know how to ride a motorcycle? He tried it one time on set and wrecked the bike and the set then he never tried to ride again. All the scenes of him on a motorcycle is either sitting on it as if he just pulled in somewhere or when you did see him riding it... it was actually tied to a cable and pulled by a car to shoot the scene.
That doesn’t make sense, that a motorcycle being pulled by a car with a cable. If that’s the case, you still need to know how to balance & ride a motorcycle. Unless a motorcycle had training wheels.
@@MikeCee7 I don't know but that's what Henry Winkler said during an interview. I was thinking the same thing
@@warbaby1975 after watching this video, right underneath it was another video about about the Fonz, and the bike scenes. and it shows (I don’t know if it’s all the bike scenes) that Henry Winkler was on a bike. A lot of them is a stunt double, but there’s definitely scenes where he’s riding by himself (not going fast of course) The very first segment in that video, Fonzie is riding the bike out of the driveway onto the street. I can’t put the link Here because some YT creators, don’t let you put a link to another video inside their videos.
He said he crashed the set once and something about riding it on a hill once, he was afraid because he is dyslexic and couldn't coordinate gas, shifting and clutch.
i think it would be cool if he got to play fonzie,,,,,,😄😺
Not buying the "Mickey Dolenz was too tall for the Fonz" argument. Ron Howard, Anson Williams, and Donny Most were all listed at between 5-9 and 5-10. Winker is about 5-6 to 5-7. Seems like having a taller Fonz would have been better than having a shorter Fonz, considering the Fonz was supposed to be a tough guy.
According to Wikipedia, Mickey Dolenz auditioned for the Fonzie character. I can’t find anything about Travolta auditioning.
geektyrant.com/news/john-travolta-auditioned-for-the-role-of-arthur-fonzie-fonzarelli-in-happy-days-and-heres-the-story