The son of actor Rance Howard, Ronny Howard (as he was then known) started acting in the late '50s on shows like The Danny Thomas Show and The Twilight Zone. Ron secured his first regular role as Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show at age six. He played the role for eight years while also appearing in guest roles on television and in feature films. Roles included: The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Music Man and Village of the Giants.After The Andy Griffith Show, Ron continued acting, garnering critical attention for his role in American Graffiti. In 1974 came the series Happy Days, which made Ron famous all over again as Richie Cunningham. Ron left the series after six seasons to pursue a career as a producer and director with much success. Cocoon, Splash, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and Cinderella Man are just a few of his many cinematic projects.

Character Bio

Andy's son, Opie is polite, though does occasionally get into trouble like any young boy. He looks up to his father and minds his Aunt Bee, despite the fact that he's a little frightened of her at first. He follows his father's direction as best he can- and occasionally teaches him a thing or two. Not the best student academically (he nearly flunked math), Opie is a keen student of life and one can't help but believe he'll eventually grow-up to be a solid citizen like his father.