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Ken

December 09, 2008 - 12:35 AM GMT

You make this guy look like a failure. I think he is a fine director and like his work.

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Ron Howard EKG

Kurt Russell in 'Backdraft'

When Frost/Nixon opened to stellar reviews, it proved once again that it must be great to be Ron Howard. He’s incredibly successful, happily married for over 30 years to his high school sweetheart, and everyone in Hollywood says he’s a really nice guy. But despite over the years his having directed 23 feature films — most of them pretty darn good — it has to sting just a bit that so many of us still think of him as little Opie from The Andy Griffith Show or Richie Cunningham from Happy Days.

With his newest film generating Oscar buzz, we’re wondering if his directing career will finally eclipse his early roles as an actor. To find out, we’ve examined his directorial efforts with our career EKG. Celebrity careers are like heartbeats — some move at a consistent rhythm, with strong steady beats. Others feel occasional palpitations: moments of blockbuster success. Then there are those random murmurs: beats that are neither strong nor weak, movies that are neither good nor bad, but show that a body — or career — still has a pulse. But, sadly, every career seems to have its moment of flat-lining.

Here are the results of our Ron Howard Career EKG, covering his early efforts directing light comedy and heart-warming family movies to the more serious fare of recent years. Surprisingly, the famously even-keeled director has had his share of frightening career lows and heart-pounding highs.

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