Clint Howard Bio
Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor whose career spans more than six decades across film and television. Born in Burbank, California, he is the second son of actors Rance Howard and Jean Speegle Howard and the younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. Clint Howard began performing as a toddler and has built a filmography of more than 200 credits, ranging from family entertainment to science fiction. He is widely recognized for the title role in Gentle Ben, recurring appearances in Star Trek productions, and supporting parts in films directed by his brother Ron.
Early Life and Background
Clinton Engle Howard was born on April 20, 1959, in Burbank, California, the second son of actors Rance Howard and Jean Speegle. His older brother, Ron Howard, would go on to become one of Hollywood’s most prominent actors-turned-directors, and the Howard household revolved around the entertainment industry. According to Clint Howard, actor Dennis Weaver introduced his parents to each other in 1947 at the University of Oklahoma, a meeting that helped shape one of Hollywood’s most enduring acting families.
Growing up on film sets, Howard was exposed to the craft almost from birth. He made his on-screen debut at the age of two on The Andy Griffith Show, where he played a silent toddler in a cowboy outfit named Leon who wandered Mayberry offering people a bite of his sandwich. The early immersion in television production, combined with his parents’ ongoing work as character actors, gave Howard a practical education in performance long before any formal training.
Path to Acting
Howard’s path to a sustained acting career began almost immediately after his toddler appearance on The Andy Griffith Show. Throughout the early 1960s, he accumulated guest spots on a variety of network dramas, including The Streets of San Francisco, The Virginian, the medical drama Breaking Point, and the 1964 season-one episode of The Fugitive titled Home is the Hunted. These roles established him as a dependable child performer comfortable on major television sets.
His first prominent regular role came in 1967 when he was cast as the lead in the CBS series Gentle Ben, a family drama built around a bear and his young caretaker. He also appeared in an episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery and played Billy in the television adaptation of John Steinbeck’s The Red Pony alongside Henry Fonda and Maureen O’Hara. Together, these credits marked Howard’s transition from one-off child guest spots to a recognizable working actor in his own right.
Clint Howard Career
Early Career (1962-1969)
Howard began his career in 1962 at the age of two, with five episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, and he quickly built a steady run of television and voice credits. He voiced Roo in Disney’s animated shorts Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) and Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), and he voiced Hathi Jr. in Disney’s 1967 animated feature The Jungle Book. His film debut arrived in 1963 with a small part in The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring his brother, then credited as Ronny Howard.
By the late 1960s, Howard had already accumulated more than a dozen screen credits, including the family Western Gentle Giant (1968) with Dennis Weaver and the title role in Gentle Ben, which ran from 1967 to 1969. These early projects laid the foundation for a career that would continue uninterrupted into the next century.
Breakthrough (1970-1999)
Howard’s breakthrough as an adult character actor came through his long-running collaboration with his brother Ron Howard, both in front of and behind the camera. He appeared in seventeen films directed by Ron Howard, including Cocoon (1985), Gung Ho (1986), Backdraft (1991), Parenthood (1989), Far and Away (1992), Apollo 13 (1995), EDtv (1999), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), and Cinderella Man (2005). His role as flight controller Seymour Liebergot in Apollo 13 remains one of his most recognizable adult performances.
He also became a familiar face across the Star Trek franchise, playing multiple roles in Star Trek productions over the years. On the small screen, Howard joined the main cast of the sitcom The Baileys of Balboa, the Western series The Cowboys, and guest-starred in popular shows including Seinfeld, My Name Is Earl, Married… with Children, and Heroes. His work on Arrested Development as Johnny Bark, a show produced and narrated by his brother, further cemented his presence in modern television comedy.
Notable Works and Milestones
Howard’s most enduring works include his starring turn in Gentle Ben, his voice performance as Roo in the early Disney Winnie the Pooh shorts, and his recurring roles across the Star Trek universe. He has also maintained a steady stream of genre and independent film appearances, from Rock ‘n’ Roll High School and The Wraith to The Waterboy, Tango & Cash, and Austin Powers. His later collaborations with his brother continued with Frost/Nixon (2008), The Dilemma, and Solo: A Star Wars Story, reflecting a working partnership that has lasted from childhood into the present day.
Clint Howard Family
Clint Howard was born into one of Hollywood’s most enduring acting families. His father, Rance Howard, was a working actor who appeared in many of his son’s films, while his mother, Jean Speegle Howard, was also an actress. His older brother, Ron Howard, became one of the most respected directors in Hollywood, and Clint has appeared in seventeen of Ron’s films. His nieces include actress Bryce Dallas Howard and Paige Howard, both of whom have continued the family’s screen legacy.
Howard’s mother, Jean Speegle Howard, died on September 2, 2000, at the age of 73, and his father, Rance Howard, died on November 25, 2017, at the age of 89. In 2021, Ron and Clint Howard co-wrote a memoir titled The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family, reflecting on their shared childhood and decades of work in the entertainment industry.
Personal Life
Howard has been married three times. He married Ann Marie Lynch in 1988 and filed for divorce less than a year later. His second marriage, to Melanie Sorich, took place in 1995; he filed for legal separation in 2015, and the divorce was finalized in 2018. On July 1, 2020, Howard married Kat C. Cruz in a private ceremony in Las Vegas, and the couple has a daughter.
Outside of acting, Howard was an avid golfer who played roughly 150 rounds a year from 1990 until hip-replacement surgeries forced him to stop. He has also been publicly active in Republican politics, endorsing United States Senator Ted Cruz of Texas for the Republican presidential nomination on January 29, 2016, three days before the Iowa Caucuses. Howard continues to work steadily in television and film, maintaining a pace of new projects that reflects his earliest beginnings on the set of The Andy Griffith Show.