The Transformation Of Ron Howard From 6 To 67 Years Old

Ron Howard first appeared on the big screen when he could barely talk in the 1956 movie "Frontier Woman." His parents were also in the film, and his father Rance recalled to Nick Thomas of the Jackson Sun, "...we wanted to somehow get Ron into the picture, too. He was only 18 months old, but we thought it would be wonderful for our parents to see their grandson in a movie with us." Ron's parents took away a tomahawk prop right before filming, which caused him to cry during his scene. This started young Ron's acting career, and soon after, his brother Clint's career. 

Both men wrote a collective memoir in 2021 called "The Boys" about their experiences growing up in show business, per The Washington Post. After his long-term role as Richie Cunningham in the classic sitcom "Happy Days," Howard transitioned into directing. Behind the camera, he often teamed up with actor Tom Hanks. The two worked together in "Splash," "Apollo 13," and two movies based on the Robert Ludlum books "Angels & Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code." Howard also sprinkled in some voice work during his career, further showcasing his many talents.

With such a long tenure in Hollywood, Howard has dealt with surprises, tragedies, disappointment, and triumphs — both in his personal life and in his movies. But through it all, he persisted and continued to delight fans in any way possible.

From a child star to an industry veteran, this is the transformation of Ron Howard from 6 to 67 years old.

Soon after his debut in "The Andy Griffith Show," Ron Howard landed his biggest movie to date. He played one of his most iconic characters as an actor, little Winthrop Paroo in the 1962 film "The Music Man." Over 50 years later, Howard still vividly remembered his experience from the role. On an episode of "IMDb Me," Howard recited his line at the same time during a clip from the movie, including the adorable lisp that Winthrop spoke with. "It takes a lot of work to get a six-year-old kid to remember a line like that. So, I think I must have gone over that one about a thousand times," Howard recalled.

Not just lines — Howard also remembered songs from the movie music. On "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," Howard explained how he had just turned seven at the time of filming his "first big, high-profile feature." The interview took place in the same studio where "The Music Man" shot many scenes, so Howard said returning "brings back a lot of memories." One of these memories was the "Wells Fargo Wagon" number that he sang for the audience during the interview, once again with that same lisp.

In 1974, Ron Howard was cast as the star of a new sitcom called "Happy Days." The show was a hit, but not entirely due to Howard's character, Richie Cunningham. In fact, his co-star Henry Winkler, who played Greaser Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, was often stealing the show. In his memoir "The Boys," Howard wrote, "It did not escape my notice that as the season went on, the Fonz was getting more and more screen time," via the New York Post. He said the Fonzie character taking over contributed to major stress at the start of the series. "I didn't handle my stress particularly well ... I kept everything inside," Howard remembered.

The Fonz became so popular, so quickly, that the network even considered rebranding the show. Reportedly, ABC suggested renaming the show "Fonzie's Happy Days" (per the New York Post). But the series creator would only do so if Howard agreed to the change. Luckily for everyone involved, Howard didn't approve. Instead, the actor had bigger issues to deal with. As a result of Winkler taking his spotlight, Howard revealed he physically suffered beyond a hit to his ego. "I started breaking out in eczema rashes all over my body, most acutely on my eyelids," he said. This also was the start of Howard's hair loss at a young age. Though he considered it "inevitable" thanks to his family history, Howard said his hair began "coming out in alarming clumps during this time."

Though he easily could have continued his career as an actor alone, Ron Howard decided to expand his skillset in movies and started directing. In fact, Howard began making his own movies as a boy. Film School Rejects recapped a short film created by a young Howard. The project, called "Cards, Cads, Guns, Gore and Death," stars Ron and his little brother Clint. The boys are playing cards, dressed in full-on Western getups, "when someone is accused of cheatin'. Young Ronny shoots the culprit. Then little Clint kills his brother before being shot in the back by another man for some reason," Film School Rejects summarized.

In 1977, Howard directed his first major motion picture, "Grand Theft Auto." He was also the star of the film. "Only time I've ever done that, and probably the only time I ever will," Howard confessed on an episode of "IMDb Me." As Howard explained, he pitched his best ideas to movie producer Roger Corman, including a science fiction and noir style flick. In response, Corman told him that the name "Grand Theft Auto" tested well in a search for film titles. So, based simply on the name alone, the producer asked Howard to draft a "car crash comedy starring yourself" that would fit the title. According to Howard, he drafted the outline of the story in about 36 hours.

After a ten-year run, the sitcom "Happy Days" came to an end in 1984. Ron Howard had concluded his time as series star in 1980 but would return for two 1983 episodes and the show's finale. Prior to the last episode, Howard already had a few directing experiences, including "Night Shift" in 1982 featuring his "Happy Days" co-star and lifelong friend, Henry Winkler. But these films weren't blockbusters, and Howard was still working his way up in the industry. 

