Peggy Herz

In 1978, when I was eleven, my spare time on my family's Wisconsin dairy farm revolved around the big pile of comic books I got every week when my mom went grocery shopping and whatever was on TV. My mom was big on the television too, picking up all the celebrity tabloids at the checkout counter and subscribing to People, Us, TV Guide, and Soap Opera Digest.

Without social media and the internet, magazines and books like this were the only way to get news and gossip about upcoming and show more returning TV shows.

The essays in this book are a bit cheesy, but I got a real nostalgic rush as I read about the actors and shows that would be hitting the airwaves in the fall of 1978. I watched every show mentioned here except possibly the one starring Tony Randall.

It is jarring though to see how obsessed and frank the author is about the stars' poundage. Several interviewed celebrities mention dieting, including a pre-teen boy. Lynda Carter moans that at 5' 9" and 125 pounds, "I'm always about five pounds overweight, except when I'm working."

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Thunder, Cupcake and Two Kids, Thunder -- Gabe Kotter and the Sweathogs Are Moving Up, Welcome Back Kotter -- Erin Moran: Four Years with the Fonz, Happy Days -- The Many Talents of Willie Aames, Eight Is Enough -- Bozo and Dan: Popular Stars of Grizzly Adams -- Kristy McNichol and her Show Biz Family, Family -- Ernest Thomas: Broadway Actor to TV Star, What's Happening!! -- Saved in the Nick of Time!, Wonder Woman -- Wojo: The Puzzled Detective, Barney Miller -- Oliver Wendell Franklin vs. Brad Savage, The Tony Randall Show -- What's Ahead for the Fonz, Happy Days show less

What a letdown. I picked up this Scholastic Books title thinking I was getting the history of Arthur Fonzarelli, some kind of fictional tell-all about the cool past of The Fonz.

Unfortunately, The Truth About Fonzie is really The Truth About Henry Winkler, with a brief exploration of his acting career and the creation of both Happy Days and the character he played on the show.

Nothing against Henry Winkler, but I much rather read some gossipy dirt on Fonzie.