Editing Ron Howard (section)

==Acting career==
{{BLP sources section|date=March 2023}}
[[File:Cara Williams Ron Howard Pete and Gladys 1960.JPG|thumb|right|upright|With [[Cara Williams]] in ''[[Pete and Gladys]]'' (1960)]]
[[File:Andy Griffith Ron Howard Andy Griffith Show 1961.JPG|thumb|right|upright|With [[Andy Griffith]] as Opie in a publicity photo for'' [[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' (1961)]]
In 1959, Howard had his first credited film role in ''[[The Journey (1959 film)|The Journey]]''. He appeared in [[June Allyson]]'s [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]] [[anthology series]] ''[[The DuPont Show with June Allyson]]'' in the episode "Child Lost"; in ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "[[Walking Distance]]"; a few episodes of the first season of the sitcom ''[[Dennis the Menace (1959 TV series)|Dennis the Menace]]'', as Stewart, one of Dennis's friends; and several first- and second-season episodes of ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]''. Howard played "Timmy" (uncredited) in "Counterfeit Gun", Season 4, Episode 2 (1960) of the TV series, ''[[Cheyenne (TV series)|Cheyenne]]''.

===''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960–1968)===
In 1960, Howard was cast as [[Opie Taylor]] in ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]''. Credited as "Ronny Howard", he portrayed the son of the main character (played by [[Andy Griffith]]) for all eight seasons of the show. Recalling his experiences as a child actor on set, he commented

{{Blockquote|I was five years old. And I was preoccupied with the prop that was in my hand, because it was a toy turtle. But I had to pretend it was a real turtle that the audience just wasn't seeing, and it was dead, so I was supposed to be crying and very emotional, and I remember him looking at that little turtle and talking to me about how it was kind of funny to have to pretend that was dead. So I recall just a very relaxed first impression.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2012/07/03/ron-howard-andy-griffith/ |title=Andy Griffith: Ron Howard shares memories |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |last=Howard |first=Ron |date=July 3, 2012 |access-date=March 11, 2018}}</ref>}}

The sitcom was known for its old-fashioned wholesome quality. Even though it was set in a contemporary time period it evoked a mood of a different era from that of the 1960s. The series also starred [[Don Knotts]], [[Frances Bavier]] and [[Jim Nabors]]. It received numerous nominations for the [[Primetime Emmy Awards]] including three [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series|Outstanding Comedy Series]] nominations which it lost to ''[[The Jack Benny Show]]'' in 1961, ''[[The Bob Newhart Show (1961 TV series)|The Bob Newhart Show]]'' in 1962, and ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'' in 1967.

===''Happy Days'' (1974–1984)===
[[File:Happy days motorcycle richie fonzie 1977.JPG|right|thumb|Richie (Ron Howard) takes a turn on Fonzie's ([[Henry Winkler]]) motorcycle in a scene from ''[[Happy Days]]'']]
A role in an installment of series ''[[Love, American Style]]'', titled "Love and the Television Set",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0637037/ |title="Love, American Style" Love and the Happy Days/Love and the Newscasters (TV Episode 1972) |author=fmsteinberg |date=September 21, 2009 |work=IMDb}}</ref> led to his being cast as [[Richie Cunningham]] in the TV series ''[[Happy Days]]'' (for syndication, the segment was re-titled "Love and the Happy Days"). Beginning in 1974, he played the likable "buttoned-down" boy, in contrast to [[Henry Winkler]]'s "[[greaser (subculture)|greaser]]" [[Fonzie|Arthur "Fonzie"/"The Fonz" Fonzarelli]]. On the ''Happy Days'' set, he developed an on- and off-screen chemistry with Winkler.<ref name="sagfund">{{cite web
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMrdyleW2Q8
|title=Conversations with Henry Winkler (Fundraiser)
|access-date=October 7, 2021
|last=Schneider
|first=Michael
|date=November 21, 2018
|publisher=[[SAG-AFTRA]]
|archive-date=October 7, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007163351/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMrdyleW2Q8
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Howard left ''Happy Days'' to become a film director just before the start of its eighth season in 1980, but returned for guest appearances in the show's eleventh season (1983–1984).<ref name="sagfund"/><ref name=eptvg>{{cite web
|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/happy-days/1000242245/
|title=TV Guide: Happy Days
|access-date=October 31, 2021
|publisher=[[TV Guide]]
}}</ref>