In an interview for Yahoo!, Howard said around this time "actors didn't trust [him] that much" because he wasn't very established yet. When he was set to direct a family film about a mermaid, Howard revealed the biggest actors in romantic comedies like Chevy Chase and John Travolta weren't interested in working with him. As a result, this opened the door for Tom Hanks, who at the time, was simply an '80s TV star on the ABC sitcom "Bosom Buddies." When Hanks auditioned for the film "Splash," he read for the character that ultimately went to John Candy. Howard remembered Hanks from a guest part on "Happy Days" and asked him to read for the lead. The studio agreed with Howard's suggestion, and it helped launch Hanks' incredible career in film.

Surprisingly, "Splash" almost never happened. Howard said on the "IMDb Me" web series that he had a difficult time getting the film launched because there was a competing mermaid movie at the time. Disney came on board, and because of the on-screen romance, "Splash" was PG and became the first film under Disney's Touchstone division.

With the experience of "Backdraft" under his belt, Ron Howard was able to attempt an even more difficult production in terms of special effects. In preparation for his 1995 film "Apollo 13," Howard planned to use wires and other tricks from films like "2001: A Space Odyssey" to give the impression of weightlessness in the space scenes. But famous director Steven Spielberg had an even better idea. As Howard told Yahoo!, Spielberg suggested using low-gravity airplane rides like real NASA astronauts used to do for training. During these flights, a capsule would be bolted to the aircraft and inside, the astronauts would experience simulated zero gravity. Howard consulted captain Jim Lovell, the real-life commander of the Apollo 13 space mission, on the plan to bolt part of the set onto the plane. Luckily, the astronaut successfully convinced NASA to let Howard and the crew try a test flight. "It was an amazing experience," Howard said.

Another special aspect of the film was that Hanks' on-screen mom was played by Howard's real-life mother Jean Speegle Howard. Ron was initially hesitant to offer his mom the job. "I'm so happy my dad twisted my arm," Howard told Entertainment Tonight. "I really didn't think Mom was old enough to do it, and I was also just frankly nervous about it because I knew what a pivotal role it was," Ron admitted. But it all worked out because he said in the end, "she really knocked it out of the park."

Between 1988 and 1998, Ron Howard had a big gap in his acting career. He voiced the character of himself in two episodes of "The Simpsons" in 1998 and 1999, and made a cameo on "Frasier." But his voiceover work alluded to a future opportunity in the early aughts. Howard became involved with the quirky and completely unique series "Arrested Development" starting in 2003. He employed dense jokes and chopped-up timelines to create a more unexpected show like "The Simpsons." 

In an episode of "IMDb Me," Howard said that he and "Arrested Development" creator Mitchell Hurwitz discussed potentially using a narrator as part of the story. Hurwitz convinced Howard to record a temporary track as the show's narrator. After testing scenes with an audience, the fans were in love with Howard's voice. The creator told Howard, "the narrator was the highest testing element." Since the network wanted to green-light the project, Hurwitz told Howard, "you have to do the series." This test run turned into five seasons for Howard as the narrator, spanning from 2003 to 2019.

Soon after starting "Arrested Development," Ron Howard continued to pick up accolades for his work in the entertainment industry. In 2003, he received the prestigious National Medal of the Arts for his "critically acclaimed films" in addition to his early acting work. Then his 2008 film "Frost/Nixon" earned Howard best director and best picture nominations.

Piling on the recognition, Ron Howard received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Film category in 2015. This was his second star on the famous strip of sidewalk, with his first in 1981 for Television. Ron's ease around cameras started as an infant, thanks to his dad, Rance Howard, as both men made their film debut in "Frontier Woman," via Jackson Sun. Sadly, Rance died in 2017. Ron posted the news on Twitter and said of his dad: "A depression-era farm boy, his passion for acting changed the course of our family history." When Ron went on to be a director, he used his father in several films, including "Apollo 13," "A Beautiful Mind," and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." According to The New York Times, Rance helped Ron write his directorial debut, "Grand Theft Auto."

One year later, Ron revisited his early days in Hollywood with director George Lucas. Ron was an actor in Lucas' movie "American Graffiti," and the "Star Wars" creator was a producer on Howard's film "Willow." So, when Ron began working on the 2018 film "Solo: A Star Wars Story," he knew exactly who to call. Ron explained on an "IMDb Me" episode that Lucas essentially told him, "Follow your instinct. Don't worry about rules." One of his most memorable moments on set was Chewbacca giving him a hug in costume after applauding the actor for a scene well done.