They just wanted to say "ayyyy!"
Henry Winkler shared a story on the "SmartLess" podcast Monday about the FBI once showing up at his apartment. The "Happy Days" star, 78, recalled sitting at home listening to a Dan Fogelberg record when he heard a knock on his door.
"I get up, there are three men with badges, and I said, 'Oh, no, you do not smell what you think you're smelling,'" Winkler said, implying there was weed in his apartment. "Oh my God."
It turns out, though, this wasn't why they were there. The men were just massive fans of "Happy Days."
"They said, 'We're with the FBI,'" Winkler said. "We're not here for that. We just wanted to meet The Fonz.'"
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"SmartLess" host Jason Bateman noted this seemed like an abuse of power, but Winkler was simply relieved to not be in any trouble.
"I was so happy that I wasn't being put in handcuffs that I didn't care what they did," he quipped.
Winkler didn't specify when this incident happened. But he mentioned it while discussing being flooded with fan mail and gifts at home when he starred as Fonzie on "Happy Days," the classic sitcom that originally aired from 1974 to 1984. These gifts included jewelry, stuffed bears, crucifixes and even lingerie.
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The FBI incident wasn't the only strange encounter the "Barry" star had at his apartment.
"People would come to the apartment and lift their shirt and ask me to sign parts of their anatomy," the Emmy-winner said. "And of course I wouldn't because I was afraid that the ink would get into their blood stream."
Winkler previously reflected on his career in the memoir "Being Henry: The Fonz…And Beyond," published last year. Speaking with USA TODAY, he explained he tried never to speak as The Fonz in public while "Happy Days" was on, though he did channel the character once at a fan event when a screaming crowd was blocking his exit.
"Using Fonz voice, I shouted, 'Alright! You are going to part like the Red Sea. You're not going to touch us,'" he said. "And they actually parted. We walked to the car, got in, and drove off."
Contributing: Bryan Alexander
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