No interview shows this better than the 1975 interview tape with Henry Winkler.

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But as muddy as the interview tapes can be, they still do the job. In her 1978 interview, Olivia Newton-John talks about her accent and sketches out her plans for her future career, and the listener can follow with little trouble. Erik Estrada talks about his health regimen and his plans to support his extended family, recorded in what sounds like a small room. And Robert Urich talks about feeling betrayed by various press interviews, showing how trustable Bob Lardine is in conducting his.

Ultimately, the tapes are legible. And, once your ear adjusts to the situation, email datasets wonderfully personal. These are workers, craftspeople, artists, taking time out from their day to share their current worries, considerations and plans. They speak, not so much as a performer providing entertainment at a microphone for a “personal moment” during a concert or appearance, but people with a job sharing how they got there, and where they are going.





With Happy Days now in its third season, Winkler has been given co-starring status in the series with Ron Howard. Fonz-mania, years away from famously “jumping the shark”, has him in stadiums with 25,000 people cheering for him. Under any measurement, he is experiencing super-stardom, with the sky the limit.