An-cay Ou-yay Ead-ray?

Aayy! Fonzie is an author
Wednesday, May 9, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

Henry Winkler co-writes a children's series on dyslexia.
Who was cool, had a special way with the ladies (and jukeboxes) and wore a leather jacket that wound up in the Smithsonian?

Correctamundo: "The Fonz."

This Friday, Henry Winkler, the man who made Arthur Fonzarelli famous, will come to the Book, Bytes and Beyond bookstore in Glen Rock to let fans look at the most recent chapter in his entertainment career: children's-book author.

While Winkler has had many successes since "Happy Days," including turns as producer and director, he has also managed to co-write a children's-book series called "Hank Zipzer: The World's Greatest Underachiever." Hank, a bright boy who happens to have dyslexia, is Winkler's fourth-grade alter ego. The actor has become an advocate for broader understanding of learning disabilities after finding out that he was an undiagnosed dyslexic at age 31.

The newest book is "The Curtain Went Up, My Pants Fell Down," where Hank tries out for a school play despite the challenge of memorizing lines. We spoke with Winkler about his book and what it's like to be an actor who has trouble with the written word.

Q. The newest Hank Zipzer book is about a school play. Hank compensates for his dyslexia by working extra hard on memorizing the lines and improvising when necessary. Is that how you work as an actor?

I always had to work a little harder on the scripts because reading is so difficult for me. When I would audition, I would memorize as much as I could, as quickly as I could, and improvise the rest ... and then hope for the best.

Q. You were admitted to Yale School of Drama on the basis of an audition. Was there improvisation involved in that audition, and in the many that followed?

When I auditioned for Yale, I had to do a monologue from Shakespeare. During the middle of it, my brain went south, and Shakespeare got lost. I had the audacity to improvise Shakespeare.

Q. Did you have any children's books that inspired you, either as a child or as an author?

As a child, I read very little. Even now as an adult, reading is difficult. However, I love thrillers -- somehow I'm able to concentrate and read thrillers. Daniel Silva, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner are some of my favorites. Oh! I forgot Stephen Hunter.

Q. What is a moment from the new book that you find especially funny?

Hank's first meeting with the very tall Heather Payne in the hallway. And Hank's reaction to feeling a breeze blow across his knees as he realizes that his pants have just fallen down in front of the audience.

Q. Do you have any upcoming projects besides continuing with the Hank Zipzer series that you'd like to tell us about?

At the moment, all my projects are pending, so what does that mean? My life is on hold as Hank marches forward. Right after I finish answering these questions, I'm going to Lin Oliver's office, where we are writing the 13th novel in the series.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.