Ron Howard was a well-known child actor before becoming an Oscar-winning director, gaining fame in the late 1950s playing Stewart on the television show “Dennis the Menace” and in 1962 as Winthrop Paroo in the film adaptation of “The Music Man”. Born on March 1, 1954 in Duncan, Oklahoma, Howard’s other notable credits as an actor include “The Andy Griffith Show”, George Lucas’s legendary 1973 teen film “American Graffiti”, and as Richie Cunningham on “Happy Days” from 1974-1980.
Howard is known today as a prominent mainstream film director, consistently delivering commercially successful populist entertainments like “Parenthood” and “Apollo 13”. He attended the famed University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television in the early 70s, but left after two years, wanting to get more hands-on experience. His feature debut came at only 23 years old with the 1977 Roger Corman-produced “Grand Theft Auto”, which he also wrote and starred in. The film isn’t particularly memorable today, but its moderate box office success afforded him the opportunity to direct television films and eventually the 1982 comedy “Night Shift”, which featured soon-to-be stars Michael Keaton and Shelley Long.
His breakthrough as a director came with 1984’s “Splash”, starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah. Casting Hanks was a brilliant and unconventional move, as he was not yet a major star, having only become recognizable due to the short-lived comedy series “Bosom Buddies”. The film ended up jump-starting both Hanks’s and Howard’s careers, as it grossed a then-phenomenal $63 million in the U.S. Next, taking an obvious cue from blockbuster deity Steven Spielberg, Howard worked in several different genres in films united by their attempt at broad appeal. While “Cocoon”, the Steve Martin comedy “Parenthood”, and “Backdraft” were sizable hits, the Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman team-up “Far and Away” were all considered disappointments.
1995’s “Apollo 13” proved to be the smash of his career, reuniting him with superstar Hanks and featuring a supporting cast that included Kathleen Quinlan, Ed Harris, and Kevin Bacon. The gut-wrenching and moving space drama grossed over $330 million worldwide, and picked up Oscars for Film Editing and Sound in addition to seven other nominations including Best Picture. Howard’s next film was also a huge success, the gritty Mel Gibson thriller “Ransom”, and after the forgettable “Edtv” in 1999 his 2000 mega-budget film version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” grossed well over $200 million in the U.S.
Major artistic recognition finally arrived for Howard with 2001’s “A Beautiful Mind”, for which he picked up Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. The hit drama also picked up a statue for actress Jennifer Connelly. He has recently directed “The Missing” with Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett, in addition to his second critically acclaimed film with Russell Crowe, 2005’s “Cinderella Man”. Howard’s latest film is just arriving in theatres, the hotly anticipated film version of “The Da Vinci Code”, which is sure to be one of the biggest hits of the year.