Entertainment

Henry Winkler's First Nude Scene Happened at 79 on a Cold Beach With Only 'a Piece of Jewelry'

Henry Winkler has been on television for more than 50 years. He has an Emmy. He has Golden Globes. And until recently, he had never done a nude scene.

That changed when Maya Rudolph called.

Winkler, 80, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!and described how he ended up baring almost everything for the Season 3 premiere of Apple TV+'s Loot. He plays Gerald Canning, a billionaire who runs a nudist colony on a tropical island. Rudolph plays Molly Wells, the third-wealthiest woman in the United States, who finds herself stranded on Gerald's half of the island.

'When she asked me to be on the first episode of the third season of Loot, I didn't even ask to read the script,' Winkler told Kimmel. He went in for a costume fitting, and the first thing they handed him was a silk robe. That was it. 'There was nothing else. That was it,' he said. 'And I said, 'No, no, no.' And they said, 'No, there's a piece of jewelry.'

They filmed in January, on a beach. 'The wind came from every direction,' Winkler said. Rudolph, for her part, was dressed head to toe. Winkler called the experience 'liberating.'

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Rudolph was equally enthusiastic. She told Jimmy Kimmel Live!in an earlier interview that she has been a fan of Winkler's since childhood. 'Arthur Fonzarelli was supposed to be my husband,' she said. 'I don't know what happened, but Henry is the greatest. And just goes to show you is, like, up for doing anything.'

The Loot appearance is one piece of a busy stretch. Winkler also hosts Hazardous History on the History Channel, which was just renewed, expanding from 8 episodes to 30.

Winkler's willingness to commit is well established. He spent a decade as Fonzie on Happy Days, won his first Emmy at 72 for Barry, and has shown no interest in slowing down. When asked on the IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson podcast whether retirement was coming, he was dismissive: 'I will retire when I am not able to do, again, more. I think that is deadly.'

The nude scene, cold beach and all, fits the pattern perfectly.

Loot Season 3 is available on Apple TV+.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 5:10 AM.

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