The period Ron Howard called the lowlight of his career: “A decade-long string of embarrassments”
It’s been almost 70 years since Ron Howard got his first taste of Hollywood, and it would be ridiculous to think that anyone can survive for that long in such an unforgiving industry without having to swallow their pride and endure a series of setbacks.
That said, things started out pretty well for the youngster. Howard was one of the most popular and recognisable young actors in America before his age had even reached double digits, thanks to a recurring role as Opie on The Andy Griffith Show.
The first pivotal moment of his career came when he aged out of playing kids and had to prove to himself, as well as audiences and executives across town, that he had the talent to secure longevity. Considering he’d already starred in the ‘Best Picture’ nominee American Graffiti and Happy Days had premiered before he turned 20, things were looking promising.
Professionally, at least, seeing as Howard was growing increasingly disillusioned with acting. He’d always wanted to be a director, but nobody was willing to give him a chance until Roger Corman stepped in. Until he had the platform to realise his ultimate goal, for want of a better phrase, he had to eat shit and take on several on-camera gigs that made him miserable.
Between The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, Howard co-starred with Henry Fonda in The Smith Family. He learned a lot from the acting legend, but he called it a “dull, indifferent show” that hardly stoked his creative fires. Unfortunately, things were about to get a lot worse.
In 1972, under the orders of his paymasters, Howard appeared as a contestant on The Dating Game. “I hated the idea,” he wrote in his memoir, The Boys. “I found the whole concept ridiculous. But ABC’s publicity department was adamant, kicking off a decade-long string of embarrassments for me at the hands of those folks.”
Further embarrassments for Howard included “suffering my way through guest appearances on Donny & Marie and Captain & Tennille’s variety show,” along with further outings on Celebrity Squares, Battle of the Network Stars, The Jim Nabors Show, and The Lorenzo and Henrietta Music Show.
He was already falling out of love with acting, and being paraded on so many game shows, talk shows, and musical extravaganzas only deepened his disdain. This being one of the nicest guys in the industry, though, he didn’t hold anyone other than himself and ABC responsible for his misery.
Clarifying that his tarnished memories were “not a knock on any of the aforementioned but on my hopelessness as a song-and-dance man,” the two-time Academy Award winner hit the self-loathing nail squarely on the head when judging the worst period of his career: “It’s not fun being on TV when you absolutely know that your performance sucks.”
