Ron Howard
Actor, Producer & Director
About This Interview
A television star by the age of six, Ron Howard recalls that: "people were beginning to come up and ask me for autographs after The Andy Griffith Show aired, and I could print but it just took me forever, so I actually learned cursive writing so that I could sign autographs." Howard reminisces about his early years growing up in Burbank, the son of actor parents, and his own start at age three, using a dialogue scene from "Mr. Roberts" as his audition piece. He describes some of his earliest acting on television including the "live" anthology drama Playhouse 90 and his recurring role as part of the gang on Dennis the Menace . He then talks about his appearance on an episode of General Electric Theater, for which host Ronald Reagan made special note, catching the eye of producer Sheldon Leonard, who cast Howard on the pilot for The Andy Griffith Show . He speaks in great detail about playing "Opie Taylor" on The Andy Griffith Show , describing his work with Andy Griffith and the show's ensemble and discussing moments from the series' production. He talks using memories of his dog's death to create the emotions necessary for the classic "Opie the Birdman" episode, and truly having to "act" when eating "ice cream" (actually cold mashed potatoes). He briefly describes some television roles he appeared in before taking on his other signature television role of "Richie Cunningham" on Happy Days . He discusses candidly the shift in the series focus onto the break-out "Fonzie" character, recites some of the series numerous catchphrases, and reminisces about memorable series episodes (including "The Howdy Doody Show" and the now-infamous "jump-the-shark" episode "Hollywood"). He details his transition to behind-the-camera as a director of low-budget features and television movies (including Cotton Candy and Skyward ), before becoming one of Hollywood's A-list producer-directors. He lastly notes his work as executive-producer and voice-over narrator on the Emmy-Award-winning sitcom Arrested Development . Ron Howard was interviewed at the Imagine Entertainment offices in Beverly Hills, CA on October 18, 2006; Gary Rutkowski conducted the three-hour interview.
Related To This Video
Featured Content
Video: Full episode of The Andy Griffith Show: "Dogs, Dogs, Dogs" (airdate: 4/22/63) from the Internet Archive.
Resources
Links:
Book: Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon... and Beyond by Beverly Gray
IMDb entry on Ron Howard
Wikipedia entry on Ron Howard
YouTube video player - HTML5 compatible.
Highlights
"At the end of the day it doesn't matter how much money people are being paid or how many trucks you have on the sidelines. What'd you get inside the frame? That's all anybody really cares about. It's all I care about."
Clip begins at: 25:51, Duration: 02m 25s
Ron Howard on how The Andy Griffith Show was about the community of Mayberry as an extended family
Clip begins at: 12:17, Duration: 01m 36s
Ron Howard on his Happy Days character "Richie Cunningham"
Clip begins at: 24:34, Duration: 01m 15s
Ron Howard on the first acting lesson he recalls his father taught him
Clip begins at: 12:51, Duration: 00m 45s- Ron Howard on how Arrested Development came about
Clip begins at: 05:31, Duration: 03m 34s
Interview
- Part 1
- On growing up in Burbank, CA; on his parents and the traits he inherited from them
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On his first memories with his father, actor Rance Howard, in summer stock; on auditioning as a child actor with a scene from "Mr. Roberts"; on being coached by his father
Clip begins at: 08:28 - On his screen debut in The Journey; on his early television roles including Playhouse 90
Clip begins at: 14:11 - On "live" TV; on appearing in an episode of The Twilight Zone and a member of the gang of Dennis the Menace
Clip begins at: 20:04 - On a significant part on TV's General Electric Theater, singled out by series host Ronald Reagan, which led to his casting on The Andy Griffith Show
Clip begins at: 22:40 - Part 2
- On signing up for The Andy Griffith Show and on learning the fundamentals of the acting profession
Clip begins at: 0:28 - On the premise of The Andy Griffith Show and how it reflected Andy Griffith's sensibilities; on his contribution to dialogue; on his initial thoughts about becoming a director
Clip begins at: 05:48 - On his The Andy Griffith Show character "Opie Taylor" and Opie'e relationship to his father during the show's run.
Clip begins at: 14:07 - On watching The Andy Griffith Show during its run; on Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, and Frances Bavier
Clip begins at: 18:06 - On some of the classic episodes of The Andy Griffith Show
Clip begins at: 22:49 - On his guest-starring role on M*A*S*H in the episode "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" and his work as a series regular on The Smith Family
Clip begins at: 00:33 - On accepting a role in the pilot of Happy Days (aired as an episode of Love, American Style) to avoid the Vietnam War draft; on Happy Days getting picked up for series
Clip begins at: 04:44 - On accepting the lead role of Happy Days; on the premise of Happy Days; on his Happy Days character "Richie Cunningham"
Clip begins at: 08:07 - On his relationship with Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler; on his frustration with his treatment by the network and the studio; on working with the Happy Days ensemble and director Jerry Paris
Clip begins at: 16:55 - On how the experience of doing The Andy Griffith Show compared to that of Happy Days ; on his Happy Days character "Richie Cunningham" and the characters relationship with "Fonzie" and his parents; on series creator Garry Marshall
Clip begins at: 23:38 - Part 3
- On classic episodes of Happy Days; on "jump the shark"; on Robin Williams' first appearance as "Mork"
Clip begins at: 0:9 - On his memorable rendition of "Blueberry Hill" on Happy Days; on some of the catchphrases from Happy Days
Clip begins at: 10:46 - On leaving Happy Days to pursue his burgeoning directing career
Clip begins at: 15:23 - On his early career as a director: his first feature and television movies
Clip begins at: 21:10 - Part 4
- On his brother Clint Howard; on his wife Cheryl's appearance in all his movies; on his production company Major H Productions; on the television movie Through the Magic Pyramid
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On the television movie Skyward, and working with Bette Davis; on working with the legendary ensemble of the feature film Cocoon
Clip begins at: 05:34 - On the television series Gung Ho and Parenthood, which both came out of his feature films; on his working relationship with producing partner Brian Grazer
Clip begins at: 16:08 - On working as a director with Tom Hanks and Russell Crowe; on working as an actor with John Wayne
Clip begins at: 22:44 - Part 5
- On the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon; on making the feature film version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On the creation of Arrested Development and his role as the series' uncredited narrator
Clip begins at: 05:31 - On Arrested Development 's Emmy win for Outstanding Comedy Series; on his directorial style; on the experience of winning the Academy Award on the "live" Oscarcast
Clip begins at: 18:44
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Doing a research for a phd thesis about Arrested Development I found this wonderful interview. Thanks for Television Academy Foundation and thanks to Ron Howard for his amazing work.
Greetings from Brazil.
His storytelling skill is noticeable even in this interview. I find all of the archived videos interesting, but this one really has my full attention.
i watch your show allthe time every since i was alittle girl im so so sorry about andy
His movies are magic...great works come from great people....
Dear Ron Howard.. Opey.. the one we all grew up with... Come on... get up and bring it all back.. This is huge... .. Bring it back.. Just a once around...
A musicle .. Andy Griffith... we all whistle it.. love it..
Older than you... watched you grow up.. time to give back kiddo.. Love... Themalu.. lol
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