Ron Howard
Biography
Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of The Twilight Zone. He 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.
Acting (82 movies)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
1985
The Twilight Zone: A 60th Anniversary Celebration
2019
American Graffiti
1973
Willow: Behind the Magic
2023
Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored
2011
The Shootist
1976
More American Graffiti
1979
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
1997
The Music Man
1962
Village of the Giants
1965
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
1963
Five Minutes to Live
1961
The Spikes Gang
1974
Eat My Dust
1976
Grand Theft Auto
1977
Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible
2010
Corman's World
2011
The Journey
1959
Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life
2011
Roger Corman, the Pope of Pop Cinema
2021
Frank Capra's American Dream
1997
Huckleberry Finn
1978
Lost Moon: The Triumph of Apollo 13
1996
Happy Mother's Day, Love George
1973
Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial
1996
The Arrested Development Documentary Project
2013
Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck
2013
Smoke
1970
The Magical World of Chuck Jones
1992
Tom Hanks: The Nomad
2023
Radioman
2012
The Wild Country
1970
Locusts
1974
George Lucas: Creating an Empire
2005
Bitter Harvest
1981
Roger Corman: Hollywood's Wild Angel
1978
The Migrants
1974
John Wayne: Cowboys & Demons
2023
Night Shift
1982
Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel
2022
The First Nudie Musical
1976
Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies
2017
'Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen
2022
Fire on the Mountain
1981
Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero
1997
Kasdan on Kasdan
2018
Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie
2016
The Making of 'American Graffiti'
1998
Osmosis Jones
2001
The Independent
2000
NBC Salutes the 25th Anniversary of the Wonderful World of Disney
1978
Music by John Williams
2024
Act of Love
1980
Welcome to Hollywood
2000
Return to Mayberry
1986
First Works
1989
A Special: Olivia Newton-John
1976
Cannes: All Access
2007
I'm a Fool
1977
Tell Them Who You Are
2004
Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10
2019
A Boy Called Nuthin’
1967
From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic
1999
Dads
2019
The Shootist: The Legend Lives On
2001
Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation
2000
Inside a Beautiful Mind
2002
Making a 'Splash'
2004
Weezer: Video Capture Device - Treasures from the Vault 1991-2002
2004
From Morf to Morphing: The Dawn of Digital Filmmaking
2013
Willow: The Making of an Adventure
1988
The Happy Days of Garry Marshall
2020
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
1979
Christopher Plummer: A Man For All Stages
2002
Ron Howard: 50 Years in Film
2008
1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever!
2022
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
2010
A Beautiful Mind
2001
Fuck Coin
2021
Channel 99
1988
Tom Hanks: A League of His Own
2016
Enterprise or Love: The Story of Far and Away
2024
Directing (41 movies)
A Beautiful Mind
2001
Apollo 13
1995
Parenthood
1989
The Da Vinci Code
2006
Cocoon
1985
Splash
1984
Willow
1988
Cinderella Man
2005
Backdraft
1991
Ransom
1996
Far and Away
1992
EDtv
1999
Frost/Nixon
2008
The Paper
1994
The Missing
2003
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
2000
Gung Ho
1986
Angels & Demons
2009
Night Shift
1982
The Dilemma
2011
Grand Theft Auto
1977
Presidential Reunion
2010
Rush
2013
In the Heart of the Sea
2015
Deed of Daring-Do
1969
Cards, Cads, Guns, Gore, and Death...
