Ron Howard first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of The Twilight Zone.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,511 |
35 Facts About Ron Howard
2.
Ron Howard gained national attention for playing young Opie Taylor, the son of Sheriff Andy Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 through 1968.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,512 |
3.
Ron Howard was credited as Ronny Howard in his film and television appearances from 1959 to 1973.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,513 |
4.
Ron Howard was cast in one of the lead roles in the coming-of-age film American Graffiti, and became a household name for playing Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days, a role he would play from 1974 to 1980.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,514 |
5.
In 1980, Ron Howard left Happy Days to focus on directing, producing and sometimes writing a variety of films and television series.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,515 |
6.
Ron Howard's films included the comedies Night Shift, Splash, and Cocoon as well as the fantasy Willow, the thriller Backdraft, and the newspaper comedy-drama film The Paper .
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,516 |
7.
In 1995, Ron Howard gained widespread praise and recognition in the historical docudrama Apollo 13 .
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,517 |
8.
Ron Howard has directed the documentary films The Beatles: Eight Days a Week and Pavarotti .
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,518 |
10.
Ron Howard has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions in the television and motion pictures industries.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,520 |
11.
Ron Howard has German, English, Scottish, Irish, and Dutch ancestry.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,521 |
12.
Ron Howard's father was born with the surname "Beckenholdt" and took the stage name "Howard" in 1948 for his acting career.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,522 |
13.
Rance Howard was serving three years in the United States Air Force at the time of Ron's birth.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,523 |
14.
Ron Howard was tutored at Desilu Studios in his younger years but continued his schooling at Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary and David Star Jordan Junior High when not working in television, eventually graduating from John Burroughs High School.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,524 |
15.
Ron Howard later attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts but did not graduate.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,525 |
16.
Ron Howard has said he knew from a young age he might want to go into directing, thanks to his early experience as an actor.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,526 |
17.
Ron Howard played "Timmy" in "Counterfeit Gun", Season 4, Episode 2 of the TV series, The Cheyenne Show.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,527 |
18.
Ron Howard starred in the 1963 film The Courtship of Eddie's Father with Glenn Ford and Jones.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,528 |
19.
Ron Howard appeared on the 1969 Disneyland Records album The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,529 |
20.
Ron Howard played Steve Bolander in George Lucas' coming-of-age film American Graffiti in 1973, which was the inspiration for the television series Happy Days starring Ron Howard.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,530 |
21.
In 1974, Ron Howard guest-starred as Seth Turner, the best friend of Jason Walton, in The Waltons episode, "The Gift".
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,531 |
22.
In 1976, Ron Howard starred alongside John Wayne and Lauren Bacall in Don Siegel's The Shootist, the story of a Western gunfighter dying of cancer.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,532 |
23.
Ron Howard left Happy Days to become a film director just before the start of its eighth season in 1980, but returned for guest appearances in later seasons.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,533 |
24.
Ron Howard went on to direct several TV movies for NBC between 1978 and 1982, including the 1980 TV movie, Skyward, starring Bette Davis.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,534 |
25.
Ron Howard directed the science fiction comedy drama Cocoon starring Don Ameche, Hume Cronyn, Wilford Brimley, and Brian Dennehy.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,535 |
26.
Ron Howard continued directing through the 1990s, including the American drama Backdraft revolving around firefighters.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,536 |
27.
In 1994, Ron Howard directed the newspaper comedy drama The Paper with an ensemble starring Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei, Jason Alexander, Jason Robards, and Robert Duvall.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,537 |
28.
In 2005, Howard directed the biographical sports drama Cinderella Man based on the true story of heavyweight boxing champion James J Braddock played by Russell Crowe.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,538 |
29.
Ron Howard was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival's 2009 Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,539 |
30.
In 2013, Ron Howard directed sports drama Rush, based on the Hunt–Lauda rivalry between two Formula One drivers, the British James Hunt and the Austrian Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula 1 motor-racing season.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,540 |
33.
In November 2017, Ron Howard announced that he would be teaching his first directing class.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,543 |
34.
In March 2021, Ron Howard began filming the survival drama Thirteen Lives, a film based on the Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,544 |
35.
Ron Howard is the co-chairman, with Brian Grazer, of Imagine Entertainment, a film and television production company.
| FactSnippet No. 1,087,545 |