How was Fonzi a Tough Guy? - Happy Days (1974) Discussion

[–] Clintessence 14 years ago

Yeah, but he acted like he was ten feet tall

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[–] stebsmeister 14 years ago

Skinny? The later Fonz could've given Mr C a fair run in the tummy department.

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[–] Clintessence 14 years ago

That was part of the mystique of the Fonz. Everyone backed down to him, because of his reputation. When he taught Richie how to fight, he said his reputation was everything, but at some point in your life, you actually have to hit someone to get a rep. I don't know if they ever showed Fonz actually hitting anyone.

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[–] Wardfan1 14 years ago

Um... yes he did hit someone in the last season but in a way it was understandable.

But he hit someone that you wouldn't have expected... it was really an accident whoaaaaaa!!

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[–] Samclyde2 14 years ago

Actually, you don't have to be huge to be a bad a$$, just be a good fighter.

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[–] worc508 14 years ago

Fonz had a fierce rep. When you have a fierce rep like the Fonz you don't need to demonstrate it. It takes on a life of its own.

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[–] Reggie67 14 years ago

Chuck Norris isn't a big guy, but would you mess with him? Hell no. He could be 100 years old and still be a bad mudda.

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[–] Louisifer 14 years ago

Two words.....leather jacket.

Try not to take life too seriously, no one gets out alive.

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[–] mangalone 13 years ago

It's not the size of the dog in a fight,
but it's the size of the fight in the dog !!

(don't know if already posted by someone)

Also, (and this is a little besides the point).. but here's a good example:

Just watch some MMA/UFC fights and you'll find all kinds of weight categories in there, same as boxing.

The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

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[–] willjohn 13 years ago

Why was Jimmy Cagney a tough guy? He made Henry Winkler look like a football player.

Menace.

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[–] happipuppi13 13 years ago

Great answers you've al given.

Some guys may appear short 7 skinny or even look weak but you "tick 'em off" bad enough,they'll take down giants.

Since I watched this show as a kid,there was no bigger hero to me than Fonzie was at that time. Not just because he could be tough & get girls but that he treated others in the same way that they treated him.

It was so great that he he could show that,one didn't always "have to" hit someone to prove their manhood and one should only fight when all other courses of action have failed.

Those weekly
"moral of the story" endings? I actually took those to heart.

happipuppi13 *arf,man!*!

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[–] joe_538 11 years ago

Charles Bronson: 5'8 and in his sixties when he made a lot of his action movies.

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[–] jefgg 11 years ago

Charles Bronson was much more muscular than Henry Winkler.

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[–] Joe_Free_Market 10 years ago

Henry Winkle was skinny like JJ Evans. Dynomite!

"Never answer a question with a question" -Proverbs 12:3

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[–] brabbeldas83 11 years ago

Fonzie made the show for me. I think he was the first character in a show that really impressed me. As a kid I totally believed he was cool, and I can only give Winkler credit for that.

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[–] Maverikk 14 years ago

It's a testament to a great actor. How did somebody so small and (in real life) mild mannered and meek convince the world that he was the toughest, coolest, and biggest ladies' man the world had ever seen?

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[–] stones78 13 years ago

Fonzie threw some dude named Rico over a bar in an episode about Joanie dating a sailor.

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[–] rycki1138 13 years ago

Fonzie threw some dude named Rico over a bar

I always thought it was Tony who sailed across the bar and Rico was wearing the diamond.

(knock,knock,knock) Penny (knock,knock,knock) Penny (knock,knock,knock) Penny

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[–] Randy-144 8 years ago

I always thought it was Tony who sailed across the bar and Rico was wearing the diamond.

I wonder how many people made the connection with the Barry Manilow song?

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[–] rycki1138 8 years ago

Tony sailing across the bar and Rico wearing the diamond didn't actually happen in the Happy Days episode. In the episode it was Rico who was thrown across the bar by Fonzie as stated by the other poster. I was just making a joke referencing Copacabana.

Though, there were a few punches that flew and the chairs were smashed in two. 

So far in the 4 1/2 year since I posted it you are the only one who got the joke.

I don't know what they have to say. It makes no difference anyway. Whatever it is, I'm against it.

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[–] movie_fan59 13 years ago

Henry Winkler is 5'6" and was only truly "skinny" in the first few seasons.

Tom Cruise, who has played more than one tough guy on screen is only an inch taller. Bruce Lee, 1.5 inches taller than Winkler. Toughness isn't about height or weight.

As others have pointed out, the Fonz had a very strong reputation as a tough guy. It is a testament to Winkler's acting talents that he portrayed the Fonz as fearless and unafraid.

You want another example of a short guy playing tough. Watch "Goodfellas". Joe Pesci is all of 5'4", and he is playing a character based on a real-life gangster who was 6'2" tall. Pesci's character is one of the toughest guys in a movie filled with tough, big, guys.

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[–] stones78 13 years ago

One on one, Pesci would get his ass beat, minus a weapon though.

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[–] BrissyBrett 13 years ago

I saw no episodes where he "hit" anyone, but he did kick a cuppla guys in a gymnasium. He stood on his hands and kicked 2 guys at same time.
There was another episode where Tom Hanks plays a karate expert, and Hanks kicks Fonzie through the Arnolds entrance, and then Fonzie gets back at him.

There was one episode too (I think it was the final episode) where a drunk Richie actually PUNCHES Fonzie, and Fonzie grabs his arm and pins him to a pooltable.

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[–] spasek 13 years ago

Watch "Glove Story" from the final season. Chachi is in a boxing match with a broken hand. Leo, his opponent, is beating up on him even after Howard has thrown the towel in the ring. Fonzie jumps in, Leo throws a punch at him, and Fonzie clocks him with a seriously wicked right cross. That one punch from Fonzie was more than enough to show what he could do in a fight.

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] uoflcardfan2003 13 years ago

"I saw no episodes where he "hit" anyone, but he did kick a cuppla guys in a gymnasium. He stood on his hands and kicked 2 guys at same time."

If this is the episode in the school gym where Richie, Ralph, and Potsie fought three guys from the gang that was trying to initiate Joanie by having her make-out with every member, it was Fonzie and Carmine from Laverne and Shirley that stood on their hands and kicked the guys.

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] gabby_bm 13 years ago

Was that the She-Devils? or were the She-Devils the ones who hosted the "nerd-party"?

My "#3" key is broken so I'm putting one here so i can cut & paste with it.

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[–] jefgg 13 years ago

The Red Devils were the gang who wanted to initiate Joanie.

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[–] IcingOnTheCake 13 years ago

The 'greaser' types had "gangs" and the good kids had "clubs".
Let's see if we can remember all of them.

1. Falcons
2. Red Devils
3. Dragons
4. War Mongers
5. Gems
6. Magnets
7. Demons

Have I forgotten any? I know the Angora Debs were in Milwaukee but they were only on Laverne & Shirley.

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[–] jefgg 13 years ago

IcingOnTheCake is THE GOODS. I have seen her postings on this and the "Laverne & Shirley" Boards. Most of the people who post on imdb are rude bozos with personal agendas who know nothing. It is a pleasure to see posts from an intelligent human being.

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[–] IcingOnTheCake 13 years ago

Thank you for the kind words. I also enjoy your posts. I too would rather exchange posts with fans than be bothered by silly people with nothing better to do than be trolls.

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[–] zwolf 10 years ago

There was also that girls' club, The Assorted Nuts. They were always in the background. I think the only time they were ever actually referred to was in the first episode, where Ralph mentioned liking all of them.

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[–] IcingOnTheCake 9 years ago

Lynda Goodfriend, the actress who portrayed Lori Beth, was in that club for a couple of episodes as a girl named Kim.
She was Ralph's date for prom and Richie's when the group was stuck in the Cunningham Hardware vault.

