Submitted by:
Mike Donahue

I was working alone at the Front Desk during a slow evening the summer of 1976. We knew that we had a celebrity in the house. Henry Winkler was staying at the Davenport while he was in Spokane appearing at the Auto, Boat, and Speed Show.

    Each morning, Henry Winkler would be picked up from his room by the Speed Show staff, and whisked off to the show. Each night, he would return and be rushed back to his room. This was the way it worked for each day and night, but there was a change on his last night at the hotel.

    I was checking in some guests when we heard some loud voices, and Henry Winkler suddenly appeared at the Front Desk with another man. "I'm tired of you guys hustling me upstairs before I can get a look at this place!" he said. He wandered around the lobby, and then returned to the Front Desk. He introduced himself, and seemed very interested about my job as a front desk clerk, and about the hotel's history.

    He then hopped up and sat on the Front Desk, facing the lobby, with his legs hanging over the side. Henry helped me check in the next few guests.

    "Don't you have a really nice room for them, Mike?" he would ask with a smile. "These look like important people, don't you think that you should give them a suite for the same price?" And of course, they got the suite for the regular room price.

    The night with Henry Winkler suddenly came to an end when one of the guests called him "Fonz." His mood suddenly changed, and he seemed very upset.

    "The Fonz" is a character I play. My name is Henry Winkler!" With that, he jumped down and went up to his room. He checked out the next morning.