NEED TO KNOW
- Henry Winkler took on The Jennifer Hudson Show‘s Spirit Tunnel with plenty of enthusiasm on Jan. 12
- The Happy Days alum went viral for his dance moves as he entered the talk show
- “The Fonz still got it,” one fan wrote
Henry Winkler is spreading the Happy Days, one move at a time.
On Monday, Jan. 12, the actor, 80, returned to The Jennifer Hudson Show and fully embraced the show’s signature Spirit Tunnel in a now-viral moment that delighted fans.
For his moment in the spotlight, Winkler entered the tunnel surrounded by members of the show’s staff on both sides (as one does), smiled big and kicked his leg in the air before breaking it down.
His routine featured spins, side-stepping and a quick hand shake, before he blew a kiss to staff and waved goodbye. The sweet moment was soundtrack by the crew’s rendition of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl,” with reworked lyrics to reflect Winkler’s appearance on the show.
“We’re so happy @hwinkler4real is back! 🥹,” the show shared in a caption on Instagram and X.
Fans were pretty thrilled about Winkler’s enthusiasm for the Spirit Tunnel, too. “The Fonz still got it! Heeeyyyyyyy,” one commenter wrote on Instagram, referring to his Happy Days character, Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, while another added: “The Fonz is still making us smile.”
“I admire how this guy has stuck around all these years,” writer Will Sloan shared on X. “He’s always in something, and everyone’s always happy to see him. Lots of people probably don’t even know what ‘the Fonz’ even is anymore, they just see ol’ Henry Winkler and they like him. A good career!”
Winkler remembers his time on Happy Days fondly. The actor boarded the show for its 1974 premiere and was a recurring character throughout the first season, before Fonzie was promoted to series regular in season 2. He continued to portray the character for the rest of the show’s run, despite leaving in season 7 to pursue a movie career (he returned as a guest star in its final and 11th season).
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During his Jennifer Hudson appearance, Winkler told the show’s host that the series “changed my life,” as he recounted the first personal appearance he made to sign autographs in Little Rock, Ark.
“So now I have to leave the set of Happy Days, get on a plane at about 11:00 at night, fly across the country, land in Little Rock, and as I got off the plane in the middle of the night, there was like a party going on,” he recalled. “And I said to the stewardess, ‘You know, I think there’s a party, I’d rather not walk through somebody else’s party. Is there another way around?’”
“She said, ‘I think that’s for you,’ ” he added. “There were — oh my gosh, 3,000 people in poodle skirts and fifties clothing at like four in the morning, to say hello.”
During a panel at the 2025 Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center in August 2025, Hudson detailed how guests on her show tend to look forward to the Spirit Tunnel. The internet sensation features Hudson’s staffers lining the hallway as celebrity guests — including Aaron Pierre, Brenda Song and more — prepare for their appearance, as they sing a catchy song or chant to hype them up.
“It has completely blown us away,” Hudson said, adding that “people want redos.”
“I’m literally sitting in my chair, I have a monitor, and I can watch people as they’re walking down the Spirit Tunnel,” she added. “Do you know how long I’m out there waiting now? Because they’re like, ‘Okay, where’s the camera? Okay, cut, cut.’ It has really taken on a life of its own.”
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