Henry Winkler became known as a pop culture icon in the 1970s, but his legendary status didn’t get him very far with Mick Jagger years later.
The actor, best known for playing Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on Happy Days from 1974 to 1984, recently appeared on In Depth With Graham Besinger, where he recalled an awkward encounter with the Rolling Stones frontman.
“I met Mick Jagger twice,” Winkler, 80, told Besinger during the interview. “I saw him in a wonderful sushi restaurant a few years ago, and I went up to him and I am tongue-tied with musicians. And I went, ‘Hi, Mick.’ And this is what he did. He’s talking to his girlfriend. ‘Henry,’ [he said]. And that’s it.”
Winkler noted that Jagger then turned away from him and continued talking to the woman he was with.
“And I go, I’m just going to become so small that you will not be able to see me standing here and I will slink away,” Winkler shared.
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Winkler previously opened up about the rock star snub in 2022.
“I was in a restaurant, and I walked up to Mick Jagger and I said, ‘Hello, I’m Henry Winkler and I have all of your albums… I was at your concert before I came to Hollywood,'” Winkler recalled on Jimmy Kimmel Live, before noting that Jagger barely acknowledged him before turning away.
“I slunk out of the restaurant,” Winkler said, adding that he apologized to the singer for interrupting his dinner.
“I went ‘I’m so sorry, you know what, I didn’t mean to disturb you. Enjoy the sushi. It was such a pleasure, I love your album,'” Winkler recalled of the embarrassing exchange.
Winkler had a better experience when he met Frank Sinatra after one of his concerts years ago.
“I meet him backstage,” Winkler said on Besinger’s podcast. “He goes, ‘I’m so happy to meet you.’ I introduce him to an entourage of people, [my wife] Stacy, and Ron Howard and Ron Howard’s wife and other human beings. And after it’s over, we go back, and he remembers everybody’s name and says goodbye.”
Related: Henry Winkler Handled a ‘Happy Days’ Heckler in a Way That Was Pure Fonzie
This story was originally published by Parade on Sep 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
