Happy Birthday, Ron Howard

Ron Howard turns 59. Born on March 1, 1954 in Oklahoma, Ron Howard is a child star, a film director and producer.

As a child star, Howard participated in episodes of shows like CBS series The DuPont Show with June Allyson and The Twilight Zone. He acted as the son of Andy Griffith for the whole eight seasons of The Andy Griffith Show.

Howard kept acting in his 20s. In 1973 he was in George Lucas’s American Graffiti and when asked if he wants to go back to acting after being a director, Howard said, “only if I can act with Cindy Williams (who also appeared in the film) again."

In 1977, Howard made his first directing film, a low-budged comedy Grand Theft Auto. It didn’t stir much attention and Howard directed several TV movies after this. In 1982, his film Night Shift, starring Michael Keaton and Shelley Long made him recognized by the critics.

Since then, Howard directed several movies, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. He got an Oscar for Best Director for his film A Beautiful Mind.

His latest film is the action film Rush, which will be released on Sep. 20, 2013.