The appearance of actor, author, and producer Henry Winkler on behalf of the Solomon Schechter Academy of Ocean and Monmouth Counties raised $50,000 for the Howell Township Jewish day school.

Winkler, who shot to fame as Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli on the 1970s television comedy Happy Days, spoke before an audience of 400 on June 3 at Congregation B'nai Israel in Toms River.

He discussed his pride in his Jewish heritage and his life-long struggle with dyslexia. The event was part of the academy's annual Hilda Lubcher lecture series.

Dyslexia made his years in Hebrew and public school exceptionally difficult, said Winkler, who grew up in Manhattan. It wasn't easy to read movie and television scripts either, he added. He was 31 before his disability was correctly diagnosed.

Despite his personal challenges, however, Winkler became a bar mitzva, earned a bachelor's degree from Emerson College in Boston, and obtained a graduate degree from the Yale School of Drama.

Because of his own religious faith, Winkler and Stacy Weitzman, his wife of more than 25 years, provided their three children with a Jewish education.

"I made a commitment a long time ago to being Jewish and I have always tried to honor that commitment," he told the audience. "I have always been proud of being a Jew, and we tried to instill that pride in our children. And pride in the Jewish heritage and the importance of passing that down to future generations is reflected here tonight."

He also said that building a child's self-esteem is necessary to encourage growth and achievement of potential.

"I was always told as a kid that I was not living up to my potential, that I wasn't really trying to do well in school and get good grades," Winkler said. "That was hard for me to hear because I began to believe it."

His parents were Holocaust survivors who arrived in the United States from Germany in 1939. As they learned to live in a new country with a new language, they were not completely aware of the nature of their son's learning disability, said Winkler.

His parents, however, did provide him with a value system and the meaning of tikun olam.

"I've taken those life lessons everywhere I've traveled," Winkler said. "I think they are the reasons I became successful on a personal and professional level."

In 2003, his commitment to children and education inspired him to begin writing a series of children's books about a young boy trying to cope with learning disabilities and other life challenges. Winkler and writing partner Lin Oliver have now completed a dozen of the books, some of which have appeared on several best-seller lists.

"The message is that you can achieve anything, overcome all kinds of difficulties, but it will never be easy," said Winkler. "It's hard work, but it can be made easier if you have the support and understanding of parents and educators."

Winkler still struggles with his own learning disability; spelling, math, and reading remain difficult, and he is aware of the irony of an actor who has trouble reading his lines. The lesson was not lost on those in the audience, said academy principal Ricki Budelman.

"As an educator, I found him inspiring because he is so focused on establishing goals to help school children," Budelman said. "His own family didn't know how to handle his situation, so he has helped raise awareness of the impact such learning challenges have on a child."

The money that was raised by Winkler's appearance will be used for a scholarship fund maintained by the school, she added. The lecture series — which has featured guest speakers that include former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, comedians Joan Rivers and Alan King, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Israelis statesman Abba Eban — was established 22 years ago in memory of Hilda Lubcher, a proponent of Jewish education and the grandmother of several students at the academy, according to Budelman. Lubcher's daughter, Gail Nissman of Toms River, established the lecture series in her mother's honor.

Winkler said he often relies on a phrase coined by Theodor Herzl, regarded as the founder of modern-day Zionism.

"Herzl said, 'If you will it, it's no dream,'" said Winkler. "It really has a universal meaning. In my career and on a personal level, that quote has helped me become a positive person who tries to make positive contributions."