Join the legendary Henry Winkler at the launch of his memoir Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond. The actor, author, director and producer will take to the stage to discuss his childhood, his career, his artistry and his life as it is now. Every ticket comes with a signed book.
From Emmy-award winning actor, author, comedian, producer, and director Henry Winkler, a deeply thoughtful memoir of the lifelong effects of stardom and the struggle to become whole. Henry Winkler, launched into prominence by his role as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely-regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it’s simply not the case, he’s really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you.
Since the glorious era of Happy Days fame, Henry has endeared himself to a new generation with roles in such adored shows as Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, and Barry, where he’s revealed himself as an actor with immense depth and pathos, a departure from the period of his life when he was so distinctly typecast as The Fonz, he could hardly find work.
Filled with profound heart, charm, and self-deprecating humor, Being Henry is a memoir about so much more than a life in Hollywood and the curse of stardom. It is a meaningful testament to the power of sharing truth and kindness and of finding fulfillment within yourself.
Henry Winkler will celebrate 50 years of success in Hollywood this year and continues to be in demand as an actor, producer, and director. He co-stars as acting teacher Gene Cousineau on the hit HBO dark comedy, Barry. For this role, he won his first Primetime Emmy Award in 2018 for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy as well as two Television Critics Choice Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, he was cast in 1973 in the iconic role of Arthur Fonzarelli, aka “The Fonz,” in the TV series Happy Days. During his 10 years on the popular sitcom, he won two Golden Globe Awards, was nominated three times for an Emmy Award and was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In recent years, Winkler appeared in a number of series, including Medical Police, Arrested Development, Children’s Hospital, Royal Pains, New Girl, and Parks and Recreation. He is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous children’s books, including Alien Superstar, A Trilogy and Hank Zipzer the World’s Greatest Under-Achiever, a 28-book series inspired by Winkler’s own struggle with learning challenges. Of all the titles he has received, the ones he relishes most are husband, father and grandfather. Winkler and his wife, Stacey, have three children, Jed, Zoe and Max, and six grandchildren. They reside in Los Angeles with their two dogs.
Ben Stiller is one of Hollywood's most successful and acclaimed multihyphenates. He is an actor, director, writer, and producer. Films he has appeared in include Meet the Parents and Night at the Museum, the animated Madagascar films, critically acclaimed arthouse hits; The Royal Tenenbaums, Meyerowitz Stories and While We’re Young, his legendary sketch television series The Ben Stiller Show, and the Oscar-nominated Tropic Thunder, which he starred in, directed, co-wrote, and produced, to massive acclaim under his production company, Red Hour.
Stiller is the Emmy-nominated director and executive producer of the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ workplace thriller, Severance, which will soon return for its second season. Written by Dan Erikson, Severance is set at Lumon Industries, a company whose employees have undergone a medical procedure which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives.
The series earned 14 Emmy Award nominations for its first season. It won the WGA award for best new series and best drama, and is the recipient of an AFI Award for TV Program of the Year.
In 2019, he won a DGA Award for directing all seven parts of Escape at Dannemora, a limited series for Showtime which he also produced, starring Benicio del Toro, Paul Dano, and Patricia Arquette. Based on the infamous 2015 true crime story, Escape at Dannemora boldly traces the prison break and subsequent manhunt for two convicted killers who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, NY.
As a director, Stiller's body of work includes the critically acclaimed hit comedy Tropic Thunder, which won the Broadcast Film Critics' Award for 'Best Comedy' and the Hollywood Film Festival Award for 'Comedy of the Year', in addition to Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG, and BAFTA nominations for Robert Downey Jr.'s inspired performance. His other feature directorial credits include the cult comedy Zoolander and its sequel, in which he also starred; the iconic indie Reality Bites starring Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke; the dark comedy The Cable Guy starring Jim Carrey; and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which was named one of the 'Top 10 Films of 2013' by the National Board of Review.
Tropic Thunder, the Zoolander films, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty—as well as Escape at Dannemora—were all produced by Stiller at Red Hour, the production company he launched in 2011, producing a wide range of film and television projects in collaboration with major studios and networks including Netflix, Disney, Apple, Amazon, NBC and YouTube, to name a few. As a vanguard in the industry, Stiller founded Red Hour in 2001 as an incubator for emerging writers and filmmakers, with an emphasis on embracing new platforms.
Stiller's breakthrough came in the early 90s with the sketch comedy program The Ben Stiller Show, which he directed, produced, starred in, and wrote, eventually winning an Emmy Award for 'Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program'. The show is credited with launching the careers of some of the most dynamic comedians of Stiller's generation, including Judd Apatow, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, and Bob Odenkirk.
Since then, Stiller has enjoyed a prolific acting career, from the aforementioned movie franchises Night at the Museum, Meet the Parents, and Madagascar; to modern classics like Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, David O. Russell's Flirting with Disaster, The Farrelly Brothers' There's Something About Mary, and Neil LaBute's Your Friends & Neighbors; plus Tower Heist, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Permanent Midnight, and Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun, among countless others.
In 2017, Stiller's gifts as a remarkable actor were on full display in two critically acclaimed independent features: Mike White’s Brad’s Status; and Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), in which Stiller starred opposite Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson.
Stiller’s memorable television appearances include multi-episode stints on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and FOX's Arrested Development; the late Garry Shandling's seminal The Larry Sanders Show; and Ricky Gervais' Extras, for which Stiller received an Emmy Award nomination for 'Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series'.
For his remarkable career—both onscreen and behind the camera—Stiller received BAFTA’s Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy in 2011; and an American Cinematheque Tribute in 2012 which cited him as a “comedy icon whose wide-ranging talents include acting, directing, writing and producing.”
Over the last decade, Stiller has also focused on another one of his great passions: philanthropic and humanitarian work. Inspired by a visit to Haiti in 2009 alongside the organization Save the Children, Stiller founded The Stiller Foundation, a non-profit that—amongst other charitable activities—provides funds, resources and support in the rebuilding of schools and educational programs in Haiti.
Stiller has also personally been involved with and supported innumerable charities and foundations over the course of his career, including Project ALS and Artists for Peace and Justice, to name just a few. Over the last several years, he has partnered with the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to become a Goodwill Ambassador. He has met refugees around the world, in Berlin Jordan, Guatemala, and most recently in Poland and Ukraine.
For his considerable philanthropic work amid an illustrious career, Stiller was recognized in 2010 by Time Magazine as one of the TIME 100, a list of the world's most influential people.