Henry Winkler, best known for his 1970s and ’80s portrayal of the character “The Fonz,” or “Fonzie,” on the sitcom “Happy Days,” issued a curious tweet in the hours that followed the March on Washington celebrations in Washington on Wednesday.
The rally marked the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Mr. Winkler’s tweet: “I HAVE a dream / I DREAM that one day this great country does not shoot its DREAMERS.”
The tweet was ostensibly a jab at the George Zimmerman-Travyon Martin fiasco and a simultaneous wish for amnesty for illegal immigrants of the type included in one of the Dream Act versions granting citizenship for certain immigrants that’s wound through Capitol Hill corridors for years.
Social media commentators were quick to respond.
“Good dream Henry xxx,” tweeted one.
And another: “The only people shooting DREAMERS are other DREAMERS and a few Trayvons. Feel free to call a cerveza summit.”
And one more: “Hey Fonz, you just re-jumped the shark. WHOA!”
That last was a reference to Mr. Winkler’s waning years on “Happy Days,” largely pinned to an episode in which he switched out his trademark motorcycle for a pair of water skis and staged a dramatic ocean jump of a cordoned-off shark. The episode was widely mocked. The phrase “jumping the shark” has been used since to describe the period of time in a television series that marked its ratings descent.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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