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[–] joe_538 11 years ago

There was another one where he flipped two guys at Arnold's. Chachi got to hold his coat.

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[–] Joe_Free_Market 11 years ago

Dude, it's totally fake. That's why all his fights were off stage.

"Never answer a question with a question" -Proverbs 12:3

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[–] joe_538 11 years ago

Happy Days is fake?

That scuffle was not off-camera.

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[–] ridgerunner72160-609-362419 10 years ago

I think they showed that clip in Forrest Gump. That was when Forrest didn't know whether to be a karate fighter, a ping pong player or a shrimp boat captain.

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[–] avortac 13 years ago

"It is a testament to Winkler's acting talents that he portrayed the Fonz as fearless and unafraid."

It would be a testament to your writing talents if you could explain the difference between "fearless" and "unafraid".

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[–] Rockhound6165 13 years ago

I work with a guy who is a defensive tactics expert. He's 5' 5" tall. I saw him take down an over 6 foot tall inmate in a matter of seconds and literally had the "thug" crying real tears. It's the old saying, "it's not the sizeof the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog".

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] IcingOnTheCake 13 years ago

the show was geared towards children. Children just saw all adults as bigger than them.
The point was for Fonzie to be liked so it was rare for a kid to see him actually fight. We were supposed to know he was tough without seeing him hurt anyone.

It was mentioned in the episode in which he tries to teach Richie to be tough that if one acts tough then the other guys usually backs down before anything has to happen.

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] richard.fuller1 12 years ago

He began as a high school dropout with attitude, and that was enough. He had a reputation and Richie wanted to help him.

It was more than needing to see him hit someone. He took a test, passed it and wadded it up about to throw it away, then he smoothed it back out and looked at it.

He hit many a jukebox.

There is a very early episode in which he hit a drink machine and got two drinks out of it, but Manuel Padilla Jr had hit it before him and got one drink out. Padilla was likewise a hood, and a very convincing one at that. They stole Potsie's bike.

He got mad once and hit a payphone and got a dial tone. That was very good.

He had to hit Richie as Richie had made out with his girl. they were in the restroom and someone came in and hit Richie in the eye with the door, giving him a bruise.

Fonzie didn't want to hit Richie and decided that hit by the door would be their cover.

When Richie came out with the shiner, Misty Rowe ran to him and started calling Fonzie a beast.

Ralph Malph saw being hit by Fonzie got Richie the girl, so Ralph ran after Fonzie trying to get him to fight.

"I don't waste my hits on nerds," Fonzie said and walked away.

So it was a gradually established reputation with no hitting.

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[–] wears-alan 12 years ago

Manuel Padilla jnr, who... Jai off Tarzan?

I always thought Fonzie hung out with younger kids to look tough!

You are entitled to my opinion, whether you want it or not!!

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[–] richard.fuller1 12 years ago

One and the same. He appeared on a very early episode, if not from the first season.

They were a rival gang.

Richie helped out a little girl who was being picked on, so the leader of the gang now regarded Richie as okay.

Potsie's bike was stolen so Richie decided to cashin in on the favor and get the bike back from the gang. Jai was the most outspoken gang member.

the gang member whose sister Richie had helped showed up and said give them the bike.

Ralph unfortunately (or was it Potsie) had delivered a note which threatened the gang as they thought they would have the football team to back them up (only the mascot showed up).

Fonzie showed up just as they were about to be beaten up with his hoods and they all broke up.

Good bit with Fonzie shoving Jai in the face. Jai came across as one arrogant, attidude-driven little SOB.

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[–] wears-alan 12 years ago

Wasn't he a gang member in American Graffiti also?

You are entitled to my opinion, whether you want it or not!!

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[–] richard.fuller1 12 years ago

It appears he was. I'm going to guess he was with Bo Hopkins.

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[–] wears-alan 12 years ago

Yeah, he was one of the Pharoes.

You are entitled to my opinion, whether you want it or not!!

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] wears-alan 9 years ago

Them also

You're old enough to kill, but not for voting....

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