Henry Winkler Recalls Turning Down John Travolta’s Role in ‘Grease’ Because He Feared Being ‘Typecast’

> “In my pathetic mind, I thought to myself, ‘I have now been the Fonz for 10 years,’ ” Winkler recalled, referencing his greaser Happy Days character. “ ‘I’m now gonna play him again in the movies? I’m gonna be so typecast. I will never get work again.’ “

> “A leather coat will be in your wardrobe for the rest of your life,” Ripa chimed in.

> “So what happened?” Winkler continued. “I go home. I relax. I have a V8. John Travolta goes home and buys a plane.”

> Despite missing out on starring in a blockbuster musical that further burnished Travolta’s status as a Hollywood leading man, Winkler admitted that he wasn’t the strongest singer — presumably a prerequisite for a role in Grease.

Not that it matters but he honestly made the call