Emmy-winning actor Henry Winkler is widely recognized for his portrayal of Arthur ‘Fonzie’ Fonzarelli on the long-running sitcom Happy Days.

His performance as his dying mother’s son was, nevertheless, his most heartfelt and affecting of all time.

The actor has spoken about Henry’s difficult upbringing in interviews. His parents treated him harshly

and even gave him a derogatory moniker. The Germans mocked him by calling him a ‘dummer Hund.’

His parents often harped on him about his poor academic performance. Henry has commented, ‘My parents were pretty tough.’ Not only stern.

They only saw people in terms of their own identities and how those identities affected their daily lives.

Is that so? That’s not a sustainable way of life, I agree with you.He wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until he was in his early 30s.

Henry remembers his mother laughing only a few times, adding to the terrible treatment he had from his parents and the nasty moniker they gave him.

Henry’s parents escaped Nazi concentration camps in 1939 and immigrated to the United States, as reported by Newsner.com.

Henry was able to put aside his negative feelings and experiences in order to care for his dying mother.

Once she became disabled and required a wheelchair, he would make many cross-country trips from California to New York to take care of her in her final years.

Henry mentioned that he felt guilty on the days he wasn’t able to be with his mother despite traveling across the nation to care for her.

Although though Henry grew up and took care of his dying mother, the hurtful words and treatment he suffered as a youngster still sting.

I still feel like I’m not good enough,’ Henry admitted. ‘But with age, you can utilize like a sander,

like sandpaper, and smooth out the rough spots so you can get on with your life. And things are going swimmingly for me.

What a tragic tale of the healing power of words and deeds, and of a son putting aside his own pain to take care of his ailing mother.