13 days into Turner & Hooch, Henry Winkler reveals Hanks had him fired
Henry Winkler says one of Hollywood’s nicest guys got him sacked from directing Turner & Hooch — and he explains how.
Right, this one's a bit of Hollywood folklore with a twist – you know, the kind of story you'd think is made up, except it actually happened. Tom Hanks and Henry Winkler are both usually seen as the actual definition of 'nice guy' in the film industry, but apparently their paths once collided in a way nobody expected. And yes, it all started with Turner & Hooch – not exactly the film you'd expect to be at the centre of an off-screen drama.
Henry Winkler was fired as director of Turner & Hooch after just 13 days on the job.
Top Dog and Troubles
The funny thing is, Hanks had actually popped up on Happy Days years before, with Winkler already the show's headline act. You'd think that would've made for a warm working relationship when Disney’s Jeffrey Katzenberg phoned Winkler personally to offer him the director’s chair on Turner & Hooch. At the time, Winkler admits he’d actually been keen on doing something else, but convinced himself to take the gig anyway – and that's when things went sideways.
Winkler recently gave the whole story in an interview with Graham Bensinger. He knew right out of the gate his 'tummy', as he calls it, was warning him. Classic bit of British understatement: he completely ignored his gut feeling. Winkler even explains how hands-on he was with casting, bringing in Mare Winningham as the female lead because of her on-screen spark with Hanks.
The Clash
This is where things got a bit sticky. Winkler says he probably 'talked too much', wanting to keep shooting scenes until he got them exactly right, which led to him giving more direction than Hanks and the team apparently wanted. Whether Winkler was just enthusiastic or overbearing depends on who you ask, but it ended up irritating at least a couple of egos on set.
Within less than two weeks of filming, it all blew up. Katzenberg called Winkler into his office, and after a fairly blunt conversation (by Hollywood standards, anyway), Winkler was off the film by the 13th day – sent home, jobless, and, as he admits, thoroughly devastated.
His agent picked up the pieces as best as anyone could, whisking Winkler out for a visible lunch to help him save face in the business. Winkler himself said he could barely eat a thing.
The Rift Remains
So how did it turn into a long-running feud between two supposed Hollywood sweethearts? According to Winkler himself, he’s got no idea what triggered it or why it never seemed to heal: Hanks had been a humble guest star on Happy Days once, and then somewhere along the line, seems to have turned frigid.