Ron Howard
Howard at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival Vanity Fair party
Born	Ronald William Howard (1954-03-01) March 1, 1954 (age 58) Duncan, Oklahoma, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupation	Actor, producer, director
Years active	1956–present
Spouse	Cheryl Alley (June 7, 1975–present)
Children	4 (including Bryce Dallas Howard)

Ronald William "Ron" Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American film director, producer and former child actor. He came to prominence playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years.^[1][2] He appeared in the films American Graffiti in 1973 and The Shootist in 1976, the latter during his run on Happy Days. Howard made his directorial debut with the 1977 comedy Grand Theft Auto, and left Happy Days in 1980 to focus on directing. His films include the Academy Award-winning Cocoon, Apollo 13, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Beautiful Mind. In 2003, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.^[3] Asteroid 12561 Howard is named after him.

Early life[link]

Howard was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, the son of Jean Speegle Howard, an actress, and Rance Howard, a director, writer and actor.^[4] His father was born with the surname "Beckenholdt", and had taken the stage name "Howard" by 1948, for his acting career.^[5][6] Rance Howard was serving three years in the United States Air Force at the time of Ron's birth.^[7][8] The family moved to Hollywood in 1958, the year before the birth of his younger brother, Clint Howard. They rented a house on the block south of the Desilu Studios, where The Andy Griffith Show would later be filmed. They lived in Hollywood for at least three years, before moving to Burbank.

Howard was tutored at Desilu Studios in his younger years, and graduated from John Burroughs High School. He later attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts but did not graduate.^[9]

Career[link]

[edit] Early acting roles and The Andy Griffith Show

Howard with Andy Griffith in The Andy Griffith Show, circa 1961.

In 1959, Howard had his first credited film role, in The Journey. He appeared in June Allyson's CBS anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson in the episode "Child Lost"; in the The Twilight Zone episode "Walking Distance"; a few episodes of the first season of the sitcom Dennis the Menace, as Stewart, one of Dennis's friends; and in the 24th episode of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Howard played "Timmy" (uncredited) in "Counterfeit Gun", Season 4, Episode 2 (1960) of the TV series, "The Cheyenne Show".

In 1960, Howard was cast as Opie Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show, a spin-off of The Danny Thomas Show. Credited as "Ronny Howard", he portrayed the son of the title character (played by Andy Griffith) for all eight seasons of the show. Howard also spent a lot of time with Griffith off-screen.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1962 film version of "The Music Man," Howard played Winthrop Paroo, the child with the lisp; the film starred Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. He also starred in the 1963 film The Courtship of Eddie's Father, with Glenn Ford.

Billed as "Ronny Howard", he appeared as Barry Stewart on The Eleventh Hour, in the episode "Is Mr. Martian Coming Back?" in 1965; on I Spy, in the episode "Little Boy Lost", in 1966; and as an underage Marine on M*A*S*H, in the episode "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet", in 1973. In the 1970s, he appeared in at least one episode of The Bold Ones, as a teenage tennis player with an illness.

Howard appeared on the 1969 Disneyland Records album The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion. It featured the story of two teenagers, Mike (Howard) and Karen (Robie Lester), who get trapped inside the Haunted Mansion. Thurl Ravenscroft plays the Narrator, Pete Reneday plays the Ghost Host, and Eleanor Audley plays Madame Leota. Some of the effects and ideas that were planned but never permanently made it to the attraction are mentioned here: the Raven speaks in the Stretching Room, and the Hatbox Ghost is mentioned during the Attic scene. It was reissued in 1998 as a cassette tape titled A Spooky Night in Disney's Haunted Mansion.

[edit] Film roles and Happy Days

Howard at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.

Howard played Steve Bolander in George Lucas's coming-of-age film American Graffiti in 1973.^[2] When asked in 2000 if he would ever like to return to acting, Howard replied, "Only if I can act with Cindy Williams again", referring to the actress who played opposite him in American Graffiti.^{[citation needed]}

A role in an installment of series Love, American Style, titled "Love in The Happy Days", led to him being cast as Richie Cunningham in the TV series Happy Days. Beginning in 1974, he played the likeable "buttoned-down" boy, in contrast to Henry Winkler's "greaser" Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli. On the Happy Days set, he developed an on- and off-screen chemistry with series leads Winkler and Tom Bosley, as they each developed their own private lives. The three remained friends until Bosley's death in 2010.

In 1976, Howard played Gillom Rogers in the movie The Shootist, with John Wayne. He had hopes they would work together again; he quotes Wayne as saying, about a couple of months after filming wrapped on The Shootist, "I found a good script, kid... it's you and me, or it's nobody."^{[citation needed]} But it was not to be, as Wayne had already been diagnosed with the terminal cancer that would kill him three years later. As a token of respect, Howard narrated the film's opening montage, which showed various clips from Wayne's long film career.

Howard's last significant on-screen role was a reprisal of his famous role as Opie Taylor in the 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry, an Andy Griffith Show reunion reuniting him with Griffith, Don Knotts, and most of the cast. He also appeared in two Happy Days TV reunions: 1992's The Happy Days Reunion Special, a retrospective hosted by Winkler that aired on ABC; and 2005's The Happy Days 30th Anniversary Reunion, where he was reunited with most of the surviving cast.

