(Born Mar. 01, 1954) Ron Howard is an American actor and Academy Award-winning film director and producer, known for his roles on sitcoms, movies and television. He came to prominence in the 1960s as Andy Griffith's son, Opie Taylor, on The Andy Griffith Show, and later in the 1970s as Tom Bosley's son and Henry Winkler's best friend, Richie Cunningham, on Happy Days (a role he played from 1974 to 1980).