Did Ron Howard leave because he was fed up with the scripts? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

gregrob · 05-12-2007, 08:08 AM

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.

anglemark10 · 05-12-2007, 10:26 AM

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.

Dynomite · 05-12-2007, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anglemark10

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.

kiddynOmite · 05-20-2007, 08:47 PM

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.

catlover79 · 05-25-2007, 05:02 PM

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!

tiff7 · 05-30-2007, 04:10 PM

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

Dr. Thong · 05-30-2007, 04:32 PM

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.

howilu · 06-04-2007, 05:17 PM

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.

comedyfreak · 06-04-2007, 05:30 PM

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

Sal · 06-10-2007, 12:35 PM

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!

Dr. Thong · 06-10-2007, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sal

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.

anglemark10 · 06-10-2007, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sal

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.

Dr. Thong · 06-11-2007, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anglemark10

Anson Williams never directed an episode of Happy Days.

I didn't think so.

faraj · 06-11-2007, 05:14 PM

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.

Dr. Thong · 06-12-2007, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faraj

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.

05-12-2007, 08:08 AM	#1
gregrob Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 13, 2002 Posts: 130	Did Ron Howard leave because he was fed up with the scripts? 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.

05-25-2007, 05:02 PM	#5
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	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!
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05-30-2007, 04:10 PM	#6
tiff7 wdwdisneylandnut4life Senior Member Join Date: Jul 26, 2001 Location: Erie, IL Posts: 2,012	that's true, he did leave to direct movies. Yes Bryce was in Spider Man 3, she's great in it!
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05-30-2007, 04:32 PM	#7
Dr. Thong a/k/a "ACK!" Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 5,546	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.
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06-04-2007, 05:30 PM	#9
comedyfreak Cheers! Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Sunny California Posts: 11,059	The execs at ABC were fools for letting him go, but it worked in his favor.
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05-12-2007, 10:26 AM	#2
anglemark10 Member Forum Regular Join Date: May 06, 2004 Location: United States Posts: 787	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.

05-20-2007, 08:47 PM	#4
kiddynOmite Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 11, 2007 Posts: 11	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.

06-04-2007, 05:17 PM	#8
howilu Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 20, 2003 Location: St. Louis Park, MN Posts: 1,959	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.

06-10-2007, 12:35 PM	#10
Sal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 20, 2001 Location: Oakville, Ont. Canada Posts: 6,174	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!
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06-11-2007, 05:14 PM	#14
faraj Member Forum Regular Join Date: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 736	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.
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