Skip to content
Do you have adblock enabled?
 
If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

(Daily Mail)   Henry Winkler could've had John Travolta's role in Grease, and now he says turning it down was wro.... wr... wrr... wr   (dailymail.co.uk) divider line
48
    More: Awkward  
•       •       •

810 clicks; posted to Entertainment » on 13 Nov 2022 at 1:25 AM (19 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



48 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest
 
vudukungfu [TotalFark]
2022-11-12 8:13:26 PM  
I thought it was written with him in mind
 
Ghastly [TotalFark]
2022-11-12 9:12:06 PM  
I really liked his series "The Dead Man's Gun".
 
isamudyson [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-12 11:24:26 PM  
He only turned it down because he told Potsie that he would.
 
Aussie_As
2022-11-13 1:32:12 AM  
Loved Henry Winkler in both Arrested Development and what I saw of Barry and enjoyed Happy Days as a kid, but it's hard to imagine him being more successful in Grease than John Travolta was, admittedly we'd need a time machine to confirm that either way.
 
EdgeRunner [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-13 1:40:31 AM  
Even if Winkler had taken the role and he'd had wild success with it, he wouldn't have gone on to have the same weird career trajectory as Travolta.

Grease is about the only role from Travolta's filmography that anyone would have offered Winkler first. Nobody would have thought to cast the Fonz in Saturday Night Fever, Face/Off, or Pulp Fiction. Maybe the Look Who's Talking movies, but that's about it.
 
JasonOfOrillia [TotalFark]
2022-11-13 2:12:56 AM  
Nice callback to the Fonz, subs.
 
padraig
2022-11-13 2:28:10 AM  
But can Winkler sing and dance as well as Travolta ?

Because Winkler mah have had the look, but Travolta sure did have the chops.
 
wildcardjack
2022-11-13 2:39:00 AM  
I doubt Garry Marshall would have let The Fonz go play a greaser for someone else in 1978. There would have been lawsuits about poaching an actor to go play a developed character for some other production.
 
realmolo
2022-11-13 2:53:23 AM  

padraig: But can Winkler sing and dance as well as Travolta ?

Because Winkler mah have had the look, but Travolta sure did have the chops.


Yeah, the dancing is what disqualifies him. Even if they had taught Winkler to dance, there's no way he would've been as good a dancer as Travolta.  I'm not even a fan of Travolta, but holy crap he was a good dancer. And he looked amazingly cool doing it.
 
Birnone
2022-11-13 3:15:58 AM  
A big part of what made Grease work was the chemistry between Olivia Newton John and Travolta. I haven't seen everything Winkler did but I never saw him in anything where he had that kind of chemistry with his leading lady. I'm thinking of Heroes for instance. He worked with Sally Field on that one and that pairing was not all it could have been.
 
kkinnison [OhFark]
2022-11-13 3:52:38 AM  
the "Celebrity x was considered for the role" is nothing more than a celebrity trying to give themselves more cred then they actually have
 
433 [TotalFark]
2022-11-13 4:09:12 AM  

wildcardjack: I doubt Garry Marshall would have let The Fonz go play a greaser for someone else in 1978. There would have been lawsuits about poaching an actor to go play a developed character for some other production.


That is not an angle I would have thought of.  I did think it was a little strange to essentially have the same character in two productions independent of one another, especially when Danny Zuko sort of changes that character and could affect how Arthur Fonzarelli could be viewed.  It's all a bit close.
 
holdmybones
2022-11-13 4:25:21 AM  

kkinnison: the "Celebrity x was considered for the role" is nothing more than a celebrity trying to give themselves more cred then they actually have


That doesn't sound like something Gene Cousineau would do.
 
wildcardjack
2022-11-13 5:19:44 AM  

433: wildcardjack: I doubt Garry Marshall would have let The Fonz go play a greaser for someone else in 1978. There would have been lawsuits about poaching an actor to go play a developed character for some other production.

That is not an angle I would have thought of.  I did think it was a little strange to essentially have the same character in two productions independent of one another, especially when Danny Zuko sort of changes that character and could affect how Arthur Fonzarelli could be viewed.  It's all a bit close.


If word had got out The Fonz would not have managed to jump the shark.
 
baltimoreblonde
2022-11-13 5:20:30 AM  

padraig: But can Winkler sing and dance as well as Travolta ?

