By StephanieLee Elliott
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2003 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2013. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions in film and television.
Howard first came to prominence as a child actor, acting in several television series before gaining national attention for playing young Opie Taylor, the son of Sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 through 1968. During this time, he also appeared in the musical film The Music Man (1962), a critical and commercial success. Howard was cast in one of the lead roles in the influential coming-of-age film American Graffiti (1973), and became a household name for playing Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days (1974–1980). He starred in the films The Spikes Gang (1974), The Shootist (1976), and Grand Theft Auto (1977), the latter being his directorial film debut.
In 1980, Howard left Happy Days to focus on directing, producing, and sometimes writing a variety of films and television series. His films included the comedies Night Shift (1982), Splash (1984), and Cocoon (1985) as well as the fantasy Willow (1988), the thriller Backdraft (1991), and the newspaper comedy-drama film The Paper (1994). Howard went on to win the Academy Award for Best Director and Academy Award for Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind (2001) and was nominated again for the same awards for Frost/Nixon (2008). Howard also directed other historical dramas such as Apollo 13 (1995), Cinderella Man (2005), Rush (2013), In the Heart of the Sea (2015), and Thirteen Lives (2022).
He also directed the children’s fantasy film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), the comedy The Dilemma (2011), and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), as well as the Robert Langdon film series: The Da Vinci Code (2006), Angels & Demons (2009), and Inferno (2016). Howard has gained recognition for directing numerous documentary films such as The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016), Pavarotti (2019), and We Feed People (2022).
Ron Howard was born on March 1, 1954, in Duncan, Oklahoma, the elder of the two sons of Rance Howard, a director, writer, and actor and Jean Speegle, an actress. He is of German, English, Scottish, Irish, and Dutch ancestry. His father was born with the surname “Beckenholdt” and took the stage name “Howard” in 1948 for his acting career. Rance Howard was serving three years in the United States Air Force at the time of Ron’s birth.
Howard was tutored at Desilu Studios in his younger years but continued his schooling at Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary and David Starr Jordan Junior High in Burbank, California when not working in television, eventually graduating from Burbank’s John Burroughs High School. He later attended the University of Southern California‘s School of Cinematic Arts but did not graduate. Howard has said he knew from a young age he might want to go into directing, thanks to his early experience as an actor.
Howard married Cheryl Alley (born December 23, 1953) on June 7, 1975. They have four children, including Bryce Dallas Howard and Paige Howard.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
This day commemorates the patron saint of Wales, St. David, who was born in the sixth century at Henfynw, Cardigan.
St. David’s Day also celebrates the Welsh victory over the Saxons in 640. Legend has it that the clever Welsh farmers pinned leeks to their coats so they could recognize one another in the melee; the Saxons killed many of their own kind, not having such a sign to tell friend form foe.
Today, St. David’s symbol is the leek. In honor of St. David, plant a bulb of aromatic leek as soon as the ground can be worked. See our page on planting leeks.
An old adage suggests eating leeks all month to keep the doctor away all year!
March is named for the Roman god of war, Mars. Read all about the merry month of March!
Question of the Day
Pruning is the key. Make sure that you prune out all the old brown canes. Lop them off at ground level. Leave only six of the strongest green canes per 12 inches of running row, or nine canes per 18 inches. And don’t let plants grow outside an 18-inch-wide row. Mow down new unruly shoots, or you’ll end up with a jungle instead of neat rows. Learn more about growing raspberries.
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Frederic Chopin (composer) –
- Glenn Miller (musician) –
- David Niven (actor) –
- Yitzhak Rabin (Israeli politician) –
- Harry Belafonte (singer, actor, and activist) –
- Robert Conrad (actor) –
- Roger Daltrey (lead singer for The Who) –
- Alan Thicke (actor) –
- Ron Howard (actor & director) –
- Tim Daly (actor) –
- George Eads (actor) –
- Chris Webber (basketball player) –
- Mark-Paul Gosselaar (actor) –
- Lupita Nyong’o (actress) –
Died
- Peter Barlow (mathematician) –
- The Earl of Minto (Canadian Governor General 1898-1904) –
- Gabriele d’Annunzio (Italian poet and novelist) –
- Jackie Coogan (actor) –
- Edwin Land (inventor) –
- Jack Wild (actor & singer) –
- Bonnie Franklin (actress) –
Events
- Salem Witch Trials began in Massachusetts with the conviction of West Indian slave, Tituba, for witchcraft –
- First U.S. Census authorized by Congress –
- Ohio became the 17th state of the union –
- Georgetown College (now University) chartered; had been established in 1789 as first Catholic college in the U.S. –
- Nebraska became the 37th state of the union –
- Congress created Yellowstone National Park, the nation’s first national park –
- The son of Charles Lindbergh was kidnapped –
- Canned goods rationed –
- Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! made its television debut –
- Joe Louis announced his first retirement –
- Klaus E.J. Fuchs, a British atomic scientist, found guilty of communicating information to the Soviets concerning atomic research –
- Several Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire in the U.S. House of Representatives, injuring five people –
- President Kennedy created Peace Corps –
- Ticker-tape parade in New York City for John Glenn and fellow astronauts –
- Russian spacecraft Venus 3, launched November 16, 1965, crashed on Venus, the first man-made object to reach another planet –
- Johnny Cash and June Carter were married –
- Mickey Mantle announced retirement –
- Seven former White House and Nixon campaign officials were indicted by a grand jury investigating the Watergate Incident –
Weather
- Bridge between Hanover, New Hampshire, and Norwich, Vermont, collapsed from heavy snow weight –
- Avalanche hit trains in Wellington, WA. 96 people died –
- Heavy, wet snow fell in a New York and New Jersey blizzard –
- Thirty-two degrees below zero F in Minneapolis, Minnesota –
- Norfolk, Virginia, received 13.7 inches of snow –
COURTESY www.almanac.com
