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Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Date of Birth
March 1, 1954
Date of Death
Birth name
Ronald William Howard
Birthplace
Duncan, Oklahoma
Cause of Death
Role
External Links:

Ron Howard was born on March 1, 1954, in Duncan, Oklahoma played Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show, and in the pilot episode, Danny Meets Andy Griffith. He also played Opie in Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., Mayberry R.F.D., and in the 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry.

Films and Television[]

As a child actor, he appeared in the films Five Minutes to Live, The Music Man and The Courtship of Eddie's Father, and had recurring roles on the TV series "Dennis the Menace" and "The Smith Family", The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,,the highly popular TLassie Show. He has been nominated for five Golden Globes, including one for playing Richie Cunningham on the TV series "Happy Days". He also starred in the films American Graffiti, The Shootist, Grand Theft Auto, More American Graffiti, and Osmosis Jones. Ron Howard has become a noted director of such films as Grand Theft Auto, Night Shift, Splash,,Cocoon, Gung Ho, Willow, Parenthood, Backdraft, Far and Away, The Paper, Apollo 13, Ransom, EdTV, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Beautiful Mind (for which he won two Academy Awards for producing and directing), The Missing, Cinderella Man, The Da Vinci Code, Frost/Nixon (with two more Oscar nominations), Angels & Demons, The Dilemma, Rush, In the Heart of the Sea, Inferno and Solo: A Star Wars Story. He was awarded a star on the Walk of Fame and he has also won two of his six Emmy nominations for producing TV shows such as: "From the Earth to the Moon" starring the Two Time Oscar winner, Tom Hanks and He has won one Golden Globe for "Arrested Development" for which he also serves as The Narrator.

The Howards

Ron with his father and brother while filming TAGS.

Biography[]

His father Rance Howard and brother Clint Howard each appeared in episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show" and have appeared in many of Ron Howard's films. His mother Jean Speegle Howard and wife Cheryl Howard have appeared in several of his films. The film How the Grinch Stole Christmas was dedicated to his mother's memory. His daughter Bryce Dallas Howard has become a noted film actress, whose first three films were directed by her father.

While hosting "Saturday Night Live" in 1982, Ron Howard appeared in a sketch with Andy Griffith, in which they played Sheriff Taylor and Opie. He appeared in the TV reunion specials Andy Griffith Show Reunion, Inside TV Land: The Andy Griffith Show and The Andy Griffith Show Reunion: Back to Mayberry. In 2008 Ron Howard produced an online political endorsement for presidential candidate Barack Obama, entitled Ron Howard's Call to Action. In the short film, he addresses the camera as himself, then changes costume to appear as Opie with Andy Griffith and again as Richie with actor Henry Winkler as the "Fonz".

He is the coauthor of the 2021 book "The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family" with his brother, Clint Howard.

Trivia, Quotes, and Interviews[]

  • His favorite episode is The Ball Game. Ron has said that his father pitched the idea to Andy, after umpiring a real-life baseball game with his son.
  • "As a child, I would sit around listening to them, talking about the script and working out kinks," Howard said. "I was even allowed to speak up. I remember that first year I was 6, and it was a little worrisome because they weren't accepting any of my ideas. I was full of notes. At the end of the second season, we were in rehearsal, and I was supposed to come in the sheriff's office like I always do and say, "Hey, Pa something. And I don't remember what the line was, but I remember during rehearsal, I hesitated and I said, 'Could I say something?' They said, 'Sure.' I said, 'I don't think a kid would say it that way.' And the director, Bob Sweeney, who'd also been an actor, said, 'Well, how would a kid say it?' And I pitched my little rewrite, and he said, 'Great, say it that way. Okay, here we go, let's rehearse it.' And I remember just standing there and I must have been beaming because Andy looked at me and kind of squinted and said, 'Whatcha grinnin' at, youngin?' And I said, 'Well, that was the first idea of mine that you ever took.' And he said, 'It was the first one that was ever any damn good, now let's do the scene!'[1]

Appearances[]

Episodes of Ron Howard

Image Gallery[]

External Links[]

References

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