Entertainment

Ron Howard: From Opie to Avedon, the Full Story

From Opie in Mayberry to his new Netflix documentary Avedon, Ron Howard has spent more than six decades in front of and behind the camera. Our six-chapter video tells the whole story.

By NewsCubby Newsroom · Published November 9, 2026 at 3:41 PM EST

Reviewed by Josh Kaplan · Prepared with AI assistance

Split thumbnail: Ron Howard's television star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (left) and Ron Howard speaking at Cannes in May 2026 (right). — Ron Howard's television star, Hollywood Walk of Fame (Alexis Doine, CC0 1.0); Ron Howard at Cannes, May 2026 (Vbrunophotog, CC BY-SA 4.0). Cropped/edited. Credit: THEN: Alexis Doine, CC0 1.0. NOW: Vbrunophotog, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped/edited for cover.. Photo source · License: CC0 1.0 + CC BY-SA 4.0

Ron Howard's newest documentary, *Avedon*, arrives on Netflix on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. It is the latest chapter in a career that has run for more than six decades, and our new long-form video tells the whole story in six chapters, from Mayberry to the Cannes premiere of his portrait of photographer Richard Avedon.

Watch the full video: Ron Howard: From Opie to Avedon, the Full Story

Watch on YouTube: Ron Howard: From Opie to Avedon | The Full Story. Spanish captions: Ron Howard: de Opie a Avedon | La historia completa.

Chapter 1: Opie in Mayberry

As a child, Howard played Opie Taylor on *The Andy Griffith Show*, the series set in a fictional Mayberry widely seen as modeled on Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina. Howard has told the story of the moment that set his path: during season two, he stopped a rehearsal and told director Bob Sweeney a kid wouldn't say a line that way. Sweeney asked how a kid would say it, and they used his version. Ron and his brother Clint revisited those years in their 2021 memoir, *The Boys*.

Chapter 2: Happy Days and the Corman deal

*Happy Days* began with a rejection. Howard was already playing Richie Cunningham in a pilot that didn't sell and aired instead on *Love, American Style*. George Lucas watched that pilot while casting *American Graffiti* and cast Howard. The film's success helped revive the TV idea, and *Happy Days* premiered in 1974, according to the Television Academy.

Getting trusted to direct took a deal. Roger Corman wanted Howard to star in *Eat My Dust!*; Howard agreed in exchange for a chance to direct. Corman had a title, *Grand Theft Auto*, but no script, so Howard and his father, Rance Howard, wrote one in two weeks, according to the Academy of Achievement. Howard directed and starred in the 1977 film.

Chapter 3: From Richie to Imagine

Howard left *Happy Days* in 1980 to direct full time. His 1982 comedy *Night Shift* starred his co-star Henry Winkler and was the first feature produced by Brian Grazer. The two made *Splash* together and in 1985 founded Imagine Entertainment.

Chapter 4: Apollo 13

In December 1994, Howard was at NASA's Kennedy Space Center filming *Apollo 13*, his recreation of the 1970 mission that survived an oxygen-tank explosion. The cast flew aboard NASA's KC-135 for weightless scenes. The film opened in 1995 and earned nine Oscar nominations.

Chapter 5: Two Oscars and Jim Henson

At the 2002 Academy Awards, *A Beautiful Mind* won four Oscars. Howard won Best Director and shared Best Picture with Grazer as a producer; Akiva Goldsman won for adapted screenplay and Jennifer Connelly for supporting actress. Decades later, Howard turned to documentaries. For *Jim Henson Idea Man* (2024), he told Disney the challenge was compacting Henson's creative life into 105 minutes, and that he wanted Henson's children and The Henson Company to feel confident in their collaborators.

Chapter 6: Avedon on Netflix

*Avedon* traces the life and work of Richard Avedon. Netflix says it draws on unprecedented access to his personal archives, and Howard told Deadline the Avedon foundation and family had never before given a documentary team that kind of access. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2026. Variety's Owen Gleiberman called it a fantastic movie and the best documentary Howard has made. Interviewees include Lauren Hutton, Isabella Rossellini, Twiggy and Calvin Klein.

On Nov. 6, Howard rode his bike to a screening at Santa Monica's Aero Theatre, Page Six reported. Howard and Grazer are among the producers through Imagine Documentaries. *Avedon* is rated R and begins streaming on Netflix on Wednesday, Nov. 11. In Beverly Hills, Gagosian's *Richard Avedon: Hollywood* runs through Dec. 19.

Reporting Sources

Photo & Video Credits

Credit: THEN: Alexis Doine, CC0 1.0. NOW: Vbrunophotog, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped/edited for cover.. License: CC0 1.0 + CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: file page.

