Ron Howard article

[Sal]

The following profile of Ron Howard is from a Canadian magazine called Forever Young

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Ron Howard - Nice guys finish first --- Thu June 1

Can you believe it? RON HOWARD, child star turned director of such blockbuster movies as Apollo 12 and Backdraft and now the controversial Da Vinci Code, is marking his 50th year in show business.

By Frank Barron
Forever Young

Whether you remember him from The Andy Griffith Show as the little freckle-faced kid Opie, or as the aw shucks teenager-plus Richie Cunningham in the long-running Happy Days TV series, most people think of Ron Howard as one of Hollywood's "good guys." He may not wear a white hat, but he has a solid reputation as a director, actor, producer and family man.

Even with his good-guy reputation at stake, Howard was not afraid to tackle the controversial The Da Vinci Code, taking the helm for the big-screen version of the phenomenal best seller. Code debuted amid protests by various Catholic groups at movie houses in May.

It is only the latest in what has been 50 years of successful and challenging career moves. Yes, think of it -- Ron Howard, having long outgrown his early monicker Ronny Howard, has been in show business for a half century.

Howard started acting at the age of two -- playing a crying baby in a Western. At age eight he had produced a Super8 movie. It seems he was destined to be a filmmaker.

He tells the story of his father, actor Rance Howard, appearing in a Western. The family left Oklahoma and moved to Burbank, Calif., to be near the movie studios. "They needed a crying baby," he relates. "My father held me in his arms, and they gave me a small tomahawk, as a prop. Then they took it away from me, and I started crying. My father volunteered me for the role."

Just a few years later, Howard was cast in the role of Opie, for The Andy Griffith Show. The public took to him immediately, and over the years, people still whistle that show's theme song when they see him. (His brother Clint, who still occasionally works with Ron, starred in TV's Gentle Ben during the same era.)

"Andy taught me how to act, and how to understand a story," says the 52-year-old.

In The Music Man he worked with Academy Award-winner Shirley Jones, who recalls, "Ronnie was one of the finest child actors I ever worked with. He was very special."

Howard laughs when he remembers being asked for his first autograph. "I couldn't even write at the time, being so young. My dad taught me how to spell my name. When the man asked me to sign my name, I had to slowly make out each letter. Before I even finished writing, the man saw Jerry Mathers (Leave It to Beaver) and ran away to get Jerry's autograph. Somewhere out there is a man with an autograph of RON..."

At age eight, Howard says he first thought about expanding his career. "I wanted to be an actor, a director, a writer and a producer. I worked with Henry Fonda on a show, and I showed him a Super8 film I had made. He said to me, 'Become a director.' At that age I also wanted to be a baseball player, but I gave that up at age 13 when they started throwing me curves."

Fans of Opie were reintroduced to a teenaged Howard in the 1972 film American Graffiti, which was followed by his second hit TV series, Happy Days. Howard watched TV director Jerry Paris go about his work, asking questions, and wanting to know all about the craft. "I learned so much from him about the process. That really sparked my interest in directing."

Howard wanted to enroll in the prestigious film school at the University of Southern California, but his acting career kept him busy and away from attending that school.

Producer-director Roger Corman, one of Hollywood's top filmmakers who has mentored dozens of youngsters who eventually became leading actors and/or directors, recalls "one memorable moment in my career. I did a picture called Eat My Dust, and we needed a typical small-town, freckle-faced high school kid. We picked Ron Howard. The film was a success and Ron volunteered to do a sequel for the same money. He said, 'I'll do another picture for you for no money, and I'll direct it.' I said, 'Ron, you always looked like a director to me.'"

Soon Howard was writing, directing and starring in Grand Theft Auto. He subsequently earned critical acclaim for the fantasy Willow, using George Lucas's story as the basis for the movie.

Slowly but surely, he was being drawn closer and closer to the man who would become his production partner -- Brian Grazer.

Grazer at the time was producing television pilots at Paramount, but set up a meeting with Howard, who was completing a seven-year run on Happy Days. Grazer had to fight studio executives to hire the young director for the movie Night Shift. "They (executives) only saw him as Richie Cunningham, but I saw something much deeper," says Grazer.

The pair joined forces and started Imagine Films Entertainment. Out of that came the Oscar-winning Splash, which Howard directed.

From there came a score of hit movies, including The Burbs with Tom Hanks, The Dream Team with Michael Keaton and Parenthood with Steve Martin. He showed his versatility when he directed Backdraft, which was so popular that Universal Studios made it permanent attraction at the studio tour centre.

Howard then set his sights on the Apollo 13 story. He recalls Grazer saying, "Without a doubt, make this movie." It went on to win nine Academy Awards.

They also scored big with The Grinch That Stole Christmas, and then the award-winning A Beautiful Mind, which Howard calls "the most difficult film I ever made." And he judges the recent Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe to be "among my best movies."

The Howard-Grazer team has had a hectic schedule so far this year, with the animated Curious George and the highly anticipated The Da Vinci Code starring Tom Hanks.

Howard reports that shooting scenes in the Grand Gallery at the Louvre in Paris, with the portrait of Mona Lisa looking over his shoulder as he directed Tom Hanks, was on par with the thrill he got directing Apollo 13 on NASA's flights that simulated weightlessness. It was a major thrill for the Oklahoma-born fellow.

Howard was on the hot seat in the weeks before The Da Vinci Code opened, criticized by Catholics who called the film blasphemous. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times he explained why he felt a disclaimer was unnecessary: "This is a work of fiction that presents a set of characters that are affected by these conspiracy theories and ideas. Those characters in this work of fiction act and react on that premise.

"It's not history ... spy thrillers don't start off with disclaimers."

In another interview, Howard said, "The last thing I want to do is twist anybody's arm. If somebody thinks this movie is going to be a miserable experience, then don't go ..."

The bigger pressure, Howard said, was from people who told him, "Don't screw this up.''

The buzz certainly didn't hurt advance publicity for Howard and Grazer. In close to 20 years, their movies have made billions of dollars worldwide. Two of their biggest hits were Ransom with Mel Gibson and The Nutty Professor with Eddie Murphy. And

Explaining the relationship between Howard and Grazer, Howard says, "Brian and I get along great. We are very ambitious. We respect each other although we come at things in a very different way. Things motivate us, and we come out on the same page. When we do see eye-to-eye on something we always make that our number one priority."

Despite his hectic schedule, Howard prefers sending time with his family, consisting of four children and wife Cheryl, who has acted in films. Daughter Bryce has also appeared in films, with her dad's encouragement.

Asked what he wishes to accomplish as a filmmaker, Howard replies, "I hope the people who enjoy movies will simply think a film of mine is worth giving a chance. That it stands an above average chance of being good, worthy of their 90 or 120 minutes.

"And I hope it can reach the point where they don't have to categorize it, whether it's a comedy or a drama, or fantasy or thriller. I just hope they say, 'Oh, it's a Ron Howard-directed film. All right. That's probably worth checking out.'

"That would be very satisfying."

[Schmoopie]

I just came across this article. It's great! Wow! 50 + years in show business. That's incredible!

Originally Posted by Sal

I just hope they say, 'Oh, it's a Ron Howard-directed film. All right. That's probably worth checking out.'

"That would be very satisfying."

That's exactly what I think when I see that Ron Howard has directed a film. "Oh, if he directed it, it must be good!"

Andrea