Actor and director Ron Howard had a wholesome start on “The Andy Griffith Show,” but a new interview shed some light on a longstanding rumor about a foray into the adult film industry.
“How much truth is there really to ‘Opie Gets Laid’?”
Before committing himself more fully to a life behind the camera, the nine-time Academy Award-winning Howard was an American TV cultural icon for his roles portraying Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham. After eight seasons on the ABC sitcom “Happy Days” though, in his pursuit of a new career, he admittedly left the land of 1950s nostalgia and momentarily considered porn as his ticket to success.
During a lengthy interview with journalist Graham Bensinger for “In Depth” that looked at Howard’s personal and professional life, interview colleagues and family members, the host asked with a conspiratorial grin, “How much truth is there really to ‘Opie Gets Laid’?”
With a laugh and a slap of his knee, the famed director of “A Beautiful Mind” and “Apollo 13” admitted, “Well, it’s true that it went through my mind. It endured as a serious idea for probably about two-and-a-half to three seconds.”
He had explained his dissatisfaction in the mid-70s that ABC and Paramount Pictures wouldn’t guarantee in his contract the leeway he needed to explore directing, which he had already begun to pursue.
“The entire time that I was under contract and doing ‘Happy Days,’ my dream was to be a filmmaker. I felt like the clock was ticking on me,” he explained, then in his mid-twenties. “I had lost patience with not being able to devote, you know, all of my energies to making that transition and giving that its chance.”
Actor Clint Howard also laughed at the suggestion of his brother propelling his career with porn and told Bensinger, “‘Opie Gets Laid’ would have probably made Ron a million dollars, and he could have gone off and made a movie.”
“I’m glad he steered away from that because I don’t think anybody really wanted to see Opie get laid,” he added.
That was especially true of his daughter, actress Bryce Dallas Howard who said if her father had taken that route, she would’ve had to explore a different path of her own.
“A lot of times in life, I’ll think about the fact that my dad has a public profile that isn’t embarrassing. It’s massive…and if he had done ‘Opie Gets Laid,’ it’s just, I just, I wouldn’t be in this business.”
Though “Happy Days” would go on for a few more years without him, Howard would go on to direct the 1985 film “Cocoon” which earned him his first two Academy Awards. He also expressed that, had Paramount been more accommodating, he likely would have never begun working with producer Brian Grazer and his filmography would have been entirely different.
As to “Opie Gets Laid,” Howard put the idea to rest by declaring it a “Good joke. Great for the Letterman show.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
- Starbucks execs say Seattle is a keeper, but their real estate search in Tennessee says another - March 18, 2026
- Chief Justice Roberts takes shot at Trump after nuclear hot blast at SCOTUS, judges - March 18, 2026
- Democrat hack cuts CNBC clip out of context and the spin is shameless, as usual - March 18, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.