Ron Howard

For other people named Ron Howard, see Ronald Howard (disambiguation).

Ron Howard
Howard in 2008 during filming of Angels & Demons in Rome.
Born	Ronald William Howard
Occupation(s)	Actor, producer, director
Years active	1956–present
Spouse	Cheryl Alley (1975–present)

Ronald William "Ron" Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American film director and producer, as well as an actor. Howard came to prominence in the 1960s while playing the son of sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith), Opie Taylor, on The Andy Griffith Show (credited as Ronny Howard), and later in the 1970s as Howard Cunningham's son and Arthur Fonzarelli's best friend (played by Tom Bosley and Henry Winkler respectively), Richie Cunningham, on Happy Days (a role he played from 1974 to 1980). Since retiring from acting, he has directed many films including Splash, Cocoon, Backdraft, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Frost/Nixon, The Da Vinci Code, and Angels & Demons.

In 2003, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

Early life

Howard was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, the son of Jean Speegle Howard, an actress, and Rance Howard, a director, writer, and actor. His family moved to Burbank, California in 1958, the year before the birth of his younger brother, Clint Howard. Howard graduated from John Burroughs High School, and later attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts but did not graduate.

Career

Early acting roles and The Andy Griffith Show

In 1959, he had his first credited film role, in The Journey, and appeared in June Allyson's CBS anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson in the episode "Child Lost," as well as The Twilight Zone episode "Walking Distance", about a man (Gig Young) who learns that he cannot go home again.

In 1960, he was cast in the role of Opie Taylor in the hit CBS television series The Andy Griffith Show, a spin-off of The Danny Thomas Show. Credited as "Ronny Howard," he portrayed the son of the local sheriff, played by Andy Griffith, in the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina for the entire eight seasons of the show. He also spent a lot of time with Griffith off-screen.

Howard played Winthrop Paroo, the child with the lisp in the 1962 film version of The Music Man with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. He also starred in the 1963 film The Courtship of Eddie's Father with Glenn Ford and (billed as "Ronny Howard") in Little Boy Lost, a 1963 episode of the NBC medical drama The Eleventh Hour as the character Barry Stewart in the episode entitled "Is Mr. Martian Coming Back?", and a 1966 episode of the NBC adventure series I Spy with Robert Culp and Bill Cosby. Howard made a guest-star appearance on the television series M*A*S*H during that show's first season as an underage American serving in the Marines during the Korean War. In the 1970s, Ron Howard appeared in at least one episode of The Bold Ones as a teenage tennis player with an illness.

In 1976, Howard was offered the role of Gillom Rogers in the movie The Shootist, starring opposite Hollywood legend John Wayne. At the time, Howard had no idea that this would be the last pairing of the two, as Wayne would die three years later of cancer; in fact, Howard is often quoted as saying, "About a couple of months after filming wrapped on The Shootist, Duke called me up and said, 'I found a good script, kid . . . it's you and me, or it's nobody." As a token of respect, during the beginning of The Shootist, Howard lent his voice to the beginning montage, which shows Wayne in various clips from his career.

American Graffiti and Happy Days

Howard played Steve Bollander in George Lucas' teen movie American Graffiti in 1973. The role led to him being cast as Richie Cunningham in the TV series Happy Days on which, beginning in 1974, he played the likeable "buttoned-down" boy, in contrast to Henry Winkler's "greaser" Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli. In 1977, while still starring on Happy Days, he directed his first film, a low-budget comedy/action film called Grand Theft Auto.

His last significant on-screen role was when he reprised his famous role as Opie Taylor in the 1986 TV reunion movie Return to Mayberry reuniting him with Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, and most of the old cast.

When asked in 2000 if he would ever like to return to acting, he replied "Only if I can act with Cindy Williams again," referring to the actress who played opposite him in American Graffiti.

Directing

Before leaving Happy Days in 1980, Howard made his directing debut with the 1977 project Grand Theft Auto (after cutting a deal with Roger Corman to star in Eat My Dust with Christopher Norris). Howard went on to direct several TV movies. His big theatrical break came in 1982 with Night Shift featuring soon-to-be stars, such as Michael Keaton and Shelley Long, as well as reuniting Howard with Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler.

He has since directed a number of high-visibility films, including Splash, Parenthood, Cocoon, Willow, Backdraft, Apollo 13 (nominated for nine Academy Awards and winning two), 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.

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

Ron 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

Howard is the co-chairman, with Brian Grazer, of Imagine Entertainment, a major film and television production company, which has produced notable projects like Friday Night Lights, 8 Mile, Inside Deep Throat, and the television series 24 and Felicity.

