(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Sun 14 December 2025 17:15, UK
Ron Howard has had an illustrious career, beginning as a child actor and quickly pivoting to directing complex and emotional films like A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13.
Throughout his career, he’s worked with some of the greats, both in front of and behind the screen. For example, on the set of The Grinch, he worked closely with Jim Carrey to magic up an undeniable, feel-good dose of Christmas spirit; Carrey’s infamous ear-to-ear smile is hard to resist. He produced The Grinch alongside Brian Grazer, who is a long-time friend of the director.
Despite the heart-warming story and the snow-encrusted set full of colleagues that swiftly became friends, it was a project wildly different from The Grinch that Howard deemed his favourite, thanks to the director on board.
The tale stretches far back into his acting days, all the way back to the American television sitcom, Happy Days, that aired for a decade between 1974 and 1984. Set in 1950s and 1960s Milwaukee, the show depicts the Cunningham family as they navigate life while owning a hardware store. For the first seven seasons, Howard was the protagonist of the show.
After the first year of shooting, the show reformatted and began shooting in front of a live audience. “I wanted to throw up before every episode,” Howard admitted to US Magazine while reflecting on his time in front of the camera and a consistently full room of strangers watching your every move.
Eventually, he learned to tame the beast and recovered from the high-anxiety bouts of stage fright that would cause him to throw up before each episode. And it’s not the only thing he learnt on the set. Slowly gearing up towards the director’s seat, he learnt the ropes of making a comedy from the late Garry Marshall, the creator of the series.
“We had a running dialogue going,” Howard shared of their relationship, before bestowing upon him a huge honour: “Best boss I ever had.” This might make the more sceptical readers concerned, as, often, to be a great boss, you have to compromise on the world outside of work. This wasn’t the case with Marshall; in fact, it was the opposite.
Howard painted this exact picture with his praise, sharing, “I still regard Garry as the most remarkable leader and manager of talent that I have ever known. He was a natural teacher and a man of many adages, his favourite being, “Life is more important than show business.” Time and again, he gave us all lessons in how to abide by that motto.”
Marshall had all sorts of epic movies under his belt, including Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries and, a quiet personal favourite of mine, the star-studded Valentine’s Day, all of them executed with a confident faith in the art of cinema. Unfortunately, Marshall passed away at the age of 81.
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