What happened with Tom Hanks and Henry Winkler? Latter opens up on years-long feud stemming from 'Turner & Hooch'

On Tuesday, May 7, veteran actor, comedian, author, director, and producer Henry Winkler appeared on the How To Fail podcast and got candid about his years-long alleged feud with actor-filmmaker Tom Hanks.

Winkler recalled how he prepared for 11 weeks to direct the 1989 buddy cop movie Turner & Hooch starring Hanks in the lead role, but later got fired from the project as he did not become “friends” with the latter.

Henry Winkler went on to claim that he was sacked from the film probably because he was more famous than Hanks at the time, as evident from an anecdote he shared that happened a few days before the film went into production.

“We were in Carmel, this little seaside wonderful town on the coast of California, looking for a location and a woman comes, honest to God, comes running out of a shop and says, ‘Henry, Fonz! Oh, my God!’ and I say, ‘And of course you know Tom Hanks,’” he recalled.

Henry Winkler was probably referring to his fan-favorite role as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on the ABC sitcom Happy Days which ran from January 1974 to July 1984.

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Henry Winkler originally considered himself “not the right guy” to direct Tom Hank’s starrer Turner & Hooch

Last month, Henry Winkler was a guest on Elizabeth Day’s podcast How To Fail where he revisited his termination as the director of the 1989 Tom Hanks starrer Turner & Hooch and his alleged rift with the latter, over the years.

“I did 11 weeks of preparation. I knew this dog. This bullmaster, this slobbery mastiff and I became friends. The star did not become my friend,” he shared.

When the host asked whether he was referring to Hanks, he replied, “I probably do, yeah,” and then went on to narrate a fan reaction, which he claimed was perhaps his reason for being fired.

He recalled how this female fan came to him and Hanks while they were hunting for the film’s location in Carmel, California, and the woman only seemed to recognize him as Fonzie while failing to acknowledge Hanks.

Henry Winkler added that while he proclaimed the Legion of Honor recipient almost immediately, it did not help his cause and eventually strained their relationship.

“The director of photography, when I was fired 13 days into filming said, ‘I knew that this was going to happen, on that day in Carmel,’” he added.

Henry Winkler also recalled how initially he was “not sure [he was] the right guy” to direct the film and even told Disney the same. However, his “ego” got involved and he was tempted to direct a Disney feature film.

“Another lesson I’ve learned: When your instinct knows to turn around and go the other way, do not second guess yourself. Your instinct knows everything, and your head knows a little bit,” he mentioned.

Turner & Hooch was eventually directed by Roger Spottiswoode and Tom Hanks played the role of Detective Scott Turner who solved the murder of his former partner with the help of the latter’s pet mastiff, Beasley the Dog.

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Tom Hanks and Henry Winkler now share a “cordial” equation

Although Henry Winkler and Tom Hanks had their reported differences before the filming of Turner & Hooch, the news of the duo beefing emerged a few years later in 1993.

Back then, Winkler told People Magazine during an interview, “Let’s just say I got along better with Hooch than I did with Turner,” when asked about his sudden exit from the project.

Years later in 2020, actor-director Ron Howard further fuelled the reports of the Winkler-Hanks feud when he told The Guardian that it was “disappointing” that Tom and Henry did not get along, but hoped it was all “water under the bridge” after so many years.

“I’m friends with them both, and both men felt compelled to come to talk to me about it. It was just one of those unfortunate things where they really had a working style that did not fit... I know it was painful for both of them, and I was able to lend an ear, if not offer any solutions,” Howard shared with the outlet.

However, that same year, Winkler dismissed the years-long rumors of feuding with Hanks, while talking to TMZ, adding, “What everybody says and what is true are two different things.”

Two years later in June 2022, the Parks and Recreation star appeared on Andy Cohen’s radio show on SiriusXM and claimed running into Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson at an award function before the COVID-19 pandemic, and recalled, “It was very warm. It’s all very cordial.”

Before that, in October 2019, Winkler joked about not remembering the title of Turner & Hooch on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. When asked by a caller whether he got along with Hanks, he ignored the question and instead responded, “Got along great, great with that dog.”

Notably, Hanks and Winkler crossed paths professionally in 1982 when the former appeared in an episode of Happy Days as Fonzie’s “disgruntled former classmate.”

Meanwhile, unlike Henry Winkler, Tom Hanks has never publicly addressed their alleged feud.