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Imagine being one of the biggest stars on a hit TV show but spending your weekends renting old cameras to film shorts in your backyard. That was the reality for Ron Howard during the height of his fame as Richie Cunningham on Happy Days. While the rest of the world saw him as the clean-cut kid from the 1950s, Howard was secretly fuelling a dream to sit in the director’s chair. In a recent conversation with People, the 72-year-old filmmaker revealed that he owes the lift-off of his massive directing career to his co-star and lifelong friend, Henry Winkler.
The bond between the two actors went far beyond their iconic roles as Richie and the Fonz. Howard started practicing his craft early, directing his first movie for Roger Corman during a break from the sitcom around the third season. However, jumping from a TV actor to a big-budget Hollywood director is a notoriously difficult leap to make. Howard admitted that the process was “nerve-wracking at times” because he felt a massive amount of pressure “to prove to the community that I could function at a professional level.” Even with his experience, he needed a breakthrough to be taken seriously by the major studios.
Night Shift gets the greenlight
That breakthrough finally came with the 1982 comedy Night Shift, but the project only happened because of Winkler’s loyalty. At the time, Winkler was a massive star, and his involvement gave the project the star power it needed to get moving.
Howard explained that “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.” Because Winkler took a chance on his friend, Howard was able to launch Imagine Entertainment with producing partner Brian Grazer just a few years later.
The friendship didn’t end when the cameras stopped rolling on Happy Days or Night Shift. Decades later, the two families are still incredibly close, with Winkler even serving as the godfather to Howard’s daughter, actress Bryce Dallas Howard. Bryce recently shared her own love for Winkler, describing him as “the most loving human being” and noting that “he’s like a father to me. He really, really is.” It is rare to see a Hollywood friendship last over fifty years, but the Howard and Winkler bond seems to be built on genuine care and mutual respect.
Even though Howard is now one of the most respected directors in the world, he still enjoys stepping back in front of the camera for a laugh. He recently made a cameo as a “jerk” version of himself in the comedy series The Studio. He described the experience as a “blast” because playing a meaner version of himself was “very cathartic.”
He joked that while he would never actually act that way in real life, “I wouldn’t say that the notions haven’t occasionally rumbled through the back of my brain.” From a young actor with a rented camera to a Hollywood legend, Howard’s journey shows that while talent is important, having a friend like Henry Winkler to back you up makes all the difference.
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