Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Aaaay! Milwaukee to Cast Fonz in Bronze

Art gallery closes in disgust

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 25, 2008 2:15 PM CST

(Newser) – Milwaukee’s about to get way cooler. Thanks to private donations and teenagers who bought “Bronze the Fonz” T-shirts, the tourist bureau has raised $85,000 to erect a permanent bronze tribute to Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, the leather-jacketed biker in the Milwaukee-set '70s hit sitcom “Happy Days.” But the the local art community isn't impressed; one gallery is even said to be closing in protest.

That gallery’s owner called the statue a “monstrosity” that cements Wisconsin’s football-and-beer image, the Wisconsin Business Journal reports. Artists managed to grouse enough to get the city to reclassify the statue from “art” to “trinket.” But it’s not a trinket to Henry Winkler. “'What a phenomenal compliment," said the actor who immortalized the Fonz. "I don't take it lightly, that's for sure."

This is an undated file photo of the cast of the television series,Happy Days. Visit Milwaukee, a group that promotes the city as a tourism and convention destination, is raising money for a bronze sculpture of the character played by Henry Winkler, center, on the long-running series, which was...
This is an undated file photo of the cast of the television series,"Happy Days." Visit Milwaukee, a group that promotes the city as a tourism and convention destination, is raising money for a bronze...   (Associated Press)
This is how Henry Winkler - the Fonz - looks these days.
This is how Henry Winkler - the Fonz - looks these days.   (Getty Images)
The man on the left is about to have a statue made of him.
The man on the left is about to have a statue made of him.   (Archive Photos)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

More Newser Stories

Health Ads Rip Family Bed for Baby

Donor's Son Resigns From Walker Administration

Wisconsin to Teachers: We'll Verify All 'Doctor's Notes'

Museums Bet Paintings on Super Bowl

Model for Michelangelo's Pieta Found


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne