Ron Howard first appeared in the role of Opie Taylor in the television series The Andy Griffith Show, portraying the son of the local sherrif in Mayberry NC. The credits referred to him as Ronnie Howard.
He attained film success with his role as Steve Bollander in the George Lucas directed teen-flick, American Graffiti.
Howard is to many people best known for his role as Richie Cunningham in television's Happy Days where he played the likeable foil to Henry Winkler's Fonz.
He has subsequently directed films, the most successful being the film A Beautiful Mind, for which he won the Oscar as Best Director.