There’s a very good reason that Henry Winkler is considered to be one of the nicest guys in show biz. The eternally sunshiny 78-year-old Happy Days veteran always brings the good cheer to his talk show appearances, that is when he’s not taking time to send fan notes to fellow artists he’s inspired by.
During a visit to Live with Kelly and Mark on Tuesday (Oct. 15), Winkler was predictably enthusiastic about one of his recent kind letters eliciting an equally generous response when he shared how happy he was to get a thank you video from Jelly Roll.
“Oh my gosh, it was the most amazing thing that it came from you and that he answered,” Winkler told Ripa about getting an equally sweet reply from the “I Am Not Okay” that the singer sent to the daytime talk show host. Winkler explained to the studio audience that he often writes what he calls “fan notes” to artists he admires. “And I wrote one to Jelly Roll, ‘Dear Mr. Roll,’” he explained. “And I never thought I would hear back and all of a sudden I got a video from Kelly of Mr. Roll thanking me!”
Ripa responded that being a conduit of the mutual admiration society was “the most exciting thing that has ever not happened to me… it was for you, so it had nothing to do with me. “It was great,” Winkler said before Ripa cued up the tape.
“Hey Mr. Winkler, it’s Jelly Roll,” the singer said in the clip scrolled on Ripa’s device. “I’m just sending my love. I have been hoping to see you ‘cause I got a note and they said it was from you. I didn’t believe it and this is my publicist — she hates being embarrassed but now she is — and she told me it was you, she confirmed and I cannot tell you how much that meant to me.”
Jelly promised to send Winkler a picture of the letter when he gets back home. “I hope you don’t mind, I framed it. I hung it up on my wall where I have like hand written lyrics from Craig Morgan, all the stuff that’s really been special in my career. Thank you, I’m absolutely honored Mr. Winkler. I can’t wait to see you and hopefully give you a hug man. I’m a big hugger, I’ll squeeze you.”
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week, Winkler first revealed that he’d sent the letter to the country star. “I really believe that when I see something that I think is wonderful you’ve got to let the person know,” he told the late night host, who has been on the receiving end of some of those nice notes. When asked who the most recent recipient was, Winkler said it was Jelly Roll, following an appearance on Kimmel’s show.
“I wrote him a letter, ‘Dear Mr. Roll,’ and all of a sudden I got a video back on my phone… it was amazing,” Winkler said. “I think that he is so filled with emotion.”
Watch Winkler kvell about his Mr. Roll moment below.