Editorial notes

Sources

Television Academy, Ron Howard Hall of Fame tribute: https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/hall-fame/ron-howard-hall-fame-tribute
Academy of Achievement, Ron Howard: https://achievement.org/achiever/ron-howard/
HuffPost, Ron Howard on The Andy Griffith Show: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ron-howard-the-andy-griffith-show_n_5219607
AFI Catalog, Night Shift (1982): https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56853-NIGHT-SHIFT
Imagine Entertainment, About: https://www.imagine-entertainment.com/about/
NASA, Apollo 13: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-13/
Library of Congress, Behind the Scenes of Apollo 13 with Ron Howard: https://blogs.loc.gov/now-see-hear/2025/04/behind-the-scenes-of-apollo-13-with-ron-howard/
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 74th Academy Awards (2002): https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2002
The Walt Disney Company, Ron Howard on Jim Henson Idea Man: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/jim-henson-idea-man-disney-ron-howard-interview/
Netflix Tudum, Avedon: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/avedon-release-date-news
Variety, 'Avedon' review (Nov. 8, 2026): https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/avedon-review-ron-howard-richard-avedon-1236942472/
Deadline, Ron Howard interview (May 2026): https://deadline.com/video/ron-howard-interview-richard-avedon-documentary/
Page Six (Nov. 9, 2026): https://pagesix.com/2026/11/09/hollywood/ron-howard-humbly-rolls-up-to-santa-monica-screening-of-his-new-netflix-doc-avedon-on-his-bike/
Gagosian, Richard Avedon: Hollywood: https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2026/richard-avedon-hollywood/

Photo credits

All images are photographs used under their stated licenses; no Netflix key art, studio publicity art or film clips are used. Edits: crop/resize, slow pan/zoom, dark background plate, captions, date labels, chapter panels and NewsCubby branding. Faces are not altered. No endorsement by the people shown or the photographers is implied. NewsCubby's adaptations of CC BY-SA photos are offered under the same CC BY-SA license version as the original; originals keep their own licenses.

