Ron Howard

 Ronald William Howard (born March 1st, 1954) is an American producer, director screenwriter, actor and director. Howard first rose to fame as an actor in his early years. Howard was a guest star in several television series like The Twilight Zone. He was a national star for his portrayal of the role of a young Opie Taylor, the son of Sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 until 1968. In this period He was also in the musical film The Music Man (1962) which was a commercial and critical success. The film was credited to him with the title Ronny Howard in his film and television appearances from 1959 to 1973. Howard played one of the leading roles in American Graffiti (1973). Howard became a household name playing Richie Cunningham on Happy Days (1974-1980). In the year 1980, Howard began to direct, produce, and sometimes write a variety television series. His films included comedy Night Shift (1982), Splash (1984) and Cocoon (1985) as well as the romantic Willow (1988) as well as the action film Backdraft (1991) and the comedy-drama of newspapers The Paper (1994).