1969
Old Paint
1969
Made in America
2013
Skyward
1980
Inferno
2016
Cotton Candy
1978
Through the Magic Pyramid
1981
Eden
2025
We Feed People
2022
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years
2016
Jim Henson Idea Man
2024
Solo: A Star Wars Story
2018
Pavarotti
2019
Hillbilly Elegy
2020
Rebuilding Paradise
2020
Thirteen Lives
2022
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto | 1977 | Writer |
| Cotton Candy | 1978 | Writer |
| Skyward | 1980 | Executive Producer |
| Skyward Christmas | 1981 | Executive Producer |
| Through the Magic Pyramid | 1981 | Executive Producer |
| When Your Lover Leaves | 1983 | Executive Producer |
| No Greater Gift | 1985 | Executive Producer |
| Into Thin Air | 1985 | Executive Producer |
| The Lone Star Kid | 1986 | Executive Producer |
| Gung Ho | 1986 | Executive Producer |
| No Man's Land | 1987 | Executive Producer |
| Vibes | 1988 | Executive Producer |
| Clean and Sober | 1988 | Executive Producer |
| The 'Burbs | 1989 | Executive Producer |
| Far and Away | 1992 | Producer |
| The Chamber | 1996 | Producer |
| Inventing the Abbotts | 1997 | Producer |
| EDtv | 1999 | Producer |
| Beyond the Mat | 1999 | Producer |
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas | 2000 | Producer |
| Silicon Follies | 2001 | Executive Producer |
| A Beautiful Mind | 2001 | Producer |
| The Missing | 2003 | Producer |
| The Alamo | 2004 | Producer |
| Inside Deep Throat | 2005 | Producer |
| Cinderella Man | 2005 | Producer |
| Curious George | 2006 | Producer |
| The Da Vinci Code | 2006 | Producer |
| Frost/Nixon | 2008 | Producer |
| Changeling | 2008 | Producer |
| Angels & Demons | 2009 | Producer |
| Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! | 2009 | Executive Producer |
| The Dilemma | 2011 | Producer |
| Cowboys & Aliens | 2011 | Producer |
| Restless | 2011 | Producer |
| Katy Perry: Part of Me | 2012 | Producer |
| Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest | 2013 | Executive Producer |
| Rush | 2013 | Producer |
| Out of the Blue | 2013 | Executive Producer |
| Made in America | 2013 | Producer |
| The Good Lie | 2014 | Producer |
| Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle | 2015 | Executive Producer |
| Prophet's Prey | 2015 | Executive Producer |
| In the Heart of the Sea | 2015 | Producer |
| The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years | 2016 | Producer |
| Inferno | 2016 | Producer |
| The Dark Tower | 2017 | Producer |
| The Spy Who Dumped Me | 2018 | Executive Producer |
| Backdraft 2 | 2019 | Executive Producer |
| Pavarotti | 2019 | Producer |
| Being Frank | 2019 | Producer |
| Dads | 2019 | Producer |
| Rebuilding Paradise | 2020 | Producer |
| Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band | 2020 | Executive Producer |
| D. Wade: Life Unexpected | 2020 | Producer |
| Curious George: Go West, Go Wild | 2020 | Executive Producer |
| Hillbilly Elegy | 2020 | Producer |
| The Day Sports Stood Still | 2021 | Executive Producer |
| Who Are You, Charlie Brown? | 2021 | Executive Producer |
| Julia | 2021 | Executive Producer |
| tick, tick... BOOM! | 2021 | Producer |
| Paper & Glue | 2021 | Executive Producer |
| Lucy and Desi | 2022 | Executive Producer |
| Downfall: The Case Against Boeing | 2022 | Executive Producer |
| We Feed People | 2022 | Producer |
| Leave No Trace | 2022 | Executive Producer |
| Thirteen Lives | 2022 | Producer |
| Wedding Season | 2022 | Executive Producer |
| Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues | 2022 | Executive Producer |
| Personality Crisis: One Night Only | 2022 | Executive Producer |
| The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari | 2022 | Executive Producer |
| Judy Blume Forever | 2023 | Executive Producer |
| Tetris | 2023 | Executive Producer |
| Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman | 2023 | Executive Producer |
| The Beanie Bubble | 2023 | Producer |
| The Slumber Party | 2023 | Executive Producer |
| Carlos | 2023 | Executive Producer |
| Frida | 2024 | Executive Producer |
| Jim Henson Idea Man | 2024 | Producer |
| Music by John Williams | 2024 | Producer |
| The Lost Children | 2024 | Executive Producer |
| Eden | 2025 | Producer |
| Pets | 2025 | Executive Producer |
| Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything | 2025 | Executive Producer |
| Big Dreams: The Little League World Series 2024 | 2025 | Executive Producer |
| Whalefall | 2026 | Producer |