When Adam Sandler performed "The Chanukah Song" on Saturday Night Live in 1994, he included a line about Winkler's iconic character: "Guess who eats together at the Carnegie Deli? Bowzer from Sha Na Na and Arthur Fonzarelli." That shoutout prompted Winkler to call Sandler directly to thank him.
The unexpected connection changed Winkler's career path. Years later, when Sandler was casting The Waterboy, he offered Winkler the role of Coach Klein without requiring him to audition. "All of a sudden, I got picked to be the coach. And I didn't have to audition," Winkler told Forbes. "So the man is brilliant."
In The Waterboy, Winkler's college football coach character recruits Sandler's waterboy to play on his struggling team. The 1998 comedy became one of Sandler's most popular films. Winkler noted that college football players have told him they watch the film on team buses heading to games.
During production, Sandler called Winkler at 11:30 p.m. asking for an emergency favor: an actor hadn't shown up. Winkler drove to the park in Los Angeles, received makeup until 3:30 a.m., and filmed the scene. For his unscheduled night work, Winkler said he received a cookie and didn't even get to keep his wardrobe.