Ron Howard's Real Name: Ronald William Howard

Quick answer: Ron Howard was born Ronald William Howard on March 1, 1954, in Duncan, Oklahoma. As a child actor he was billed as Ronny Howard and played Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. He later played Richie Cunningham on Happy Days and became a director, winning the Academy Award for best director for A Beautiful Mind (2001) (Britannica; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

Britannica describes Ron Howard as the byname of Ronald William Howard. The Library of Congress name authority files him as "Howard, Ron, 1954-," with cross-references to "Howard, Ronald William," "Howard, Ronnie," and "Howard, Ronny." One LOC citation reads "b. Mar. 1, 1954, Duncan, Okla.; alternate names: Ronnie Howard; Ronny Howard ... birth name: Ronald William Howard."

According to Britannica, his parents were in show business. He first appeared on screen at 18 months in Frontier Woman (1955) and onstage at two in a summer-stock The Seven Year Itch. As Ronny Howard he soon appeared on Playhouse 90, The Danny Thomas Show, The Fugitive, and Dr. Kildare, and in the film The Journey (1959).

Career highlights

In 1960 Howard began playing Opie Taylor, the son of Andy Griffith's sheriff, on The Andy Griffith Show, which ran for eight years. He appeared in The Music Man (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963). American Graffiti (1973) was his first big film hit, and in 1974 he began playing Richie Cunningham on Happy Days, staying until 1980. He also appeared with John Wayne in The Shootist (1976).

Howard spent two years in the University of Southern California's film program and made his directing debut with Grand Theft Auto (1977). His early hits included Night Shift (1982), Splash (1984), and Parenthood (1989). Apollo 13 (1995) was a critical and commercial success. A Beautiful Mind, about mathematician John Nash, won best picture and brought him the Oscar for best director.

He went on to direct Cinderella Man (2005), The Da Vinci Code (2006) and its sequels, Frost/Nixon (2008), which earned another directing nomination, Rush (2013), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Hillbilly Elegy (2020), and Thirteen Lives (2022). His documentaries include The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016) and Pavarotti (2019).

In 1986 he co-founded Imagine Entertainment with Brian Grazer. Imagine produced 24, Friday Night Lights, and Arrested Development. In 2021 he and his brother, actor Clint Howard, published The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family.

Name notes for searchers

Ron is short for Ronald. Early credits use Ronny or Ronnie Howard, the names he used as a child star; his adult credits use Ron Howard.