People: A new generation of ‘aay!’ students

You know him best as Fonzie – no other explanation required.

But these are happy days of a different sort for Henry Winkler, who has found a new calling as a children’s book author.

When he’s not producing or acting, Winkler, 62, is working on his series of Hank Zipzer novels, about an underachiever with learning difficulties – based on his own struggles with dyslexia.

Q: The book’s main character, Hank Zipzer, is autobiographical. How about his teacher?

A: Mrs. Adolf was my teacher in fourth grade. She was the worst teacher on the planet. She wouldn’t let me go to the bathroom. She was humiliating – she knew I couldn’t read out loud and she would force me to make a fool of myself. … Today, there are extraordinary teachers who understand children who learn differently. I light incense to them every day and bemoan the fact that I didn’t have one.

Q: Being dyslexic must have been really challenging as an actor. How did you get through all those scripts?

A: I could not read cold, so I always got the material as soon as possible. I memorized the audition. A lot of times, I’d go over and over it in a corner, and what I forgot, I made up. The director would say, “Excuse me, that’s not what’s written.” And I’d say, “I’m giving you the essence of the character.” You figure out a way to survive.

Q: Is it true that even today, interviewers ask you to do the Fonz’s signature “Aaaaaaaay” for them?

A: Yes. Mostly on radio stations.

Q: You don’t seem annoyed that the public continues to associate you so strongly with a leather-jacket-wearing, motorcycle-riding jukebox thumper.

A: Here’s the truth: I love the Fonz. … He has literally unlocked the world for me. When I go around the country, I meet the children who know me as the writer and are excited to talk about Hank in unbelievable detail. And their parents want to talk about the Fonz.

Q: You live on the West Coast, but you were born and raised in Brooklyn. Miss it?

A: My body lives in Los Angeles, but my heart lives in New York. And my soul lives in Montana, where I fly-fish for trout. It’s like a washing machine for the brain. My wife and I have to fish in different boats, though, because, unfortunately, I tend to fish in her water.

The birthday bunch

Actor James Arness is 85. Sportscaster Brent Musburger is 69. Musician Levon Helm (The Band) is 68. Singer Stevie Nicks is 60. Actor Philip Michael Thomas (“Miami Vice”) is 59. Actress Pam Grier is 59. Country singer Hank Williams Jr. is 59. Actress Genie Francis (“General Hospital”) is 46. Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait is 46. Singer Lenny Kravitz is 44. Actress Helena Bonham Carter is 42. Actor Joseph Fiennes is 38. “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone is 37.