Because Winkler mah have had the look, but Travolta sure did have the chops.


This x infinity.
 
Clash City Farker
2022-11-13 6:55:06 AM  

wildcardjack: 433: wildcardjack: I doubt Garry Marshall would have let The Fonz go play a greaser for someone else in 1978. There would have been lawsuits about poaching an actor to go play a developed character for some other production.

That is not an angle I would have thought of.  I did think it was a little strange to essentially have the same character in two productions independent of one another, especially when Danny Zuko sort of changes that character and could affect how Arthur Fonzarelli could be viewed.  It's all a bit close.

If word had got out The Fonz would not have managed to jump the shark.


Grease is the word.
 
Kris_Romm
2022-11-13 7:16:24 AM  
Ayyyyyy.
 
CocoNutz
2022-11-13 7:47:50 AM  
Imagine Travolta didn't get Grease. Grease cemented Travolta as a dancer, rom com guy, someone who could play somewhat edgy unique rolls etc.

We've imagined what would've happened to Winkler...but I think we would've totally lost Travolta.
 
wet drum sandwich [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-13 8:42:17 AM  

Aussie_As: Loved Henry Winkler in both Arrested Development and what I saw of Barry and enjoyed Happy Days as a kid


I'm willing to say that I prefer Barry Zuckerkorn Winkler to Fonzie Winkler. By an astoundingly wide margin. Yeah, Fonzie, we get it. You're cool. Now go over there and bang on the jukebox some more.
 
ImpendingCynic
2022-11-13 9:13:14 AM  
It's impossible to know. Sometimes the chemistry isn't right and the movie could have failed badly. Eric Stoltz was a good actor but he was fired from BTTF and they had to reshoot.
 
Billy Liar
2022-11-13 9:42:58 AM  
Hello this is Chuck to remind Bill to SHUT UP!
Youtube XYw0YbKudIU


Great movie for both of them
 
Bennett the Mad [OhFark]
2022-11-13 9:44:26 AM  
We're old, subby!

media.tenor.comView Full Size
 
ReapTheChaos
2022-11-13 10:00:01 AM  
Grease came out right in the middle of the Happy Days run (1978). Casting Winkler as the star would have felt too much like a prequel spin-off, like Fonzie: The high school years. The audience wouldn't have been able to separate one character from the other, you'd be seeing the Fonz, but he wasn't called the Fonz, but he walked, talked, and acted like the Fonz. It would have flopped horribly.
 
Trocadero
2022-11-13 10:06:18 AM  

EdgeRunner: Nobody would have thought to cast the Fonz in Saturday Night Fever, Face/Off, or Pulp Fiction.


y.yarn.coView Full Size


It would've been awesomely meta, though.
 
Aussie_As
2022-11-13 10:33:32 AM  

CocoNutz: Imagine Travolta didn't get Grease. Grease cemented Travolta as a dancer, rom com guy, someone who could play somewhat edgy unique rolls etc.

We've imagined what would've happened to Winkler...but I think we would've totally lost Travolta.


Grease was a year after the massive Saturday Night Fever, Travolta's dancing and edgyness were not in question.
 
Exile On Beale Street [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-13 10:40:04 AM  
"Heyyyyyy, did she put up a fight?"
 
Noah_Tall
2022-11-13 11:13:47 AM  

realmolo: padraig: But can Winkler sing and dance as well as Travolta ?

Because Winkler mah have had the look, but Travolta sure did have the chops.

Yeah, the dancing is what disqualifies him. Even if they had taught Winkler to dance, there's no way he would've been as good a dancer as Travolta.  I'm not even a fan of Travolta, but holy crap he was a good dancer. And he looked amazingly cool doing it.


The Fonzi Dance! - Arthur Fonzerelli proving that he's a better dancer than you are!
Youtube z306Q9qhZEI
 
Kris_Romm
2022-11-13 11:31:25 AM  

CocoNutz: Imagine Travolta didn't get Grease. Grease cemented Travolta as a dancer, rom com guy, someone who could play somewhat edgy unique rolls etc.

We've imagined what would've happened to Winkler...but I think we would've totally lost Travolta.


