Although Ron Howard was disappointed with executives' new direction for "Happy Days," he never blamed his co-star, Henry Winkler. In fact, he understood Fonzie's appeal. "Just with a few lines [Winkler] just had this remarkable character. Now, it was amazing to be around it," he told Graham Norton. The two actors have remained close friends for the past 50 years.

"I had Ron Howard, who is my brother today, who I love with every fiber of my being. [My wife] Stacey and I are the godparents of his children," Henry Winkler said in a conversation with The Television Academy Foundation, adding that their on-set chemistry was "uncanny." According to Winkler, "[When Howard left the show] I thought my life was over ... There was an unspoken connection between Ron and me." That connection persists today, and their families have even spent time together.

Ron Howard's daughter, director and actor Bryce Dallas Howard, feels lucky to have grown up with a man like Winkler as her godfather — that being said, she's yet to watch a single "Happy Days" episode (via The View).