HAPPY DAYS! BRONZE FONZ TO ROCK BOTTOM SITE

By Michael Horne

Well, the suspense is over. The novelty sculpture of Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, a character from the sitcoms "Laverne and Shirley" and "Happy Days," both set in Milwaukee, will be located on the Riverwalk by the Rock Bottom Brewery.
This news comes from Dave Fantle, a noted Hollywood buff and executive at Visit Milwaukee, the local tourist organization.
"Even David Gordon agrees this location makes sense!" Fantle exclaims to Milwaukeeworld. Gordon, the recently retired director of the Milwaukee Art Museum, was among those concerned -- nay, alarmed -- by early news reports that inaccurately said the statue was destined for the corner of N. Water St. and E. Wisconsin Ave. (Milwaukeeworld particularly had a fit.) That is the site of the Chase Bank Plaza, where the new owners of the old Marine Bank have been busy stripping the building of its historic artworks, like the Doris White painting by the staircase, but that's another story.
Fantle was quick to point out that the Bronze Fonz had indeed been planned for the Chase Plaza, but tucked away along its river frontage, and not on the prominent corner.
However, negotiations with the owners of the Chase Tower were infelicitous, and a search committee reviewed other, more appropriate sites for the likeness.
The Rock Bottom Brewery site is also on the Riverwalk, but the Bronze Fonz is much less likely to interfere with actual art there. It is expected to share a certain aesthetic with the London telephone booth of John Hawk's Pub, the neon fish of the Riverside Theater and the bronze mallards (or what's left of them) of the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge, all within eyesight of the location. Our newest Cream City mascot is proposed to be dedicated on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008. Perhaps by then the mayor and council will declare the vicinity to be a Culture-Free Zone. As Fantle would say, "what's wrong with a little fun?"
Henry Winkler, who portrayed the rebellious (yet warm-hearted!) Fonz, is expected to be present, along with other members of his television family.

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Here is an example of the work of artist Gerald Sawyer of Lake Mills, who has been commissioned to produce the Fonz sculpture. -- Michael Horne