Directing[link]

Before leaving Happy Days in 1980, Howard made his directing debut with the 1977 low-budget comedy/action film Grand Theft Auto.^[2] This came after cutting a deal with Roger Corman, wherein Corman would let Howard direct a film in exchange for Howard starring in Eat My Dust, with Christopher Norris.^[2] Howard went on to direct several TV movies.^[2] His big theatrical break came in 1982, with Night Shift, featuring Michael Keaton, Shelley Long, and Henry Winkler.^[2]

Howard in 2008 during the filming of Angels & Demons in Rome.

He has since directed a number of high-visibility films, including Splash (1984), Cocoon (1985), Willow (1988), Parenthood (1989), Backdraft, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind (for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director), Cinderella Man, The Da Vinci Code, and Angels & Demons.

Howard's younger brother Clint has minor roles in most of his movies. He has also cast his father and mother in a number of roles. Both his wife Cheryl Howard and father Rance Howard appeared in Angels & Demons, as a CERN scientist and as Cardinal Beck, respectively.^[10]

Howard showcased the world premiere of his film Frost/Nixon at the 2008 London Film Festival in October 2008.^[11]

Howard was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival's 2009 Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award. Michael Keaton presented him with the Award.

Imagine Entertainment[link]

Howard and Brian Grazer at a Tribeca Film Festival panel on A Beautiful Mind

Howard is the co-chairman, with Brian Grazer, of Imagine Entertainment, a major^{[citation needed]} film and television production company. Imagine has produced several films including Friday Night Lights, 8 Mile, and Inside Deep Throat, and the television series 24, Felicity and Arrested Development. Howard also narrated Arrested Development.

As part of Imagine Entertainment, he appeared in a 1997 print ad for Milk - Where's your mustache?, in which he wore a cap for Imagine Entertainment and sporting a milk mustache. Earlier versions show younger Ronny Howard on the other side.

Personal life[link]

On June 7, 1975, Howard wed his high-school sweetheart, Cheryl (née Alley), a writer with a degree in geriatric psychology. Their first child, daughter Bryce Dallas Howard was born on March 2, 1981. Their twin daughters Jocelyn Carlyle Howard and Paige Carlyle Howard were born in 1985. Their fourth and last child and only son, Reed Cross Howard, was born in 1987. His daughters' middle names indicate where they were conceived, Bryce in Dallas, Texas, and twins Jocelyn and Paige at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City. Son Reed Cross was named after a London street because "Volvo isn't a very good middle name", according to Howard.^[12] Daughters Bryce and Paige are actresses. Ron Howard became a grandfather when his daughter, Bryce, and son-in-law Seth Gabel welcomed their first child, son Theodore Norman Howard Gabel, on February 16, 2007. Ron Howard became a grandfather for the second time when Bryce and Seth welcomed their second child, daughter Beatrice Jean Howard Gabel, on January 19, 2012.

In the June 2006 issue of Vanity Fair magazine, Howard was asked, "What do you consider your greatest achievement?" He replied, "Forty-eight consecutive years of steady employment in television and film, while preserving a rich family life."

Howard in popular culture[link]

Howard appeared as himself twice in The Simpsons. In "When You Dish Upon a Star", Homer meets and befriends Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger and Howard. Later in the episode, Howard is injured when trying to jump from a truck to the RV that Homer was driving. In the end, he pitches Homer's movie idea and gets it greenlit. Another episode ("Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder") Homer and Howard are fighting each other while appearing on The Springfield Squares. Later, Howard gives Homer the inspiration to spend more time with his kids and offers him some money that Homer refuses at first but then takes. Howard yanks the money back and drives away.

When he hosted Saturday Night Live in the 1980s, Eddie Murphy called him "Opie Cunningham".

In the South Park episode "Ginger Kids", Cartman asks a crowd of fellow gingers to name great Americans with red hair, the only name they can think of is "Ron Howard". When asked to name a second, one responds "Ron Howard" again.

On a VH1 special about the 100 greatest child stars, many of the interviewees considered Ron Howard to be the most successful child star of all time, considering his two major television acting roles and his directing career.^{[citation needed]}

In the series finale of the Emmy Award-winning, critically acclaimed series Arrested Development (which he executive produced and narrated), Howard appears as himself in an epilogue at the end of the episode and refers to himself as "a Hollywood icon".

In Season 1, Episode 3 of Stroker and Hoop on Adult Swim, Stroker and Hoop run a detective agency whose first client needs them to make Ron Howard stop controlling his mind.

In October 2008, Howard reprised his roles as Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham for the first time in over 20 years when he appeared in a video on funnyordie.com in which he endorsed Barack Obama and urged people to vote. The video, titled "Ron Howard’s Call to Action",^[13] also features Griffith and Winkler. In the video, Howard shaves his beard and wears a wig in order to recreate the way he looked when he was younger.

Ron Howard made a cameo appearance in the 2009 music video for Jamie Foxx's song "Blame It" alongside Forrest Whittaker, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the video he is shown holding a glass of champagne.^[14]

Filmography[link]

Director[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

Acting[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Producer only[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ron Howard at the Internet Movie Database
• Ron Howard at AllRovi
• Ron Howard's Television Schedule
• Ron Howard's Rush Formula 1 James Hunt and Niki Lauder 2013 Filming at the Nordschleife's Nurburgring
• 2002 Commencement Address (USC School of Cinema-Television)
• Ron Howard: Imagining the Wonders of Willow – Article at StarWars.com
• Ron Howard Archive of American Television interview
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Howard, Ron