Ayyyy, the Fonz is back - and he’s here to stay.
Henry Winkler, whose portrayal of Arthur Fonzarelli on the hit
show "Happy Days" catapulted him to iconic status, will
give his thumbs up approval Tuesday to his life-size statue to be
located downtown.
The dedication ceremony and daylong celebration focuses around
the bronze Fonz statue to be put on Milwaukee’s Riverwalk near
Rock Bottom Brewery, 740 N. Plankinton Ave. Most of Winkler’s
co-stars from the show are expected to be on hand at the dedication
ceremony, as well as the ensuing celebration, parade and event at
Miller Park prior to the Milwaukee Brewers-Houston Astros game.
Dave Fantle, director of public relations for VISIT Milwaukee,
said the media buzz over the event and statue has been loud and
covered worldwide. The event itself will also bring in visitors from
across the nation and even the world, including the president of the
"Happy Days" fan club from Italy, he said.
"It has gotten literally millions of dollars of positive
media exposure," Fantle said. "I’ve received calls from
all over, even including such places as Australia, South Korea, New
Zealand. Fonzie is known worldwide."
Lake Mills artist Gerald Sawyer was commissioned to design the
Fonzie piece, which cost $85,000 in private donations to erect.
Fantle said the statue will have a positive impact on Milwaukee
by offering visitors another reason to go to the downtown area.
Folks walking downtown create a vibrancy as they stop to shop, eat
and check out all Milwaukee has to offer, he said.
"Statues of TV icons are nothing new," said Fantle.
"There is Mary Tyler Moore in Minneapolis, Bob Newhart in
Chicago, Ralph Kramden in New York City. What we know from these is
that they are popular attractions for visitors and locals. They
provide a great photo opportunity. So the return on investment for
the statues is enormous.
"This is not about art, it is about pop culture. If you look
at Milwaukee and look at pop culture, people who are associated with
the city in the vein of TV icons, without much argument, the person
who most quickly comes to mind is Henry Winkler’s character of
Fonzie."
Some have claimed the effort to erect a bronze TV star downtown
is frivolous. Fantle disagreed, saying the media buzz surrounding
the project has given him an avenue to talk about all that Milwaukee
has to offer visitors.
"Fonzie is iconic around the world," Fantle said.
"People say, ‘OK, you are getting into the world’s press
for something that they think is frivolous.’ Well, I would hazard
to guess in Auckland, New Zealand, Milwaukee doesn’t have much
name recognition to begin with. But, when I do 20 minutes on a radio
show there, it’s not on the bronze Fonz. It’s to do what I do -
which is to tell the world or anyone who will listen that Milwaukee
has gone from Brew City to new city."
Fantle pointed out the Fonz and "Happy Days" do have a
strong connection to Milwaukee, that it’s not simply a fictional
premise or characters from a TV show. Thomas L. Miller, co-creator
and producer of "Happy Days," grew up in Milwaukee. He’s
from the north shore area and patterned many of the people and
locations on the show from people and locations in Milwaukee.
"‘Happy Days’ was purposely and lovingly set in
Milwaukee," Fantle said. "For someone who promotes
Milwaukee tourism, we are certainly glad they did that in Milwaukee
instead of another city, for example a Pittsburgh or a Cleveland.
"We should be proud that the show was set in
Milwaukee."
Finally, Fantle said Winkler himself shares a love and connection
with Milwaukee on a personal level.
"In recognizing Henry Winkler, you are also recognizing a
great guy, one of the Hollywood good guys who’s been around and is
very well-respected," Fantle said. "He’s written a
series of best-selling children’s books, he is public with his
lifelong struggle with dyslexia, he is a tireless advocate for
children and is a humanitarian.
"He has said Milwaukee is like his adopted hometown for him.
To recognize Henry and the iconic character of Fonzie is doubly
rewarding."