===Additional acting roles===
In the 1962 film version of ''[[The Music Man (1962 film)|The Music Man]]'', Howard played [[Winthrop Paroo]], the child with the lisp; the film starred [[Robert Preston (actor)|Robert Preston]], [[Shirley Jones]], and [[Buddy Hackett]]. The film was based on the [[The Music Man|1957 musical of the same name]] by [[Meredith Willson]]. The film was directed by [[Morton DaCosta]] who previously helmed the 1958 film ''[[Auntie Mame (film)|Auntie Mame]]'' starring [[Rosalind Russell]]. The film was a critical and commercial success becoming the [[1962 in film|third highest-grossing film of that year]]. The film went on to receive six [[Academy Award]] nominations including for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].

He also starred in the 1963 film ''[[The Courtship of Eddie's Father (film)|The Courtship of Eddie's Father]]'' with [[Glenn Ford]] and Jones. He guest-starred as Tommy in the twelfth episode of the first season of ''[[The Big Valley]]'' and he appeared as Barry Stewart on ''[[The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' in 1965; on ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]'' in the 1966 episode "Little Boy Lost"; as [[Henry Fonda]]'s son in an ABC series, ''[[The Smith Family (TV series)|The Smith Family]]'', in 1968; as Jodah in ''[[Land of the Giants]]'' in 1969; as a boy whose father was shot on ''Daniel Boone'' in 1971–72; and as an underage [[United States Marine Corps|Marine]] on ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'' in the episode "[[Sometimes You Hear the Bullet]]" in 1973. In the 1970s, he appeared in at least one episode of ''[[The Bold Ones]]'', as a teenage tennis player with an illness.

Howard appeared on the 1969 [[Disneyland Records]] album ''The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion''. It featured the story of two teenagers, Mike (Howard) and Karen ([[Robie Lester]]), who get trapped inside the [[The Haunted Mansion|Haunted Mansion]]. [[Thurl Ravenscroft]] plays the Narrator, Pete Reneday plays the Ghost Host, and Eleanor Audley plays Madame Leota. Some of the effects and ideas that were planned but never permanently made it to the attraction are mentioned here: the Raven speaks in the Stretching Room, and the Hatbox Ghost is mentioned during the Attic scene. It was reissued in 1998 as a cassette tape titled ''A Spooky Night in Disney's Haunted Mansion'' and on CD in 2009.

Howard played Steve Bolander in [[George Lucas]]'s coming-of-age film ''[[American Graffiti]]'' in 1973,<ref name="tca" /> which was the inspiration for the sitcom ''[[Happy Days]]'' starring Howard. Howard starred in the film alongside [[Richard Dreyfus]], [[Charles Martin Smith]], and [[Harrison Ford]]. Critic [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' praised the film in his four star review writing, "''American Graffiti'' is not only a great movie but a brilliant work of historical fiction; no sociological treatise could duplicate the movie's success in remembering exactly how it was to be alive at that cultural instant."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/american-graffiti-1973|title= American Graffiti|website= [[Roger Ebert|Rogerebert.com]]|accessdate= July 20, 2023}}</ref> Howard reprised his role in the sequel ''[[More American Graffiti]]'' (1979).

In 1974, Howard guest-starred as Seth Turner, the best friend of Jason Walton ([[Jon Walmsley]]), in ''[[The Waltons]]'' episode, "The Gift". Featured in the cast as Dr. McIvers is Ron Howard's father [[Rance Howard]].<ref>MSN Entertainment ''The Waltons: The Gift''</ref> In 1976, Howard starred alongside [[John Wayne]] and [[Lauren Bacall]] in [[Don Siegel]]'s ''[[The Shootist]]'', the story of a [[Western (genre)|Western]] gunfighter dying of cancer. (The movie was Wayne's last.)

Howard was the narrator for ''[[Arrested Development]]''<ref name="Hudson 2024">{{cite web |last=Hudson |first=Alex |title=Ron Howard Reveals How He Was Accidentally Forced to Be Narrator on ''Arrested Development'' |website=exclaim.ca |date=June 6, 2024 |url=https://exclaim.ca/film/article/ron-howard-reveals-how-he-accidentally-was-forced-into-the-role-of-narrator-on-arrested-development |access-date=June 12, 2024}}</ref> and also appeared as a cameo in later seasons.