There have long been rumors that Henry Winkler and Tom Hanks — widely regarded as two of the nicest guys in Hollywood — have been embroiled in a bitter feud for more than three decades.
But despite fanning feud speculation himself as recently as last October, Henry has now come out and insisted, definitively, that there is no beef. "I don't have a feud with Tom Hanks," the Emmy-winning "Barry" star told a TMZ cameraman who approached him outside a restaurant on Jan. 21 and asked him what it would take to resolve his issues with the Oscar winner.
The alleged bad blood was sparked while the men were making the 1989 crime-dog comedy "Turner and Hooch." Tom was starring, Henry was directing — at least until he was fired days into filming and replaced with director Roger Spottiswoode. In a 1993 interview with People magazine, former "Happy Days" star Henry alluded to a clash with Tom: "Let's just say I got along better with Hooch than I did with Turner."
During an October 2019 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen," Henry implied there was beef when a viewer who called in questioned him about whether he and Tom got along. "I was directing that movie for 13 days and then I was called into [producer] Jeff Katzenberg's office and he said, 'You have everything with you? Go home.'" Henry added, "I got along great, great with that dog. Love that dog."
TMZ's cameraman was like a dog with a bone as he repeatedly questioned Henry about the alleged drama on Tuesday. When the cameraman made it clear he didn't believe Henry because "everybody says you do [have a feud]," the Fonz replied, "Yeah, but I know. But it doesn't matter, because what everybody says and what is true are two different things."
"So you guys are cool?" the cameraman asked. Henry insisted all is well. "I just saw him at our SAG Awards [two days ago]. It was beautiful."
When the cameraman tried to call Henry out for the comments he made during his "WWHL" appearance a few months earlier, Henry responded, "Yeah, but that was just fun. I have no feud."
When asked if he'd make a movie with Tom now, Henry said, "Sure I would," then added, "I acted with Tom. I acted with his wife [Rita Wilson]." TMZ shared an old clip of Tom on an episode of "Happy Days" in 1982. Rita also appeared on two episodes of "Happy Days" in 1982 and 1983.