Henry Winkler, best known for his role as The Fonz on the popular sitcom “Happy Days,” won his first Emmy Award Monday night at the age of 72.
“Oh my God, oh my God,” Winkler said after taking to the stage.
He was previously nominated for a role on “The Practice” and three times for “Happy Days.”
He also won two Golden Globe awards for the role. He won this latest award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, for HBO’s “Barry.”
Winkler joked that his acceptance speech was written “43 years ago.”
“[Hollywood attorney] Skip Brittenham said to me a long time ago, ‘If you stay at the table long enough, the chips come to you.'”
He added, “And tonight, I clear the table!”
Winkler ended his time on stage with a message to his son and daughter: “You can go to bed now. Daddy won!”
The actor also celebrated his victory with a mini “Happy Days” reunion. Winkler posted an image of himself and Ron Howard, who acted on the show but ultimately became a director of such films as “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” together at the award ceremony.
“Pals at the Emmys,” Winkler captioned the photo.
Pals at the Emmys pic.twitter.com/lLHoadkltP
— Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) September 17, 2018
Winkler’s speech was one of the high moments of the night, and it inspired the most positive vibes on social media.
It was quite a unifying break for the currently fractured culture.
“Henry Winkler winning stuff is good for the universe,” wrote one Twitter user.
“Amazing to watch Henry Winkler speak after the Che/Jost open; cool to see what caring about doing great work in a focused way looks like,” wrote another.
“Happy Days” ran from 1974 to 1984 with 255 episodes.
Winkler also voiced the leather jacket-wearing rebel Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli on the cartoon “The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang” for 24 episodes in 1980 and 1981.
Winkler has gone on to star in shows such as “Arrested Development” and “Royal Pains,” but he’s still best known as The Fonz.
Ron Howard starred as Richie Cunningham in both “Happy Days” and “The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang.”
He has gone on to direct hit movies including “The Da Vinci Code” and “A Beautiful Mind.”
Watch Winkler’s Emmy Award acceptance speech below:
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