Ron Howard

Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954 in Duncan, Oklahoma) - also known as Ronny Howard, Ronnie Howard, Ron Howard.
He's of Dutch, Scottish, English, Irish, German & Cherokee Indian descent. Ron's parents, Rance Howard & the late Jean F Speegle, were also actors.

I've watched him as far back as "The Andy Griffith" Show where he was called Opie Taylor, son of the local sheriff in the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina.

He is also well known for his role as Richie Cunningham in "Happy Days" where he played the likeable foil to Henry Winkler's Fonz. In 1977, while still starring on Happy Days, he directed his first film, a comedy action film called "Grand Theft Auto". After leaving Happy Days in 1980, he directed several TV movies. His big theatrical directing break came in 1982 when he directed "Night Shift". He has since directed a number of high-visibility films.

He attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television but did not graduate.

He wed his high-school sweetheart, Cheryl, a writer, & they have been married for more than 25 years. Their daughter Bryce Dallas Howard is an actress.


Films directed by Ron Howard:
* Grand Theft Auto (1977)
* Night Shift (1982)
* Splash (1984)
* Cocoon (1985)
* Willow (1988)
* Backdraft (1990)
* Far and Away (1992)
* The Paper (1994)
* Apollo 13 (1995) - Academy Award nominee for Best Picture
* Ransom (1996)
* EDtv (1999)
* How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000)
* A Beautiful Mind (2001) - Academy Award for Best Director & Best Picture
* The Missing (2003)
* Cinderella Man (2005)
* The Da Vinci Code (2006)

~extracted from Wikipedia~