Many people on the web have suggested this, though I thought it was so he could pursue his directing career. But I wonder if he could have remained on the show at the same time? I wonder if he was tired of the show centering around Fonzie? The last 4 years of Happy Days are my least favorite. Without the interplay between Richie and Fonzie, it lost something major.

I would think it would be very difficult to act on a television series and direct movies at the same time. He could have done his directing during the show's summer hiatus, but he probably wanted to focus on that full-time.

I would think it would be very difficult to act on a television series and direct movies at the same time. He could have done his directing during the show's summer hiatus, but he probably wanted to focus on that full-time.

I agree! Ron Howard had a major ambition at the time to direct, but ABC execs didn't quite see him in that position. After the 1979-80 season, he would finally direct, full-time, but in order to do that, he had to leave Happy Days. His directing is now legendary, especially with all the movies he was involved with. He returned on a couple of occasions as Richie Cunningham before reprising his role as Opie Taylor in Andy Griffith's TV show reunion movie, Return to Mayberry.

I believe Ron Howard leaving Happy Days had to do with his directing ambitions; not with unhappiness on the set. Recall, he was quite fond of his castmates: playing softball with them, helping cast Henry Winkler in "Night Shift" and using Marion Ross in the Howard directed B-movie, "Grand Theft Auto".

Apparently, even when initially offered "Happy Days", Ron Howard had apprehensions about going back to TV after years and years of the Andy Griffith Show, and as he already had directing ambitions as a teen making home Super 8 movies with his little brother, Clint Howard.

Then during the height of "Happy Days" popularlity, Howard starred in the Roger Corman produced B-movie, "Eat My Dust". Apparently, Howard agreed to star in the movie if Corman would let him direct the next movie, which was the aforementioned, "Grand Theft Auto". The paved the way for Howard's directing "Night Shift", "Splash"...and the rest is history.

It's not hard to understand why Howard would want to direct. When you're a creative person with a vision you want creative control, and like being the "quarterback", which is what being a Director is.

I don't know exactly why he left Happy Days, but time has proven he made the right decision. After all, he's had the most successful show business career of the entire cast.

The year after he left, he did an amazing dramatic turn in the NBC-TV movie, Bitter Harvest. It's a shame he didn't get an Emmy for it. (He wasn't even nominated!) I urge everyone to see this movie - it may be even more relevant today. http://imdb.com/title/tt0082077/

Now Ron's daughters Bryce and Paige have entered the acting world, carrying on the Howard show business legacy.

P.S. I've seen Grand Theft Auto, which was a lot of fun. That may be the best car chase movie I've ever seen! :D

that's true, he did leave to direct movies. Yes Bryce was in Spider Man 3, she's great in it!

The official story has always been that Ron wanted to direct and since 27 years have passed with nothing to indicate otherwise, I believe it.

I think Ron's timing was good. Happy Days was showing signs of being a tired show by season seven and since ABC wasn't going to see eye-to-eye with Ron's vision of his future, he took a stand. It must've meant a lot to him to walk away from the safe haven of an established network show.

I don't think Ron Howard was fed up with the scripts. He really wanted to become a director and when NBC offered him an opportunity to direct movies, he accepted it and abruptly left Happy Days. The show was never the same again.

The execs at ABC were fools for letting him go, but it worked in his favor.

I don't think Ron Howard would have left if the network had allowed him to direct some episodes of "Happy Days", which would have made the transition to film directing easier from him and would have provided a more amicable departure for when he eventually would leave the show for good. I know that Anson Williams directed a few episodes later on and ABC didn't complain once!

I don't think Ron Howard would have left if the network had allowed him to direct some episodes of "Happy Days", which would have made the transition to film directing easier from him and would have provided a more amicable departure for when he eventually would leave the show for good. I know that Anson Williams directed a few episodes later on and ABC didn't complain once!

They probably didn't care by that point. The show wasn't a hot property in the later years. Besides, didn't Jerry Paris direct all of the episodes of Happy Days from season three onwards??

But, getting back to Ron Howard, I think he needed to make a complete break from Richie and Happy Days in order to pursue a serious directing career. By not allowing him to expand his horizons within the network, ABC unwittingly did him a favor. He was forced to leave the show and eventually would become one of Hollywood's biggest directors.

Ron could have played it safe and stayed on the show for a few more years as an actor, but took matters into his own hands and I'm sure he's glad to have done so.

Things happen for a reason.

I know that Anson Williams directed a few episodes later on and ABC didn't complain once!
Anson Williams never directed an episode of Happy Days.

Anson Williams never directed an episode of Happy Days.

I didn't think so.

I guess Ron decided it was time to move on from Happy Days since there were younger teenager characters available like Joanie and Chachi, so the show focused on them more.

I guess Ron decided it was time to move on from Happy Days since there were younger teenager characters available like Joanie and Chachi, so the show focused on them more.

I don't think that had anything to do with it. Ron had been telling the cast and crew for years his ambition was to be a director. When Ron and Donny Most left together in 1980, the producers had no choice but to focus on the younger characters, which made it a different show. It was Happy Days, but not the Happy Days I grew up on.

I don't think that had anything to do with it. Ron had been telling the cast and crew for years his ambition was to be a director. When Ron and Donny Most left together in 1980, the producers had no choice but to focus on the younger characters, which made it a different show. It was Happy Days, but not the Happy Days I grew up on.
Guess it was the other way around, but they could have focused on Fonzie and Potsie who were both still in the show.

Guess it was the other way around, but they could have focused on Fonzie and Potsie who were both still in the show.

Interesting point of view, but the problem is that without Richie and Ralph to bounce off of, Potsie was pretty much useless. He was a supporting character who didn't have much to offer other than that. In the later years, it often seemed like the writers didn't know what to do with him. There were clumsy attempts to insert him into the shows, oftentimes having nothing to do with the main storyline.

They tried later to make him a surrogate son to Howard by having him get a part time job at Cunningham Hardware, but it just felt cheesy.

As for Fonzie, he still got plenty of air time, but without Richie it wasn't the same. Also, Fonzie was starting to look a little too old to be wearing a leather jacket and trolling for girls at the local High School, especially since he worked there(!).

These are just my thoughts though. Differing points of view is what keeps this place interesting.