MANTEO, N.C. — Filmmaker and actor Ron Howard visited the Outer Banks this month.
Howard made his television debut in 1960 on "The Andy Griffith Show" as Opie Taylor. Howard's costar, Andy Griffith, owned a home in Manteo, N.C. for several years.
According to Outer Banks This Week, Griffith was Roanoke Island's most famous resident. While he lived a private life, many people who live on the Outer Banks have a story involving the star.
"Outer Bankers gave Griffith his privacy, for the most part... Locals were friendly but didn't ask him for autographs, and that's the way he wanted it," Molly Harrison with the Outer Banks This Week wrote in 2012.
Griffith died in his Manteo home in 2012 at the age of 86.
Howard and his wife, Cheryl, stayed at the Burrus House Inn in Manteo this past weekend. Howard took to Twitter to share his visit while sporting an OBX hat.
"Andy Griffith always spoke so lovingly of beautiful Manteo. Terrific for fishing and family adventure," Howard wrote.
Howard stopped at Roanoke Island Festival Park during his visit to OBX. The park posted on Facebook that the people there enjoyed sharing the area's history with him and his family.
Jason Theodore ran into Howard in Kill Devil Hills while both were at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.
Theodore told us it was "awesome meeting him." He said Howard was "down-to-earth and very personable."
After "The Andy Griffith Show," Howard appeared in the film "American Graffiti." He also starred in the hit sitcom "Happy Days," in which he played Richie Cunningham.
Howard eventually stepped away from acting and began working behind the camera, gaining much success as a director.
He is known for directing a multitude of hit films, including "Apollo 13," "A Beautiful Mind," "Cinderella Man," "The Da Vinci Code," and much more.
He has Academy Awards, both for "A Beautiful Mind," for which he won Best Picture and Best Director in 2002.
