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Ron Howard
Directing
Biography
Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of The Twilight Zone. Howard gained national attention for playing young Opie Taylor, the son of Sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 through 1968. During this time, he also appeared in the musical film The Music Man (1962), a critical and commercial success. He was credited as Ronny Howard in his film and television appearances from 1959 to 1973.
Howard was cast in one of the lead roles in the coming-of-age film American Graffiti (1973), which rec…
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Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of The Twilight Zone. Howard gained national attention for playing young Opie Taylor, the son of Sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 through 1968. During this time, he also appeared in the musical film The Music Man (1962), a critical and commercial success. He was credited as Ronny Howard in his film and television appearances from 1959 to 1973. Howard was cast in one of the lead roles in the coming-of-age film American Graffiti (1973), which received widespread acclaim and became one of the most profitable films in history. The following year, Howard became a household name for playing Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days, a role he would play from 1974 through 1984. Howard continued appearing in films during this time, such as the western film The Shootist (1976) and the comedy film Grand Theft Auto (1977), which also marked his directorial debut. In 1984, Howard left Happy Days to focus on directing, producing and occasionally writing variety films and television series. His films include the science-fiction/fantasy Cocoon (1985), the fantasy Willow (1988), the thriller Backdraft (1991), the historical docudrama Apollo 13 (1995), the Christmas comedy How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), the biographical drama A Beautiful Mind (2001), the biographical sports drama Cinderella Man (2005), the thriller The Da Vinci Code (2006), the historical drama Frost/Nixon (2008), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), and the documentary Pavarotti (2019). For A Beautiful Mind, Howard won the Academy Award for Best Director and Academy Award for Best Picture. He was nominated again for the same awards for Frost/Nixon. In 2003, Howard was awarded the National Medal of Arts. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2013. Howard has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions in the television and motion pictures industries.
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BODY OF WORK
Ron Howard's Filmography
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Marty, Life Is Short
as Self
John Candy: I Like Me
as Self - Director, Splash (archive footage)
Enterprise or Love: The Story of Far and Away
as Self
Music by John Williams
as Self - Filmmaker
Tom Hanks: The Nomad
as Self (archive footage)
John Wayne: Cowboys & Demons
as Self
Willow: Behind the Magic
as Self - Director, Willow, 1988 / Executive Producer, Willow, 2022
'Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen
as Self
Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel
as Self
Fuck Coin
as Self
Roger Corman, the Pope of Pop Cinema
as Self
The Happy Days of Garry Marshall
as Self
The Twilight Zone: A 60th Anniversary Celebration
as Wilcox Boy (archive footage)
Dads
as Self
Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10
as Self
Kasdan on Kasdan
as Self
Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies
as Self
No Poster
Tom Hanks: A League of His Own
as Self
Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie
as Himself
The Arrested Development Documentary Project
as Self
Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck
as Self
Radioman
as Self
Corman's World
as Self - Filmmaker
The Death and Return of Superman
as Max's Son
Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored
as Richie Cunningham (archive footage)
Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life
as Self
Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible
as Self
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
as Self
Ron Howard: 50 Years in Film
as Self
Cannes: All Access
as Self
Tell Them Who You Are
as Self
Making a 'Splash'
as Self - Director
Weezer: Video Capture Device - Treasures from the Vault 1991-2002
as Richie Cunningham ("Buddy Holly") (archive footage)
Christopher Plummer: A Man For All Stages
as Self
Inside a Beautiful Mind
as Self
George Lucas: Creating an Empire
as Self
A Beautiful Mind
as Man at Governor's Ball (uncredited)
Osmosis Jones
as Tom Colonic (voice)
The Shootist: The Legend Lives On
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
From Morf to Morphing: The Dawn of Digital Filmmaking
as Self - Director
The Independent
as Ron Howard
Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation
as Self
Welcome to Hollywood
as Ron Howard
From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic
as Self
No Poster
Television: The First Fifty Years
as Self / Opie Taylor / Ritchie Cunningham (archive footage)
The Making of 'American Graffiti'
as Self
Frank Capra's American Dream
as Self
Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero
as Self
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
as Self
Lost Moon: The Triumph of Apollo 13
as Self
Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial
as Herbert Biberman
Sci-Fi Channel: The Making of Apollo 13
as Self
Hollywood on Hollywood
as Host
The Magical World of Chuck Jones
as Self
No Poster
The Horror Hall of Fame II
as Self
First Works
as Self
Channel 99
Willow: The Making of an Adventure
as Self - Director
Return to Mayberry
as Opie Taylor
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
as Self (archive footage)
Night Shift
as Annoying Sax Player (uncredited)
Fire on the Mountain
as Lee Mackie
Bitter Harvest
as Ned De Vries
Act of Love
as Leon Cybulkowski
More American Graffiti
as Steve Bolander
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
as Richie Cunningham (archive footage)
No Poster
Sitcom: The Adventures of Garry Marshall
as Self
NBC Salutes the 25th Anniversary of the Wonderful World of Disney
as Self - Host
Roger Corman: Hollywood's Wild Angel
as Self
Huckleberry Finn
as Huckleberry Finn
Grand Theft Auto
as Sam Freeman
I'm a Fool
as Andy
A Special: Olivia Newton-John
The Shootist
as Gillom Rogers
Bob Hope's Bicentennial Star-Spangled Spectacular
as Self
Eat My Dust
as Hoover Niebold
The First Nudie Musical
as Auditioning Actor
Locusts
as Donny Fletcher
The Spikes Gang
as Les
The Migrants
as Lyle Barlow
Happy Mother's Day, Love George
as Johnny
American Graffiti
as Steve Bolander
The Wild Country
as Virgil Tanner
Smoke
as Chris (as Ronny Howard)
A Boy Called Nuthin’
as Richie 'Nuthin'' Caldwell
Village of the Giants
as Genius
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
as Eddie Corbett
The Music Man
as Winthrop Paroo
Five Minutes to Live
as Bobby Wilson
The Journey
as Billy Rhinelander