Xenu would have captured him, because the Scientologists wouldn't have protected him!   🙄
 
EdgeRunner [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-13 11:44:42 AM  

Kris_Romm: CocoNutz: Imagine Travolta didn't get Grease. Grease cemented Travolta as a dancer, rom com guy, someone who could play somewhat edgy unique rolls etc.

We've imagined what would've happened to Winkler...but I think we would've totally lost Travolta.

Xenu would have captured him, because the Scientologists wouldn't have protected him!   🙄


Frankly, I think Xenu is wildly overrated. Scientologists keep getting busted for more and more heinous crimes, but Xenu's never even been accused of jaywalking. The guy is a total joke as a supervillain.
 
BullBearMS
2022-11-13 12:18:08 PM  
Henry Winkler is super awesome in Barry.

64.media.tumblr.comView Full Size
 
TedCruz'sCrazyDad
2022-11-13 12:32:26 PM  

433: wildcardjack: I doubt Garry Marshall would have let The Fonz go play a greaser for someone else in 1978. There would have been lawsuits about poaching an actor to go play a developed character for some other production.

That is not an angle I would have thought of.  I did think it was a little strange to essentially have the same character in two productions independent of one another, especially when Danny Zuko sort of changes that character and could affect how Arthur Fonzarelli could be viewed.  It's all a bit close.


Grease predates Happy Days ( and American Graffiti from which it was derived ).
 
gunga galunga [TotalFark]
2022-11-13 12:49:02 PM  

wet drum sandwich: Aussie_As: Loved Henry Winkler in both Arrested Development and what I saw of Barry and enjoyed Happy Days as a kid

I'm willing to say that I prefer Barry Zuckerkorn Winkler to Fonzie Winkler. By an astoundingly wide margin. Yeah, Fonzie, we get it. You're cool. Now go over there and bang on the jukebox some more.


Henry Winkler would be the first to agree with you.

It's why he was beyond thrilled to play a schlubby loser in Night Shift.
 
EdgeRunner [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-13 12:51:54 PM  

TedCruz'sCrazyDad: 433: wildcardjack: I doubt Garry Marshall would have let The Fonz go play a greaser for someone else in 1978. There would have been lawsuits about poaching an actor to go play a developed character for some other production.

That is not an angle I would have thought of.  I did think it was a little strange to essentially have the same character in two productions independent of one another, especially when Danny Zuko sort of changes that character and could affect how Arthur Fonzarelli could be viewed.  It's all a bit close.

Grease predates Happy Days ( and American Graffiti from which it was derived ).


The stage musical does, but the movie was almost certainly greenlit because of the success of Happy Days. And American Graffiti had no connection with Grease, being a coming-of-age story set in the early 1960s and based on George Lucas's own teen years. It also wasn't the inspiration for Happy Days, which started as a series of shorts on an old TV anthology show called Love American Style. Quite the reverse, Lucas cast Ron Howard in American Graffiti because he liked his performance on Love American Style and thought he'd be a good match for Graffiti.

But Fonzie did jump that shark, and it made such an impression on Robert Benchley, it inspired him to write Jaws. The Brody character was originally a Fonz-clone greaser who defeats the great white by driving a dynamite-laden motorcycle into it, but his editors insisted on changing all of that.
 
10Speed
2022-11-13 1:49:28 PM  

realmolo: padraig: But can Winkler sing and dance as well as Travolta ?

Because Winkler mah have had the look, but Travolta sure did have the chops.

Yeah, the dancing is what disqualifies him. Even if they had taught Winkler to dance, there's no way he would've been as good a dancer as Travolta.  I'm not even a fan of Travolta, but holy crap he was a good dancer. And he looked amazingly cool doing it.


Are you kidding?

HAPPY DAYS!!!!! The Fonz is dancing.
Youtube drOeLwEZeM4
 
10Speed
2022-11-13 1:50:53 PM  

Noah_Tall: realmolo: padraig: But can Winkler sing and dance as well as Travolta ?

Because Winkler mah have had the look, but Travolta sure did have the chops.

Yeah, the dancing is what disqualifies him. Even if they had taught Winkler to dance, there's no way he would've been as good a dancer as Travolta.  I'm not even a fan of Travolta, but holy crap he was a good dancer. And he looked amazingly cool doing it.

[Youtube-video https://www.youtube.com/embed/z306Q9qhZEI]


Oops...I see this was already covered. Sorry, my outrage got the best of me.
 
