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Chris ForanMilwaukee Journal Sentinel
Henry Winkler's response to satirical 'news' story: 'Can they drop it off at my house?'
This might be a Fonz too far.
"Milwaukee Removes Fonzie Statue Amid Reckoning With Greaser Past," The Onion "reported" in a story posted July 11.
"Calling the effort a long overdue attempt to address the city’s checkered history, Milwaukee officials announced Friday that they had removed the iconic riverfront Fonzie statue amid an ongoing reckoning with the town’s greaser past," the satirical news site wrote.
An accompanying photo illustration showed the Bronze Fonz statue being hoisted off its pedestal on the RiverWalk in downtown Milwaukee.
“In the year 2025, no one should be celebrating the dark era in this city when motorcycles, leather jackets, and necking dominated our streets,” The Onion (fictitiously) quoted Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson as saying at the site of the statue on Milwaukee's RiverWalk. "… We should be condemning Arthur Fonzarelli for repeatedly urging Ralph Malph and Potsie to ‘sit on it’ — not preserving him in bronze."
The Bronze Fonz — which recently ranked at No. 105 in a list of "hidden-gem" landmarks according to Rivers Art, a fine-art print provider — of course hasn't been removed. Installed on the RiverWalk in 2008, the statue quickly became a popular downtown spot, both for tourists and locals.
The Fonz, aka Arthur Fonzarelli, had been a central character on "Happy Days," the hit 1970s and '80s TV sitcom set in Milwaukee. Although at one time the city had had an ambivalent relationship with the show and its popular spinoff, "Laverne & Shirley," Milwaukeeans mostly embraced the Fonz, and the statue has become a city staple.
When the Bronze Fonz was installed in August 2008, many from the casts of "Happy Days" and "Laverne & Shirley" came to Milwaukee for the occasion, which included a parade and an appearance at what was then Miller Park. Among them: the man of the hour, Henry Winkler, who played the iconic Fonz.
If the Bronze Fonz ever was removed from its Milwaukee perch, someone has already laid claim to it.
"CAN They drop it off at my house ??" Winkler posted on X July 11. "And Hey ..The Fonz was a greaser with a heart."
"Can that statue jump over sharks?" one poster (x.com/marc_cavalera) wrote to Winkler, a reference to the Fonz's goofiest moment on "Happy Days." "If I did … it did," Winkler replied.
From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/green-sheet/2025/07/11/the-onion-milwaukee-removes-bronze-fonz-to-break-with-greaser-past/84627879007/?tbref=hp
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