Henry Winkler Likens The Late Penny Marshall To Lucille Ball On Golden Globe Red Carpet
Actor Henry Winkler attended the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony on Sunday, January 6, as a nominee for his portrayal of acting teacher Gene Cousineau on the HBO comedy, Barry.
Before the ceremony took place at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, he walked the red carpet with his wife of 40 years, Stacey, and Extra host Mario Lopez snagged them both for a quick interview.
The chat started with Lopez gushing over Winkler and praising his Primetime Emmy win for Barry last September, and he even asked Stacey how she is enjoying her husband’s latest success.
The former Saved by the Bell star then asked the veteran actor about the late Penny Marshall, who passed away on December 17, 2018, at the age of 75. The two had worked together in the 1970s and early 1980s when Marshall made several memorable guest appearances on Winkler’s classic sitcom, Happy Days. She played Laverne De Fazio, one of the many girls that Winkler’s character, Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, dated. As TV fans know, Marshall wound up with a hit spinoff series, Laverne & Shirley, based on the character.
Winkler recalled that he first met Marshall “early on” in his career, in 1974, when she was a regular on Paul Sand’s TV show, Friends and Lovers, and he was a guest star.
“That was the first time I saw her in action,” the 73-year-old explained to Lopez.
“Then she came and guest-starred on Happy Days, and what I realized was, she was our generation’s Lucille Ball. Her physical comedy… was unparalleled.”
For many women in comedy, being compared to the legendary Ball is one of the highest honors. Of course, the funny redhead is most known for her groundbreaking 1950s TV series, I Love Lucy.
We are off to the Golden Globes pic.twitter.com/AO6hS2oLam
— Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) January 6, 2019
Unfortunately, Winkler did not win the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Golden Globe Award Sunday night. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the award went to Ben Whishaw for A Very English Scandal.
This was his fifth Golden Globe nomination in his five-decades-long career. He previously won best TV actor trophies for his iconic role on Happy Days in 1977 and in 1978. The latter year, he actually tied with co-star Ron Howard (Richie Cunningham) and they both got awards.
Barry has been renewed for a second season by HBO, so maybe Winkler will score another nod next year.