EdgeRunner [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-13 2:41:30 PM  

10Speed: Noah_Tall: realmolo: padraig: But can Winkler sing and dance as well as Travolta ?

Because Winkler mah have had the look, but Travolta sure did have the chops.

Yeah, the dancing is what disqualifies him. Even if they had taught Winkler to dance, there's no way he would've been as good a dancer as Travolta.  I'm not even a fan of Travolta, but holy crap he was a good dancer. And he looked amazingly cool doing it.

[Youtube-video https://www.youtube.com/embed/z306Q9qhZEI]

Oops...I see this was already covered. Sorry, my outrage got the best of me.


He could dance, but could he pull this off?

Fark user imageView Full Size


/ok, that's a trick question. Travolta couldn't make it work either.
 
TedCruz'sCrazyDad
2022-11-13 3:20:19 PM  

EdgeRunner: TedCruz'sCrazyDad: 433: wildcardjack: I doubt Garry Marshall would have let The Fonz go play a greaser for someone else in 1978. There would have been lawsuits about poaching an actor to go play a developed character for some other production.

That is not an angle I would have thought of.  I did think it was a little strange to essentially have the same character in two productions independent of one another, especially when Danny Zuko sort of changes that character and could affect how Arthur Fonzarelli could be viewed.  It's all a bit close.

Grease predates Happy Days ( and American Graffiti from which it was derived ).

The stage musical does, but the movie was almost certainly greenlit because of the success of Happy Days. And American Graffiti had no connection with Grease, being a coming-of-age story set in the early 1960s and based on George Lucas's own teen years. It also wasn't the inspiration for Happy Days, which started as a series of shorts on an old TV anthology show called Love American Style. Quite the reverse, Lucas cast Ron Howard in American Graffiti because he liked his performance on Love American Style and thought he'd be a good match for Graffiti.

But Fonzie did jump that shark, and it made such an impression on Robert Benchley, it inspired him to write Jaws. The Brody character was originally a Fonz-clone greaser who defeats the great white by driving a dynamite-laden motorcycle into it, but his editors insisted on changing all of that.


Happy Days was an badly written and unsold pilot until after American Graffiti. Which starred Ron Howard.
 
Clash City Farker
2022-11-13 3:52:35 PM  

TedCruz'sCrazyDad: EdgeRunner: TedCruz'sCrazyDad: 433: wildcardjack: I doubt Garry Marshall would have let The Fonz go play a greaser for someone else in 1978. There would have been lawsuits about poaching an actor to go play a developed character for some other production.

That is not an angle I would have thought of.  I did think it was a little strange to essentially have the same character in two productions independent of one another, especially when Danny Zuko sort of changes that character and could affect how Arthur Fonzarelli could be viewed.  It's all a bit close.

Grease predates Happy Days ( and American Graffiti from which it was derived ).

The stage musical does, but the movie was almost certainly greenlit because of the success of Happy Days. And American Graffiti had no connection with Grease, being a coming-of-age story set in the early 1960s and based on George Lucas's own teen years. It also wasn't the inspiration for Happy Days, which started as a series of shorts on an old TV anthology show called Love American Style. Quite the reverse, Lucas cast Ron Howard in American Graffiti because he liked his performance on Love American Style and thought he'd be a good match for Graffiti.

But Fonzie did jump that shark, and it made such an impression on Robert Benchley, it inspired him to write Jaws. The Brody character was originally a Fonz-clone greaser who defeats the great white by driving a dynamite-laden motorcycle into it, but his editors insisted on changing all of that.

Happy Days was an badly written and unsold pilot until after American Graffiti. Which starred Ron Howard.


Then it became a cultural phenomenon because of Fonzy.
 
EdgeRunner [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-13 4:25:01 PM  

TedCruz'sCrazyDad: Happy Days was an badly written and unsold pilot until after American Graffiti. Which starred Ron Howard.


From Wikipedia:

The series began as an unsold pilot starring Howard, Ross and Anson Williams, which aired in 1972 as a segment titled "Love and the Television Set" (later retitled "Love and the Happy Days" for syndication) on ABC's anthology show Love, American Style. Based on the pilot, director George Lucas cast Howard as the lead in his 1973 film American Graffiti, causing ABC to take a renewed interest in the pilot.

