Ron Howard’s Full Life and Career — From Before TV’s ‘Happy Days’ to Present Movie Days and Beyond

It was always Ron Howard’s dream to become a director. A lot of it had to do with the former child star’s controlling his destiny. He sought to become a leader in the entertainment industry.

For decades TV viewers watched Ron Howard grow to maturity — first as little Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show and, in his teen years, as Richie Cunningham on Happy Days. But rather than attempting the difficult transition from child star to adult actor, Ron went behind the camera to become one of the preeminent Oscar-winning directors of our time. Perhaps one could have anticipated his later enormous success as a filmmaker of taste and intelligence by his pedigree. Like an early version of Jodie Foster (whose brother Buddy Foster took Ron’s place on Mayberry RFD, the Griffith sequel that CBS aired from 1968 to 1971), Howard always seemed to know how to deal with the vicissitudes of longtime success in Hollywood by being well-grounded in a supportive family, filled with love and respect. As such, he is a rarity in Hollywood.

That analysis, of course, took place now 50 years ago, just as Howard’s then-new series, Happy Days, was enjoying its second full season on ABC, a few short months after it concluded its first half-year (the series originally aired from…