MILWAUKEE — His hair will always be in place, he doesn't mind if you touch the leather and he's far too heavy to jump the shark.

Thought Arthur Fonzarelli couldn't get any cooler? Meet the bronze Fonz.

Dozens of people lined the Milwaukee River yesterday to cheer the unveiling of a statue of the "Happy Days" character, including Henry Winkler himself. The man who was cast as The Fonz — then cast in bronze — pretended to comb the statue's hair and put his arm around the smiling, life-size likeness, which is giving two thumbs up.

Milwaukee joins at least six other cities around the nation that have erected statues of classic television or movie characters.

Two booster groups, VISIT Milwaukee and Spirit Milwaukee, helped raise funds for the statue. The cable network TV Land also contributed.

TV Land fully sponsored six other statues, but since ended the program. Those are Mary Tyler Moore in Minneapolis; Bob Newhart in Chicago; Elvis Presley in Honolulu; Ralph Kramden in New York; Samantha from "Bewitched" in Salem, Mass.; and Andy Griffith in Raleigh, N.C.

LENNON'S KILLER ASHAMED OF ACT

BUFFALO, N.Y. — John Lennon's killer told parole officials during his latest unsuccessful bid for release from prison that he is ashamed and sorry for gunning down the former Beatle nearly three decades ago.

Mark David Chapman was interviewed by the parole board for a fifth time Aug. 12 and was immediately denied release. A transcript of the hearing was made public yesterday.

The 53-year-old Chapman told the parole panel that, over the years, he has come to realize the gravity of what he did.

"I recognized that that 25-year-old man, I don't think he really appreciated the life that he was taking, that this was a human being," he said. "I feel now at 53 I have grown into a deeper understanding of what a human life is. I have changed a lot."

The former maintenance man from Hawai'i has been in prison for nearly 28 years. He was sentenced to 20 years to life after pleading guilty to the murder. The parole board decision means he will remain in New York's Attica Correctional Facility for at least two more years.

DAVE MATTHEWS' SAX PLAYER DIES

LOS ANGELES — LeRoi Moore, saxophone player for the Dave Matthews Band, died yesterday of injuries suffered in an accident on an all-terrain vehicle in June. He was 46.

Moore died at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, the band said on its Web site.