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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 […]

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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.

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