The Fonz at The WAG: Henry Winkler visits Winnipeg gallery, posts praise for city online

Henry Winkler is pictured with a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce staffer Michelle Orellana at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq on Nov. 6, 2024. (Gregory Webb/Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce)

A Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce event had a surprising cameo from a Hollywood icon.

The chamber hosted a chat Wednesday with former Manitoba Premier and Canadian Ambassador to the United States Gary Doer at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq.

The event centered on what the U.S. election results mean for Canada.

As chamber staff were setting up for an event, they noticed a familiar face wandering the gallery.

“They noticed that Henry Winkler was walking around,” recalled Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Loren Remillard.

He walked up to a staffer and asked where the box office was.

After he paid his admission, he started making conversation with Remillard and his staff, even agreeing to take a few pictures.

The encounter earned the Fonz rave reviews.

“Absolutely the most gracious individual. Happy to pose for pictures. A few even did ask him to do the signature thumbs up and sound, and he was more than happy to do so.”

Winkler even posted a picture from the gallery, along with praise for local restaurant Deer and Almond, calling it “out of this world delish.”

The stage and screen star is in town to shoot the Bob Odenkirk-led film “Normal.” According to ACTRA Manitoba’s website, production is slated to run until mid-December.

For Remillard, who owned a Fonzie doll as a kid, Winkler’s public praise of Winnipeg only adds to the thrill of the chance encounter.

“I love that he’s posting and sharing his experience of Winnipeg with his followers and in many ways, dispelling those stereotypes and introducing many people to a Winnipeg that we know to be true.”