For practically the whole seventy years of his life, Ron Howard has been a household name. Starting as a youngster, the Hollywood heavyweight has been working ceaselessly in television and movies.
Apart from his outstanding work, the multi-award winner has been married to Cheryl for nearly fifty years and is a person of longevity in his personal life.
Future Hollywood icon was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, on March 1, 1954. Howard made his stage debut in The Seven Year Itch at the age of two, having acted in Frontier Woman when he was just eighteen months old.
Soon after, the redhead with freckles began his career in show business with a part on The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968). Howard’s parents were both in the entertainment business at the time, so they fully supported him when the youngster played Griffith’s character’s son, Opie.
“Remember how we used to say, ‘You can do it if you want, but you don’t have to?’ You can’t stop if you start this, Howard remembers his dad saying. You would have to keep performing this one, but you are not required to do other parts on other shows.
Howard continues, indicating that he understood the message his parents were trying to convey, “I think it was pretty clear at that point that I was enjoying it, and I was good at it.” He was really rather good at it, and he was going to become extremely famous.
Happy Days with Howard
Along with his role in The Andy Griffith Show, Howard made his big screen debut in the highly successful musical picture The Music Man in 1962. Natural talent, he next played the lead in the 1973 film American Graffiti, which also starred Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, and Cindy Williams—people he would later collaborate with.
His role as Richie Cunningham in the Garry Marshall-created Happy Days series debuted in 1974 and ran on television in homes all over the world from 1974 to 1984.
Lovely High School Girl
Howard first met Cheryl Alley, his high school sweetheart, in 1970, before he won a Golden Globe for playing the naive youngster on Happy Days. The two would get married in 1975.
“I met her, and there was never anybody else,” The Da Vinci Code director stated. “She has always been incredibly supportive. We have been compatible through all kinds of experiences.
Howard, who won an Academy Award for directing A Beautiful Mind, celebrated his first date with Cheryl on Instagram 50 years ago after 50 years of shared adventures. “We’ll be driving in the same ’70 VW Bug I picked Cheryl up in five decades ago,” he said when outlining their plans for that day. Everything works perfectly. And we do too.
His Charm of Good Luck
Cheryl appeared in a number of Howard’s productions and even portrayed herself in the Howard-produced and narrated TV comedy series Arrested Development.
Ron referred to Cheryl as his “good luck charm” and explained why she shows up in every movie he films in an interview with the Television Academy.
“I started getting really paranoid at some point about making sure she shows up, that she’s at least identifiable in one frame,” he added. They don’t have to be major cameos, but she has to appear.
A published author with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in screenwriting, Cheryl also brings her husband good fortune.
The power pair is the parents of four children—son Reed, twins Paige and Jocelyn, and daughter Bryce—and grandparents to six. While Paige debuted in feature films with Adventureland in 2009, Bryce is well-known for his parts in films like Jurassic World and The Help. Paige is very secretive, and Reed plays professional golf.
Our Longevity Secret
As their 49th anniversary approaches on June 7, the Emmy-winning producer says that their unbreakable love is all about “communication.”
How did you do it, people ask? Howard tells People, “There is no technique. Other than the obvious need of communication, there is no strategy. You have to develop your communication skills and learn how to have fruitful uncomfortable talks. Beyond that, there is a component of chance since, in my opinion, you cannot force individuals to grow together.
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