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Henry Winkler Wins First-Ever Primetime Emmy for ‘Barry’

It’s almost impossible to believe, however, after 42 years in the business, The Fonz has finally taken home an Emmy! On Monday night’s 70th Annual Primetime Emmys, for the first time in his career, Henry Winkler took home the golden statue for his work on HBO’s Barry.

Henry Winkler Wins First-Ever Primetime Emmy for ‘Barry’
Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBC

While Winkler has previously won two Daytime Emmy awards for his work in children’s programming, it comes as a shock that he has never won a Primetime Award, especially since he is best known for portraying one of the most iconic television characters of all time. Winkler first came onto the television scene portraying Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli on the classic series Happy Day back in 1974. Now, Winkler has an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Winkler certainly wasn’t letting the momentous occasion pass him by. He walked up to the Emmys stage and delivered an impassioned and also hilarious acceptance speech. He began by saying, “I only have 37 seconds. I wrote this 43 years ago. Skip Brittenham said to me a long time ago, ‘If you stay at the table long enough, the chips come to you,’ and tonight I got to clear the table.”

The 72-year-old actor then went on to thank his family, friends and support system before ending his speech with what’s sure to become a memorable Emmys moment. Closing out his speech, he addressed his children by saying, “Jed, Zoe, and Max, you can go to bed now, Daddy won!” This nod is particularly hilarious once you realized his children are all adults over the age of 35. You’ve just got to love Henry Winkler and his incredibly humble and gracious personality.

According to Entertainment Weekly, after his iconic win, a still stunned Winkler told reporters backstage, “I was 27 when I started doing the Fonz. I’m now 72 standing in front of you with her [he points to Emmy]. Wow.”

Congratulations to Henry Winkler and to all the winners from the 70th Annual Primetime Emmys! You can watch Winkler’s full acceptance speech on NBC.com and check out a full list of winners HERE.