Henry Winkler Reads Own Books to Grandkids despite Dyslexia & Dances with Them at 77

• Henry Winkler could not read a book until 31 and found out about his dyslexia while checking his stepson at a doctor.

• Despite his diagnosis, Henry wrote more than 30 children's books.

• After many years of hardship, in his 70s, he feels happy being a grandpa of 6.

Winkler had difficulties grasping content in school; he said he was "allergic to school" and did all he could to pass but always ended up failing. He then made a career in acting.

Now in his 70s, the veteran actor has a beautiful family and has found a love for reading and writing despite his late-in-life diagnosis.

The actor took geometry for four years and watched his classmates graduate before him. However, after attending summer school, Winkler was finally able to graduate.

Although Winkler did all he could to succeed in school, he did not have much support from his parents. The author said there were a lot of degrading comments from them that made him feel unworthy of an education.

He revealed his parents would call him names and blame his academic performance on laziness. Winkler spent most of his days sitting behind his desk and was not allowed to go out because his grades were too low. "I saw the moon from the window," the actor said.

Unfortunately, the years of being called names affected Winkler's confidence for a long time. He carried his parent's hurtful words with him and constantly thought he was not worthy of success.

This problematic childhood experience inspired Winkler to become a different parent that was supportive of his kids and embraced their differences.

How Did Henry Discover His Disorder because of His Stepson?

Winkler is certainly a go-getter filled with the determination to succeed despite any criticism or challenges he may face. After a torturous high school experience, Winkler completed an MFA in drama from Yale University.

However, it was not easy to land an acting job since Winkler had difficulties reading scripts and remembering his lines. So he improvised by reading the script just enough to get the feel of the character and did his own thing.

Winkler said that sometimes he got hired and made people laugh. Humor was what Winkler used to disguise his reading problem when he auditioned for "Happy Days," which was the role that would eventually gain him fame.

Winkler said he used his charisma to bring the character of "The Fonz" to life and landed his breakthrough acting job.

The struggles did not end there because the actor expressed how embarrassed he was to have table reads with his fellow cast mates since he could not read his lines. But again, he used his humor to skim through the script.

Winkler married his wife, Stacey Weitzman, and became a father figure to her son. After becoming a stepfather to his wife's son, he became the father of her next two children.

Winkler discovered the reason behind his learning difficulties when his stepson started having trouble in school. Unlike his parents, Winkler went to get him tested and found out he had dyslexia.

Winkler realized he had it, too, when the doctor mentioned the struggles of having dyslexia. At the age of 31, the actor learned that he was not those names his parents had called him. He wasn't lazy or not clever enough; he had a problem.

When asked how he felt after his diagnosis, Winkler said he had anger and resentment towards his parents. The tough childhood he had was not his fault, but he had "something with a name."

How Did Winkler Become a Children's Author after Welcoming Grandkids?

The pain of finding out about a learning disability at 31 years old is not easy to overcome. The actor confessed that the self-doubt from his childhood does haunt him sometimes, but he reminds himself of how far he has come.

When Winkler became a grandfather, he was pitched the idea of writing children's books, but the actor did not think it would be possible because he did not feel he was good enough.

After reading his first novel at 31, Winkler knew he could help children feeling ostracized because of the disability. The actor published a children's book, "Here's Hank," about an elementary school student with dyslexia.

Today Winkler's side job has blossomed, and he has more than 30 books published. His decision to write was inspired by the struggles he faced as a kid.

Although reading is still difficult for Winkler, he reads to all four of his grandchildren. He admitted that while he reads very slowly, his books are lined up on a shelf like trophies.

Winkler has a wonderful relationship with each of his grandchildren and even shared videos on TikTok of him dancing with them.

The first video he shared was of himself dancing in front of a Christmas Tree on New Year's Day. The next video featured him and his grandchildren dancing.

He is no stranger to sharing updates about his family on social media and took to Twitter in 2021, when his youngest grandchild was born, to thank fans for their good wishes on his new grandchild.

Now 77, Winkler also recently shared a video of him and his grandchildren dancing on Thanksgiving. His youngest grandchild was featured in the video as he held him and danced with him. He captioned the video wishing his followers a Happy Thanksgiving.

After years of struggling, Winkler is finally able to enjoy his life with his grandchildren, who love him no matter the battles he faces. A beautiful family indeed.

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