Ron Howard has revealed how his Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler helped him jump into directing from the acting world.
For the unversed, the 71-year-old American filmmaker and actor depicted Richie, a lead character, in the classic sitcom which ran from 1974 to 1984.
In an eleven-season-long series, he appeared in seven seasons and quit the show in 1890 before appearing as a guest star in the final instalment.
Notably, Howard had started his directing career during the third and fourth seasons of Happy Days.
On Wednesday, May 21, he attended a FYC event for The Studio at the Hollywood Athletic Club in Los Angeles and opened up about his directorial journey and how Winkler’s assistance led him towards success in a talk with PEOPLE.
Howard, who has made a cameo in The Studio, recounted, “I was working on my dream of directing throughout the Happy Days run. On the weekends, I was renting 16-millimeter sound equipment, and making short films. I directed my first movie for Roger Corman, Grand Theft Auto, on hiatus from Happy Days in season 3, I think.”
The Da Vinci Code director went on to quip that he kept making films whenever Happy Days was on break between seasons.
“By the time I left the show, I actually left with a contract in hand to go produce and direct television movies. Then soon Brian Grazer and I connected on Night Shift. Four years after that, Imagine [Entertainment, his production company that he opened with Grazer in 1985] was born,” he recalled.
Notably, Night Shift, a 1982 comedy film, brought Howard success; it had stars like Winkler, Shelly Long, and Michael Keaton, and he credits “some of the success and all that followed it to Winkler’s involvement.”
He noted, “Henry was always so supportive of that. When Henry said yes to Night Shift, that’s what got that movie greenlit. He played a hand in helping my dream ultimately come true, which was to be a studio, Hollywood, feature director.”
Howard admitted that it was not an easy decision and turned out to be “nerve-wracking at times.” He also felt pressure “to prove to the community that I could function at a professional level.”
Before concluding, it is pertinent to mention that The Studio, which premiered with two episodes on March 26, 2025, on Apple TV+, was concluded with its final episode on May 21.