So yeah, you're technically correct, but so what? The idea for Happy Days predated American Graffiti, and its development may have even begun before the original Grease musical was ever performed. American Graffiti did lead to Happy Days becoming a full series (once again by someone being impressed by Ron Howard's performance), but it didn't inspire it. There's a difference.
 
TheMysteriousStranger
2022-11-13 4:26:36 PM  
I really don't blame him for turning it down as it was typecasting. There was no way anyone could have known how big the movie would be (nor do we know if the movie would have been successful with him rather than Travolta even if we assume equal talent).
 
433 [TotalFark]
2022-11-13 4:51:42 PM  

TedCruz'sCrazyDad: 433: wildcardjack: I doubt Garry Marshall would have let The Fonz go play a greaser for someone else in 1978. There would have been lawsuits about poaching an actor to go play a developed character for some other production.

That is not an angle I would have thought of.  I did think it was a little strange to essentially have the same character in two productions independent of one another, especially when Danny Zuko sort of changes that character and could affect how Arthur Fonzarelli could be viewed.  It's all a bit close.

Grease predates Happy Days ( and American Graffiti from which it was derived ).


My mistake!  I thought happy days predated by two years,, but nope.  Thanks.
 
10Speed
2022-11-13 6:33:22 PM  

TheMysteriousStranger: I really don't blame him for turning it down as it was typecasting. There was no way anyone could have known how big the movie would be (nor do we know if the movie would have been successful with him rather than Travolta even if we assume equal talent).


Yeah and he'd already played a greaser in The Lords of Flatbush. He would have been tempting typecasting big-time playing Danny Zukko too.
 
EdgeRunner [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-13 6:38:14 PM  

433: My mistake! I thought happy days predated by two years,, but nope. Thanks.


They may have developed concurrently. The musical Grease first came out in 1971. The pilot for Happy Days, which looked nothing like Grease, didn't air until 1972 but was shopped around to the networks before then. As for the Fonz, a later addition to Happy Days, he was intended as a one-off villain who originally menaced Ron Howard's character. Something about Winkler's portrayal appealed to audiences though, so he was kept around and rewritten into a cool dude, and he eventually overshadowed Howard as the main focus. His featured place on the show was something that happened organically, not by design. Despite the urge to think either Happy Days or Grease inspired the other, that really wasn't the case, and the similarities are largely superficial.

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Truthman
2022-11-13 7:17:25 PM  
The Lords of Flatbush 1974 Trailer | Sylvester Stallone | Henry Winkler
Youtube k5r_2kYJR3o
 
Noah_Tall
2022-11-13 9:06:34 PM  
"Love, American Style" - "Love and the Happy Days"
Youtube 86A3uzoq_wM
 
Monster Island
2022-11-14 8:47:12 AM  
FTA: "John, who was fresh off the success of Saturday Night Fever when he was cast in Grease, has now become one of history's greatest actors"

That might be a bit of an exaggeration...
 
mcreadyblue
2022-11-14 11:29:03 AM  

Monster Island: FTA: "John, who was fresh off the success of Saturday Night Fever when he was cast in Grease, has now become one of history's greatest actors"

That might be a bit of an exaggeration...


Be careful or you'll make Xenu upset.
 
baltimoreblonde
2022-11-14 11:32:59 AM  

Monster Island: FTA: "John, who was fresh off the success of Saturday Night Fever when he was cast in Grease, has now become one of history's greatest actors"

That might be a bit of an exaggeration...


Considering SNF was released while Grease was being filmed. They didn't know Travolta would become the megastar he became when he was cast as Danny, as SNF hadn't yet hit theatres.

Interesting sidenote-the Sandra Dee sleepover scene was filmed the day Elvis died, but the news hadn't yet reached the cast. The Elvis line in the song replaced an earlier one about Sal Mineo, who'd been murdered.

Grease is one of my favorite movies. So sue me. :)
 
Displayed 48 of 48 comments

View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Redisplay/refresh comments
This thread is closed to new comments.

Continue Farking

Want to see behind the curtain? Try

TotalFark

It's how we feed the squirrel

learn more | sign up
On Twitter

  1. Links are submitted by members of the Fark community.

  2. When community members submit a link, they also write a custom headline for the story.

  3. Other Farkers comment on the links. This is the number of comments. Click here to read them.

  4. Click here to submit a link.