The Fonz helped raise $50,000 for a New Jersey Jewish day school.Henry Winkler, who gained fame for playing the character on the 1970s sitcom “Happy Days,” was the guest speaker at the annual fund-raiser for Solomon Schechter Academy of Ocean and Monmouth Counties. His parents escaped Germany during the Holocaust.Winkler told the audience at Congregation B’nai Israel in Rumson, N.J., that the Theodor Herzl quote “If you will it, it is no dream” guided him through life. Winkler said Herzl’s philosophy helped him eventually succeed educationally and as an actor.Winkler had struggled in school and found out at 31 he was dyslexic. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Emerson College and a master’s from the Yale School of Drama.In recent years, Winkler has turned his attention to directing and producing, as well as co-authoring a series of books about a fictional dyslexic fourth-grader.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
