Ron Howard

In his three-hour interview, Ron Howard reminisces about his early years growing up in Burbank, the son of actor parents, and his own start at age three using a dialogue scene from Mr. Roberts as his audition piece. He describes some of his earliest acting on television including the live anthology drama Playhouse 90 and his recurring role as part of the gang on Dennis the Menace. He then talks about his appearance on an episode of General Electric Theater, for which host Ronald Reagan made special note, catching the eye of producer Sheldon Leonard, who cast Howard on the pilot for The Andy Griffith Show. He speaks in great detail about playing "Opie Taylor" on The Andy Griffith Show, describing his work with Andy Griffith and the show's ensemble and discussing moments from the series' production. He talks about using memories of his dog's death to create the emotions necessary for the classic "Opie the Birdman" episode, and truly having to "act" when eating "ice cream" (actually cold mashed potatoes). He briefly describes some television roles he appeared in before taking on his other signature television role of "Richie Cunningham" on Happy Days. He candidly discusses the shift in the series focus onto the break-out "Fonzie" character, recites some of the series' numerous catchphrases, and reminisces about memorable series episodes (including "The Howdy Doody Show" and the now-infamous "jump-the-shark" episode, "Hollywood"). He details his transition to behind-the-camera as a director of low-budget features and television movies (including Cotton Candy and Skyward), before becoming one of Hollywood's A-list producers/directors. Finally, he notes his work as executive producer and voiceover narrator on the Emmy-award-winning sitcom Arrested Development. Gary Rutkowski conducted the interview on October 18, 2006 at the Imagine Entertainment offices in Beverly Hills, CA.