Through his company Imagine Television, Howard continues to have a presence in television, most recently as the executive producer and uncredited narrator of the critically acclaimed Fox sitcom Arrested Development. The show, despite having won six Emmy awards and near-unanimous praise from critics, did not enjoy high ratings and was limited by Fox Television in 2006 due to Fox scheduling the show opposite major events on other stations. A series finale took place in February 2006, but Howard, on-screen for the first time in the show, suggested a movie version may be in the works. In February 2008, Jeffrey Tambor and Jason Bateman confirmed that an Arrested Development motion picture was in development. The film was slated to begin production in late 2009, with a potential 2010 release date. All of the series' original main cast members are expected to reprise their roles for the film. Creator Mitchell Hurwitz is writing the screenplay and plans to direct. Howard presented Hurwitz with the Austin Film Festival's 2009 Outstanding Television Writer Award.

Personal life

On June 7, 1975, Howard wed his high-school sweetheart, Cheryl (née Alley), a writer with a degree in geriatric psychology. They have four children; daughters Bryce Dallas (b. 2 March 1981), Jocelyn Carlyle and Paige Carlyle (twins, b. 1985), and son Reed Cross (b. 1987). His daughters' middle names indicate where they were conceived, Bryce in Dallas, twins Jocelyn and Paige at the Hotel Carlyle 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. Daughters Bryce and Paige are actresses. The family lives on a 35-acre (140,000 m²) estate in the exclusive gated community of Conyers Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut. In February 2007, Howard became a grandfather when his daughter, Bryce, gave birth to a son, Theodore Norman Howard Gabel.

Howard is a sixth cousin to his Andy Griffith Show co-star, Don Knotts, through Howard's ancestor Lucinda Knotts.

In the June 2006 issue of Vanity Fair magazine, Ron 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

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 gives him some money that Homer refuses but takes anyway. Ron yoinks the money back from Homer and then 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", and 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. In Season 1, Episode 3 of Stroker and Hoop on Adult Swim, Stroker and Hoop ran a detective agency whose first client needed 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", also features Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler. As seen in the video, Howard is seen shaving his beard and wearing wigs to recreate his younger look.

Ron Howard recently made a cameo appearance in the 2009 music video for fellow Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx's song "Blame It" along side Academy Award winner Forrest Whittaker, Academy Award nominee, Jake Gyllenhaal and Samuel L. Jackson. In the video he is shown holding a glass of champagne.

Filmography

Directorial

Films

Year	Title	Oscar nominations	Oscar wins	Notes
1969	Old Paint
	Deed of Daring-Do
	Cards, Cads, Guns, Gore and Death
1976	Eat My Dust
1977	Grand Theft Auto			Also writer
1982	Night Shift
1984	Splash	1
1985	Cocoon	2	2
1986	Gung Ho			Also executive producer
1988	Willow	2
1989	Parenthood	2		Also writer
1991	Backdraft	3
1992	Far and Away			Also writer/producer
1994	The Paper	1
1995	Apollo 13	9	2
1996	Ransom
1999	EDtv			Also producer
2000	How the Grinch Stole Christmas	3	1	Also producer
2001	A Beautiful Mind	8	4	Also producer
2003	The Missing			Also producer
2005	Cinderella Man	3		Also producer
2006	The Da Vinci Code			Also producer
2008	Frost/Nixon	5		Also producer
2009	Angels & Demons			Also producer
2010	Cheaters
TBA	B-Major
	The Raven
	The Serpent and the Eagle
	Colossus
	The Emperor's Children
The Dark Tower

Television

Year	Film	Notes
1978	Cotton Candy	Writer/Director
1980	Skyward	Director/Executive producer
1981	Through the Magic Pyramid	Director/Executive producer
1983	Littleshots	Director
1987	Take Five	Director/Executive producer
2003	Arrested Development	Narrator/Executive producer only

Acting

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1959	The Journey	Billy Rhinelander	as Ronny Howard
1961	Door-to-Door Maniac	Bobby	as Ronnie Howard
1962	The Music Man	Winthrop Paroo	as Ronny Howard
1963	The Courtship of Eddie's Father	Eddie	as Ronny Howard
1965	Village of the Giants	Genius	as Ronny Howard
1970	The Wild Country	Virgil	as Ronny Howard
1973	American Graffiti	Steve Bolander	as Ronny Howard
	Happy Mother's Day, Love George	Johnny
1974	The Spikes Gang	Les Richter
1976	The First Nudie Musical	Auditioning actor	uncredited
	Eat My Dust	Hoover Niebold
	The Shootist	Gillom Rogers	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
1977	Grand Theft Auto	Sam Freeman
1979	More American Graffiti	Steve Bolander
1982	Night Shift	Annoying Sax Player/Boy Making out with Girlfriend in Front of Chuck's Apartment	uncredited
1992	The Magical World of Chuck Jones	Himself	documentary
1998	One Vision	Himself	documentary
	Welcome to Hollywood	Himself
2000	The Independent	Himself
	How the Grinch Stole Christmas	Whoville Townsperson	uncredited
2001	Osmosis Jones	Tom Colonic	(voice)
	A Beautiful Mind	Man at Governor's Ball	uncredited
2004	Tell Them Who You Are	Himself	documentary
2007	In the Shadow of the Moon	Himself	documentary

