Clint Howard Joins Andy Griffith Legacy at Age Two
Clint Howard played Leon on andy griffith when he was two years old, giving the family name one of its earliest TV credits. Born on April 20, 1959, he has stayed active long after that child role, with work across television, film, and voice acting.
From Leon to later credits
Howard’s first screen chapter came before he could even remember it. He later turned up in guest spots on The Fugitive and The Patty Duke Show as a child, then moved into voice work in The Jungle Book and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. That path turned a one-off sitcom appearance into a long utility-player career, the kind studios keep hiring when they need someone who can fit into almost any production.
In 2024, he played Tom Starr on The Bold and the Beautiful, and in 2025 he received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series. That is the useful business read on Howard: he is still getting booked, still landing credits, and still drawing award attention decades after Leon.
Ron Howard and family work
Ron Howard started his own showbiz journey as Opie on The Andy Griffith Show and later became Richie Cunningham on Happy Days. Clint Howard also worked on Ron Howard films including Splash and Apollo 13, which ties the brothers’ careers together across TV and film rather than leaving that family connection frozen in the 1960s.
That arc is unusually long even by Hollywood standards. Clint Howard was the youngest son of actor Rance Howard and actress Jean Speegle, was married to Ann Marie Lynch from 1988 to 1989, then to Melanie Sorich until 2017 after 22 years together, before marrying Kat Cruz in July 2020.
Kat Cruz and Raffie
Howard shared a post about his wife and daughter that pulled his private life into the public record: “I’m so blessed to have two beautiful women in my life. My caring, loving wife and my extremely talented, blossoming daughter. Kat and Raffie are the best, and this candid makes me so filled with joy❤️??❤️??” He shares a daughter named Raffie with Kat Cruz.
His most recent movie, The Wolf and the Lamb, was released on April 24, and he has four more films in the works according to IMDb. For readers tracking the Andy Griffith family tree, that is the point: the child actor who played Leon at age two is still working in 2025, with more projects already on deck.