| Time (min:s) | Image | Creator / license | Source | |---|---|---|---| | 0:00.0–0:05.6, 5:01.2–5:09.5 | Ron Howard at the Avedon premiere, Cannes, May 2026 | Gabriel Hutchinson / WikiPortraits — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_speaks_at_the_premier_of_%22Avedon%22_01.jpg | | 0:05.6–0:09.8, 5:09.5–5:16.2, 5:52.7–5:57.7 | Ron Howard at Cannes, May 2026 | Vbrunophotog — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_interview_at_Elvis_Mitchell_lounge_at_2026_Cannes_Film_Festival_01.jpg | | 0:09.8–0:14.8, 0:29.2–0:34.8, 1:34.8–1:39.7, 5:46.7–5:52.7 | Ron Howard's television star, Hollywood Walk of Fame | Alexis Doine — CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_(Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame_star).jpg | | 0:14.8–0:18.4, 2:08.1–2:15.0, 4:27.1–4:36.2 | Ron Howard at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2024 | Jay Dixit / WikiPortraits — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_05.jpg | | 0:18.4–0:21.5, 0:21.9–0:29.2, 2:00.7–2:07.8 | Ron Howard, 2023 | Philip Romano — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RonHoward2023.jpg | | 0:34.8–0:40.2 | Mount Airy, North Carolina, Andy Griffith's hometown | Upstateherd — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Main_Street_Buidings_01.jpg | | 0:40.2–0:46.2 | Clint Howard, 2024 | John Manard for Super Festivals from Ft. Lauderdale, USA — CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clint_Howard_(54215276104).jpg | | 0:46.2–0:54.5, 1:39.7–1:43.9, 2:15.0–2:20.8, 4:36.2–4:40.8 | Ron Howard at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2024 | Jay Dixit — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_01.jpg | | 0:54.5–1:03.1, 1:14.6–1:22.0, 2:32.7–2:42.5, 4:02.1–4:08.7 | Ron Howard at the Tribeca Film Festival, 2011 | David Shankbone — CC BY 3.0 Unported (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_2011_Shankbone_3.JPG | | 1:03.1–1:08.2 | Andy Griffith receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2005 | Paul Morse, White House photo — Public domain (PD-USGov, White House) (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-USGov) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_George_W._Bush_Presents_the_Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_to_Actor_Andy_Griffith.jpg | | 1:08.5–1:14.6 | Garry Marshall, creator of Happy Days, c. 1995 | TwinsofSedona — CC0 1.0 Universal (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garry_Marshall_at_the_Producers_Guild_of_America's_Golden_Laurel_Awards.jpg | | 1:22.0–1:34.8 | George Lucas, 2007 | Joi Ito — CC BY 2.0 Generic (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Lucas.jpg | | 1:43.9–1:55.9 | Roger Corman, 1978 | Marianna Diamos / Los Angeles Times; UCLA Library, Regents of University of California — CC BY 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Filmmaker_Roger_Corman,_portrait,_1978.jpg | | 1:55.9–2:00.7, 4:12.9–4:19.4 | Ron Howard at the Solo premiere, Tokyo, 2018 | Dick Thomas Johnson — CC BY 2.0 Generic (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solo_A_Star_Wars_Story_Japan_Premiere_Red_Carpet_Ron_Howard_(42769865252).jpg | | 2:20.8–2:32.7 | Henry Winkler, Los Angeles, 1990 | Alan Light — CC BY 2.0 Generic (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Winkler_(210414127).jpg | | 2:42.5–2:48.4, 4:08.7–4:12.9 | Brian Grazer, Tribeca, 2011 | David Shankbone — CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brian_Grazer_2011_Shankbone.JPG | | 2:48.4–2:55.5, 3:54.1–4:02.1, 5:41.3–5:46.7 | Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, Tribeca, 2011 | David Shankbone — CC BY 3.0 Unported (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_Brian_Grazer_2011_Shankbone.JPG | | 2:55.8–3:03.7, 3:49.6–3:53.8 | Ron Howard on location for Apollo 13, Dec. 1994 | NASA — Public domain (PD-USGov, NASA) (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-USGov-NASA) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_in_1994.jpg | | 3:03.7–3:08.9, 3:27.4–3:32.7 | Ron Howard directing Apollo 13 at Kennedy Space Center, Dec. 1994 | NASA — Public domain (PD-USGov, NASA) (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-USGov-NASA) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo_13_filming_at_KSC_(KSC-94pc1510).jpg | | 3:08.9–3:14.1 | The real Apollo 13 crew: Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise, April 1970 | NASA — Public domain (PD-USGov, NASA) (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-USGov-NASA) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Actual_Apollo_13_Prime_Crew_-_GPN-2000-001167.jpg | | 3:14.1–3:18.4 | Apollo 13 service module damage, photographed by the crew, April 17, 1970 | NASA Johnson Space Center — Public domain (PD-USGov, NASA) (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-USGov-NASA) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_of_damaged_Apollo_13_Service_Module_from_the_Lunar-Command_Modules_(as13-59-8500).jpg | | 3:18.4–3:24.4 | Apollo 13 splashdown, South Pacific, April 17, 1970 | NASA Johnson Space Center — Public domain (PD-USGov, NASA) (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-USGov-NASA) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo_13_spacecraft_splashdown_in_the_South_Pacific_Ocean_(s70-35644).jpg | | 3:24.4–3:27.4 | Tom Hanks on the Apollo 13 shoot at Kennedy Space Center, Dec. 1994 | NASA — Public domain (PD-USGov, NASA) (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-USGov-NASA) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo_13_filming_at_KSC_(KSC-94pc1510).jpg | | 3:32.7–3:44.7 | NASA KC-135 N930NA, used for Apollo 13 weightless scenes (2017) | Alan Wilson — CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_KC-135A_Stratotanker_%E2%80%98N930NA%E2%80%99_(39589896675).jpg | | 3:44.7–3:49.6 | The real Apollo 13 capsule, Odyssey, at the Cosmosphere, 2018 | Balon Greyjoy — CC0 1.0 Universal (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20180502_Apollo_13_command_module_Cosmosphere_1.jpg | | 4:19.4–4:22.2 | Akiva Goldsman, 2011 | PopCultureGeek.com — CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Akiva_Goldsman.jpg | | 4:22.2–4:27.1 | Jennifer Connelly, Toronto, 2010 | Karon Liu at https://www.flickr.com/people/32153970@N07 — CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jennifer_Connelly_2010_TIFF.jpg | | 4:40.8–4:45.0 | The Jim Henson Company lot, Hollywood, 2023 | Benoît Prieur — CC0 1.0 Universal (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Jim_Henson_Company_Lot_-_View_in_July_2023.jpg | | 4:45.0–4:49.2 | 16mm film reel (illustration) | DiscoA340 — CC0 1.0 Universal (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:16_mm_Film_Reel_(With_Film).jpg | | 4:49.6–4:54.8, 5:16.2–5:19.4 | Ron Howard introduces Avedon at Cannes, May 17, 2026 | Gabriel Hutchinson — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_speaks_at_the_premier_of_%22Avedon%22_02.jpg | | 4:54.8–5:01.2, 5:19.4–5:25.0 | Ron Howard introduces Avedon at Cannes, May 17, 2026 | Gabriel Hutchinson — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_speaks_at_the_premier_of_%22Avedon%22_03.jpg | | 5:25.0–5:31.0 | Lauren Hutton, Tribeca Film Festival, 2011 | David Shankbone — CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lauren_Hutton_2011_Shankbone.JPG | | 5:31.0–5:35.7 | Aero Theatre, Santa Monica (2023) | Jengod — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aero_Theatre_on_Montana,_Santa_Monica,_California.jpg | | 5:35.7–5:41.3 | Aero Theatre, Santa Monica (2023) | Jengod — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aero_Theater_Santa_Monica_California_United_States_2023-04.jpg |

Cover / thumbnail: split image of Ron Howard's television star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Alexis Doine, CC0 1.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_(Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame_star).jpg) and Ron Howard at Cannes, May 2026 (Vbrunophotog, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Howard_interview_at_Elvis_Mitchell_lounge_at_2026_Cannes_Film_Festival_01.jpg). Cropped/edited.

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