Rance Howard (born Harold Engle Beckenholdt; November 17, 1928 – November 25, 2017) was an American actor who starred in film and on television. He was the father of actor and filmmaker

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

and actor

Clint Howard Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His 200-plus acting credits include feature films such as ...

, and grandfather of actresses

Bryce Dallas Howard Bryce Dallas Howard (born March 2, 1981) is an American actress and director. Howard was born in Los Angeles and attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, initially leaving in 2002 to take roles on Broadway but officially graduati ...

and

Paige Howard Paige Carlyle Howard (born February 5, 1985) is an American actress. She is a sister of actress Bryce Dallas Howard and daughter of director and actor Ron Howard. Education Howard attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Career ...

. Howard appeared in many notable films such as ''

Cool Hand Luke ''Cool Hand Luke'' is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Paul Newman and featuring George Kennedy in an Oscar-winning performance. Newman stars in the title role as Luke, a prisoner in a Florida prison cam ...

'' (1967), ''

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

'' (1974), ''

Splash Splash or Splash! or The Splash may refer to: Common meanings * Splash (fluid mechanics), sudden disturbances on the surface of water Entertainment * ''Splash'' (film), a 1984 fantasy film starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah ** ''Splash, Too'' ...

'' (1984), ''

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

'' (1994), ''

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...

'' (1995), ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

'' (1996), '' A Beautiful Mind'' (2001), ''

Cinderella Man ''Cinderella Man'' is a 2005 American biographical sports drama film directed by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penn ...

'' (2005), '' Frost/Nixon'' (2008), ''

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

'' (2013), and ''

Max Rose Max N. Rose (born November 28, 1986) is an American military officer and politician who served as a United States representative from New York for a single term from 2019 to 2021. A moderate Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he served ...

'' (2016). For co-producing the television film ''The Time Crystal'' (1981), he received a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program was presented to television programming aimed towards children in any format. Series, specials and non-fiction programming were all eligible for the award. Prior to 1974, both daytime an ...

Early life

Howard was born Harold Engle Beckenholdt in Newkirk,

Kay County, Oklahoma Kay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, its population was 43,700. Its county seat is Newkirk, and the largest city is Ponca City. Kay County comprises the Ponca City micropolitan statistical area ...

, the son of Ethel Cleo (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Tomlin) and Engel Beckenholdt, a farmer. He changed his name to "Rance Howard" when he became an actor. Howard graduated from Shidler High School in 1946 and studied at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

Career

His professional acting career began in 1948 when he went to New York City, auditioned, and landed a job in a children's touring company. The role that got him noticed nationally for television and film was playing the part of Lindstrom in the touring company of the play '' Mister Roberts'' with

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...

in 1950, portraying the character for about a year-and-a-half in major cities across the U.S. Both Rance and elder son Ron, who was two at the time, made their feature-film debuts together in the 1956 Western ''Frontier Woman''. Later in the 1950s, Rance's roles included his TV debut in the series ''

Kraft Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Chees ...

'', on which he appeared three times in 1956–57. After son Ron went on to play Opie in ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

'' in the early 1960s, Rance had guest parts in five episodes of the show. Howard was known best for his role on television in 25 episodes of the 1960s TV series ''

Gentle Ben Gentle Ben is a bear character created by author Walt Morey and first introduced in a 1965 children's novel, ''Gentle Ben''. The original novel told the story of the friendship between a large male bear named Ben and a boy named Mark. The story p ...

'' starring his younger son, Clint. Howard played Henry Boomhauer, a backwoodsman who befriended the family. Another well-known TV role was on ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

'', in which he had a recurring role as David Sheridan, the father of Babylon 5 captain John Sheridan. He also starred in the short-lived 2000 TV series ''Driving Me Crazy''. His television guest appearances include ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'', ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

'', ''

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

'', ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book ''Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 film ...

'', ''

CBS Schoolbreak Special ''CBS Schoolbreak Special'' is an American anthology series for teenagers that aired on CBS from December 1978 to January 1996. The series began under the title ''CBS Afternoon Playhouse'', and was changed during the 1984–85 season. The concept ...

'' 1986 episode "

The Drug Knot ''The Drug Knot'' is a 1986 ''CBS Schoolbreak Special'', a cautionary tale about teenage drug dependency. Plot High-school student Doug Dawson has it all: a loving family (composed of his younger brother and their parents), a terrific girlfriend, ...

", ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

'', '' 7th Heaven'', ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

'', ''

That's So Raven ''That's So Raven'' is an American television teen sitcom that was created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman, and aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between January 2003 and November 2007. The series centers on Raven Baxter (Raven-Sym ...

'', and two appearances on ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' (as different characters). On ''

'', Howard portrayed Dr. McIver in five different episodes, one of which included Ron. Howard appeared in over 100 films, including the 1967 movie ''

'', ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and ...

'' (in an uncredited bit part playing "Oscar Jackson"), and many other films. Howard acted in many of his son Ron's films including ''

'', '' Cocoon'', ''

'', '' A Beautiful Mind'', ''

'' and '' Frost/Nixon''. He also appeared as Dottie and Kit's father in ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena Dav ...

''. In 2013, he played Woody Grant's brother in ''

''. He often took parts as a priest or minister, county sheriff, or western marshal, and made numerous appearances in films by

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...

. His final film role, completed in September 2017, is also the largest in his career. He plays the role of Carl Robbins in the

Michael Worth Michael Troy Worth (born January 13, 1965) is an American actor, martial artist, screenwriter, and director. Early life Born in Philadelphia in 1965, Worth is from German and Delaware Indian Native American heritage. As a child, he grew up near t ...

road-trip drama, ''Apple Seed'', playing on film for the first time the father of his real-life son Clint.

Personal life

Howard married actress

Jean Speegle Howard Jean Frances Speegle Howard (January 31, 1927 – September 2, 2000) was an American actress who acted primarily in film and on television. Howard appeared in over 30 television shows, mostly sitcoms, such as '' Married... with Children'' (1994 ...

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

, in 1949. They remained married until her death in September 2000. Their sons are actor and filmmaker Ron Howard and actor Clint Howard. He was also the grandfather of actresses Bryce Dallas Howard and Paige Howard. Ron was born while he served three years in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. While in the Air Force, Howard directed plays in Special Services, a unit that provided entertainment for service members. In 2001, Howard married Judy Howard, a year after his first wife's death. Judy Howard died in January 2017 in Burbank, 10 months before Rance's death.

Death

Howard died on the morning of November 25, 2017, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California from heart failure spurred on by a

West Nile virus West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes West Nile fever. It is a member of the family ''Flaviviridae'', from the genus ''Flavivirus'', which also contains the Zika virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. The virus ...

infection.

Filmography

* Sources:

Films

Television

References

External links

* *
Rance Howard
at

Find a Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

Interview May, 2014
in The Oklahoman {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Rance 1928 births 2017 deaths People from Kay County, Oklahoma People from Duncan, Oklahoma Male actors from Oklahoma United States Air Force airmen American male film actors American male television actors

Rance Rance may refer to: Places * Rance (river), northwestern France * Rancé, a commune in eastern France, near Lyon * Ranče, a small settlement in Slovenia * Rance, Wallonia, part of the municipality of Sivry-Rance ** Rouge de Rance, a Devonian ...

University of Oklahoma alumni Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery