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Sources documenting the development of Happy Days note that Howard’s appearance in American Graffiti contributed to renewed interest in the earlier television pilot. Elements familiar from American Graffiti, including cars, diners and period music, also fit naturally into the world that Happy Days would create. Yet it was Arthur Fonzarelli who eventually became the character most closely associated with the series. Henry Winkler arrived in Los Angeles in 1973 and auditioned for a role that was originally much smaller than the one Fonzie eventually occupied.
Garry Marshall later recalled that the character had initially been given another surname before writer Bob Brunner suggested Fonzarelli, which could conveniently be shortened into the unforgettable nickname “Fonzie” or “the Fonz.” Winkler did not resemble every conventional image of an intimidating television tough guy, but his interpretation gave the character something more useful than physical size. He created a combination of confidence, humor, loyalty and vulnerability that audiences responded to immediately. As Fonzie became more popular, a supporting character gradually became one of the defining personalities of the entire program.
One of the most recognizable parts of Fonzie’s identity almost looked very different as well. Today it is difficult to picture him without his dark leather jacket, white shirt and jeans, but Winkler has explained that he was initially prevented from wearing leather regularly. Network concerns about the image associated with a leather-clad motorcycle rider meant that Fonzie appeared in a cloth jacket during much of the early period of the show. Marshall and the production eventually found ways to make the leather jacket acceptable, particularly when Fonzie was shown in connection with his motorcycle. The leather look soon became inseparable from the character. One of the actual jackets used in the production eventually entered the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, illustrating just how culturally recognizable Fonzie’s wardrobe became.