Henry Winkler used some of his popularity as The Fonz to teach kids about Shakespeare

Only the greatest of people gain fame and use that power for good. Henry Winkler is one of those people. All those years ago, Winkler became an iconic King of Cool by playing The Fonz in the hit television sitcom, Happy Days.

As The Fonz, Winkler suddenly became an idol to young, impressionable viewers everywhere. Instead of relishing in the fame, Winkler used the spotlight as an opportunity to educate people on topics that he thought were important.

According to an interview with the New York Times Service, Winkler was performing in a television special, titled Henry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare, in an attempt to teach young viewers about The Bard and his works.

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"I was worried about doing it incorrectly. It's so hard to wrap your tongue around the language," Winkler said. 

While plenty of kids might have looked at Shakespeare with annoyance and disdain, Winkler made it his mission to make his younger fans understand that such great works had the potential to entertain to this day.

"Now that I have become this great voice in the sky that young people listen to, I thought this would be a good way to reduce the stuffiness of Shakespeare," Winkler said. "I hope this approach will show that even kids who said 'yecch' to Shakespeare in the past can learn to enjoy it."

Even with his identity as an iconic character, Winkler used opportunities like this one to separate himself from his hit comedy series, choosing to use his power for good.

"I'm not the Fonz," he said. "I'm Henry Winkler. Not Henry 'the Fonz' Winkler. My middle name is Franklin."