Ron Howard was born Ronald William Howard on March 1, 1954, in Duncan, Oklahoma.

Howard's father Rance and mother Jean Speegle were both actors who met when paired in a scene workshop taught by Dennis Weaver at the University of Oklahoma.

Ron joined his parents onstage at only eighteen months of age in a production of The Seven Year Itch.

Rance and Ron Howard made their feature film debuts together, in Ron Ormond's Frontier Woman (1956).

Ron Howard achieved stardom at an early age as one of the stars of the hit TV series The Andy Griffith Show.

The atmosphere of friendship and collaboration that existed on the set of The Andy Griffith Show inspired Ron Howard to achieve the same feeling on his film sets.

Leading actress Nancy Morgan is the niece of Congressional Medal of Honor winner John "Red" Morgan.

Once married to the late John Ritter, Morgan was the daughter-in-law of cowboy star Tex Ritter.

Marion Ross played Ron Howard's mother on the long-running ABC sitcom Happy Days (1974-1984).

Early film roles for Ross included uncredited bits in The Glenn Miller Story (1953) with James Stewart, Sabrina (1954) with Audrey Hepburn and Lust for Life (1956) with Kirk Douglas.

Paul Linke is best remembered as the comic relief highway patrolman Arthur "Grossie" Grossman on the NBC series CHiPs (1977-1983).

Paul Linke's father Dick had been Andy Griffith's partner and business manager.

Ron Howard's younger brother Clint made his acting debut on The Andy Griffith Show at the age of two and appeared on the series in 1961 as a semi-regular. Clint and Dennis Weaver were the stars of Gentle Ben for two seasons on CBS.

DJ Don Steele can also be seen in the Roger Corman-produced Death Race 2000 (1975) and Joe Dante's Gremlins (1984).

Appearing in a bit as a minister is former child star Bobs Watson. Born Robert Ball Watson in 1930, the actor was known for his ability to cry on cue, earning him the nickname "The Crybaby of Hollywood." Ordained as a Methodist minister in 1963 and based in Burbank, Watson had married Ron and Cheryl Howard two years earlier.

Howard's editor Joe Dante and second unit director Allan Arkush had co-directed Hollywood Boulevard (1976) for Roger Corman the previous year. Dante would go on to direct Piranha (1978) and The Howling (1981) and most recently directed the Halloween episode of CSI: New York. Arkush directed the cult film Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) and has recently helmed episodes of the hit series Heroes.

The film's composer, Peter Ivers, was an avant-garde Boston musician and video filmmaker who also wrote "In Heaven (Everything Is Fine)" for David Lynch's Eraserhead (1977). Ivers' 1983 murder remains unsolved.

Compiled by Richard Harland Smith

Sources:
Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon... and Beyond by Beverly Gray
Ron Howard biography by Paul Bamford, Contemorary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide
Roger Corman: Metaphysics on a Shoestring by Alain Silver and James Ursini
1997 Ron Howard Interview, Academy of Achievement
2007 Rance Howard Interview by Mike Egnor, Galactica TV.
Bobs Watson obituary by Douglas Haberman, Los Angeles Daily News