While the maker of the drama A Beautiful Mind has won critical and commercial acclaim for 15 movies that have raked in more than a billion dollars in the two decades since he stopped acting, he has
always been snubbed by his peers.
But Sunday, the filmmaker famed for his quiet doggedness and eye for detail picked up the ultimate cinematic award and achieved his childhood dream — recognition as a director.
Howard (48) first appeared on television as the mischievous son of the legendary Andy Griffith on the ”Andy Griffith Show,” which chronicled the days in the life of a small-town sheriff and his
family.
He achieved international stardom in the six years he starred as innocent boy next door Richie Cunningham in the 1970s television sitcom Happy Days.
But even as a young man, all Howard really wanted to do was direct.
Born in the central US state of Oklahoma in 1954 to actor parents, Howard got his first stage acting gig when he was just 18 months old and went on to play several television and film roles.
Aged 15, he stumbled fatally into filmmaking when he was given a movie camera by the Andy Griffith cast and made films featuring his brother and then girlfriend Cheryl, to whom he has been married
for three decades.
As a young adult, Howard was asked to put on the freckle-face innocent persona again, appearing in front of the cameras in the George Lucas 1973 coming of age classic American Graffiti, which
made him a Hollywood star.
He stole a first chance to direct in 1977, when producer Roger Corman asked him to direct the sequel to a barely-seen teenage race-car movie he had starred in.
”I don’t want any more for the sequel,” Corman remembers the 23-year-old saying: ”… and I’ll do another job for nothing — I’ll direct the picture.” He had a deal, and Ron Howard the director was born.
In his early years in the big chair, Howard was frustrated by his inability to shake off his clean-cut boy actor image and to be seen as a serious director.
He chose in 1980 to leave the acting to others, to concentrate on directing.
”Once I became a director, it was such a revolution in my life and in people’s minds that I didn’t want to confuse the issue at all,” Howard said recently.
A string of light but highly successful comedies followed, beginning in 1982 with Nightshift, 1984’s Splash, starring Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks, the 1985 extra-terrestrial comedy Cocoon, 1998’s fantasy Willow and 2000’s Oscar-nominated How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
But his 1995 space drama Apollo 13 stands out. Praised for its meticulous detail and special effects, it earned a whopping 334 million dollars in ticket receipts across the world.
Still, respect and recognition eluded him. In an industry where accolades and awards are as commonplace as models who really want to be movie stars, few plaques and trophies have ended up on the Howard mantelpiece.
He was snubbed in 1996, when Apollo 13 won two Oscars from among its nine nominations — although none for Howard, confirming his reputation as Hollywood’s least recognised filmmaker.
All that changed on Sunday with A Beautiful Mind, the true story of schizophrenic maths genius John Forbes Nash, in which he transformed the subtleties of the human mind into a fascinating and
accessible story, has changed all that.
Now, two golden statuettes will take honoured spots in Howard’s California home, as he was also recognized as a co-producer, with longtime partner Brian Grazer, for Mind‘s win as best picture of
the year.
”I’m very grateful for this,” he said lofting the prized statuette.
”I’m grateful for the entire lifetime spent in this creative process that we do.” – Sapa-AFP