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Henry Winkler praised by Marlee Matlin for his extraordinary move after she finished rehab: ‘My second dad’

BBG News

Marlee Matlin was supported by an A-list star during a time of need in the late 80s.

Having left behind a toxic relationship with William Hurt and completing my rehabilitation journey, I found solace in the presence of Henry Winkler, who is currently 79 years old.

Instead of staying with him just for a weekend, she eventually lived with the Happy Days actor and his family for two consecutive years.

In an interview with Page Six, Matlin shared that Winkler and his spouse Stacey made her feel just as much a part of their family as their kids, Jed, Max, and Zoe, at the age of 59.

Matlin enthusiastically shared, “Henry feels like a second father to me!” She continued, “Can you believe that I get to call Henry Winkler that? He’s likely one of the most well-known cultural figures in America.

‘But honestly, he’s very genuine and he’s been a huge mentor in my life,’ she added.

Marlee and Henry crossed paths when she, around twelve years old, was showcasing her talents at the Chicago Center for the Deaf.

Expressing her delight at his presence, she shared with the media, ‘We extended an invitation to him, and surprisingly, he accepted it – fantastic! Here stands the Fonz, whom I’ve admired for years.’

Instead of saying, “She added, ‘But we stayed in touch after that, and I didn’t anticipate that we would be staying in touch. And we stayed friends,'” you could rephrase it as follows:

She also mentioned, “We managed to keep our connection going following that incident, which I hadn’t expected. To my surprise, we ended up maintaining our friendship.

Matlin would eventually marry husband Kevin Grandalski ​at Winkler’s family home. 

However, prior to her subsequent marriage to Grandalski, she started dating Hurt during the filming of Children of a Lesser God.

She received the Oscar for Best Actress due to her exceptional performance, becoming the youngest winner ever in that category at just 21 years old. Moreover, she became the first deaf actress to be recognized with this prestigious award.

In her book “I’ll Scream Later”, she claimed that during the two years they were together, Hurt exhibited both physical and verbal abuse. At that point in time, she admitted she wasn’t acquainted with the terminology to explain what she was going through.

Meanwhile, the actress didn’t realize she could ask for aid, being oblivious to the fact that her situation had a label.

In 2022, Hurt passed away, and despite allegations of mistreatment towards him, Marlee found a way to express something favorable when asked about him during the Critics Choice Awards that year.

Speaking about Hurt, Matlin remarked, “It’s a profound loss for us as we’ve lost an exceptional actor. Working alongside him during Children of a Lesser God is an experience I cherish deeply and will always look back on with warmth.

She added, ‘He taught me a great deal as an actor and he was one-of-a-kind.’ 

In a recent documentary titled “Not Alone Anymore,” the entertainment industry veteran reveals that it was her former boyfriend who motivated her to seek help at a rehabilitation center.

She mentions in the documentary, as reported by Page Six, that he went to a rehabilitation center, and she noticed the positive impact it had on him. Recognizing that doing the same would benefit her greatly, she said this.

On June 20th, Shoshannah Stern’s directed film will premiere in New York theaters, while it will debut in Los Angeles on June 27th. Subsequently, it will be screened in various other theaters across the country.

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2025-06-20 01:36

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