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Johnny Ringo	Ricky Parrot	1 episode
	The Twilight Zone	The Wilcox Boy	Episode "Walking Distance"
1959–1960	The June Allyson Show	Wim	"Child Lost" (as Ronny Howard)
	Dennis the Menace	Stewart	5 episodes, 1959–1960
1959–1961	The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis	various roles	4 episodes (as Ronny Howard)
	General Electric Theater	various roles	2 episodes
1960	Make Room for Daddy	Opie Taylor	"Danny Meets Andy Griffith"
	Cheyenne	Timmy	"Counterfeit Gun" uncredited
	Pete and Gladys	Tommy	"The Goat Story"
1960–1968	The Andy Griffith Show	Opie Taylor	209 episodes (as Ronny Howard)
1962	Route 66	Chet	"Poor Little Kangaroo Rat" (as Ronny Howard)
	The New Breed	Tommy Simms	"So Dark the Night"
1963	The Eleventh Hour	Barry Stewart	"Is Mr. Martian Coming Back?" (as Ronny Howard)
1964	The Great Adventure	Daniel Waterhouse	"Plague" (as Ronny Howard)
	Dr. Kildare	Jerry Prentice	"A Candle in the Window" (as Ronny Howard)
	The Fugitive	Gus	"Cry Uncle"
1965	The Big Valley	Tommy	"Night of the Wolf" (as Ronny Howard)
1966	Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.	Opie Taylor	"Opie Joins the Marines" (as Ronny Howard)
1966	I Spy	Alan Loden	"Little Boy Lost"
1967	The Monroes	Timothy Prescott	"Teaching the Tiger to Purr" (as Ronny Howard)
	Gentle Ben	Jody Cutler	"Green-Eyed Bear" (as Ronny Howard)
	A Boy Called Nuthin	Richie `Nuthin'´ Caldwell	(as Ronny Howard)
1968	Mayberry R.F.D.	Opie Taylor	"Andy and Helen Get Married" (as Ronny Howard)
	The F.B.I.	Jess Orkin	"The Runaways" (as Ronny Howard)
1969	Judd for the Defense	Phil Beeton	"Between the Dark and the Daylight" (as Ronny Howard)
	Daniel Boone	Luke	"A Man Before His Time" (as Ronny Howard)
1968–1969	Lancer	Various roles	2 episodes (as Ronny Howard)
1969	Gunsmoke	Jamie	"Charlie Noon" (as Ronny Howard)
	Land of the Giants	Jodar	"Genus At Work" (as Ronny Howard)
1970	Smoke	Chris	(as Ronny Howard)
	The Headmaster	Tony Landis	"Will the Real Mother of Tony Landis Please Stand Up?"
	Lassie	Gary	"Gary Here Comes Glory!" Part 1 & 2 (as Ronny Howard)
1971–1972	The Smith Family	Bob Smith	39 episodes
1972	Love, American Style	Richard 'Richie' Cunningham	"Love and the Happy Days"
	The Bold Ones: The New Doctors	Cory Merlino	"Discovery at Fourteen" (as Ronny Howard)
1973	M*A*S*H	Private Walter/ Wendell Peterson	"Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" (as Ronny Howard)
1974	The Waltons	Seth Turner	"The Gift"
	The Migrants	Lyle Barlow
	Locusts	Donny Fletcher
1974–1984	Happy Days	Richard 'Richie' Cunningham	171 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
1975	Huckleberry Finn	Huckleberry Finn
1976	I'm a Fool	Andy
1976–1979	Laverne & Shirley	Richard 'Richie' Cunningham	2 episodes
1980	Act of Love	Leon Cybulkowski
	The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang	Richard 'Richie' Cunningham	(voice) "King for a Day"
1981	Bitter Harvest	Ned De Vries
	Fire on the Mountain	Lee Mackie
1983	When Your Lover Leaves		(uncredited)
1986	Return to Mayberry	Opie Taylor
1999	Frasier	Stephen	voice "Good Samaritan"
2003–2006	Arrested Development	Narrator	(uncredited)

External links

• Ron Howard at AllMovie
• Ron Howard's Television Schedule
• 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