r on ho wa r d t r i v i a
Ron Howard Trivia
In 1971, Ron Howard was a contestant on The Dating Game. He chose bachelorette No. 2. In 1961, he famously sang The Wells Fargo Wagon and Gary, Indiana in The Music Man, using an accentuated and loveable lisp. It’s the only movie in which Howard sings. Grand Theft Auto (1977) was Ron Howard’s first full length movie as director. It took only 15 days to shoot with a budget of $602,000 and grossed $15 million. He was 22 years old. It’s the only time he acted in a film he directed. Howard has directed eight different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Don Ameche (Cocoon), Dianne Wiest (Parenthood), Ed Harris and Kathleen Quinlan (Apollo 13), Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind), Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man), and Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon). Ameche and Connelly ultimately won the award. Howard and production collaborator Brian Grazer cemented their business relationship in 1986, when they formed Imagine Films Entertainment. The film and television production company promptly went public, initially selling 1.7 million shares at $8 per share, then quickly jumped to $19.25.
A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13, both directed by Howard, are on the National Film Association’s list of “The 100 Most Inspiring Movies Of All Time.” His brother Clint Howard starred as Mark in the boy-meets-bear TV series Gentle Ben (19671969). Their father, Rance Howard, also had a regular role on the series as friend and neighbor Henry Boomhauer. Howard narrated the Fox comedy series, Arrested Development, for which he would also serve as executive producer and play a semifictionalized version of himself. Howard and wife Cheryl Howard, also an actress, have been married for 42 years. They were high school sweethearts. He has directed his wife Cheryl in 11 films, his father Rance Howard in 15, and his younger brother Clint in 16. Happy Days costar Henry “Fonzie” Winkler is godfather to Ron Howard’s daughter Bryce Dallas Howard, an actress whose movies include Spider-Man 3, Terminator Salvation, Pete’s Dragon and Jurassic World.