Henry Winkler Tried To Shed His Happy Days Image With A Forgotten War Drama

When the war drama "Heroes" was released in 1977, "Happy Days" was the number one show on television. Henry Winkler starred as the too-cool-for-school greaser Fonzie, who "Ayyy'd" his way into viewers' hearts. It can be hard for sitcom actors to branch out from their most popular role, especially into ones that are dramatic and have more emotional dimension than lighthearted sitcom fluff. For actors like Henry Winkler, whose character became a cultural phenomenon, playing Fonzie was often a curse. During the 1970s, there was a rigid dichotomy between television and movie actors, where television actors were viewed as lesser than — a sentiment you can find in much of the negative critical response to "Heroes."

In an interview on "The Merv Griffin Show," Henry Winkler explained that there's "not a piece of" the Fonz in "Heroes." "Happy Days" was pure nostalgia for the Golden Age era, about a family in the Milwaukee suburbs, whereas "Heroes" tackled the uncomfortable issues of the time surrounding the Vietnam War, a conflict that was heavily contested and left veterans mistreated and misunderstood upon their return. During the interview, Winkler shares a story about having dinner with the legendary Bette Davis, who told him that Charles Laughton once said, "Every time you make a film, if you don't put your neck on the block, then don't make the film." Winkler was eager to take a risk with "Heroes." He wanted to flex his acting muscles and finally be seen as someone other than Fonzie, as a serious actor on the big screen instead of the rebellious gearhead in people's living rooms every night. Unfortunately, this risk did not pay off very well.

Henry Winkler plays Jack Dunne, a Vietnam veteran who escapes a Veterans Affairs psychiatric facility to start a worm farm (yes, you read that right) in California with several of the men he served with. Along the way, he meets the romantically-challenged Carol Bell (Sally Field) and stock car racer Ken Boyd (Harrison Ford).

"Heroes" does not treat Jack's PTSD with respect, especially in the hokey climax where he reenacts Vietnam in the middle of town. There is too much humor about his situation that borders on mockery. When Carol questions his behavior, Jack replies with a sing-song, "Because I'm supposed to be CrAzY!" This winking self-awareness takes away from the genuineness of his character's pain.

Vincent Canby pans Winkler's performance in The New York Times as "aggressively cute not because he's appealing, but because the will to please is so naked and the mannerisms are so unconnected to life. Television is creating a school of acting made up entirely of signals that evoke emotions less often than they label them." Another problem is that "Heroes" oscillates between many genres — slapstick comedy, a fast-paced road movie, and emotional drama — so it's difficult for Winkler to calibrate his performance appropriately.

Despite being all over the place, "Heroes" was a box office success, and Winkler received a Golden Globe and BAFTA nomination. Vietnam War dramas were not as popular in 1977 as they would be in the coming years. Films such as "The Deer Hunter" and "Born on the Fourth of July" would take Vietnam veterans' mental health challenges much more seriously with heavy-hitting performances from powerhouse actors such as Robert De Niro and Tom Cruise. "Heroes" was not the project to let Henry Winkler try and reach those heights.