Rance Howard

Acting

Rance Howard

Born 1928-11-17 · Newkirk, Oklahoma, USA

Rance Howard (born Harold Engle Beckenholdt; November 17, 1928 – November 25, 2017) was an American actor who starred in film and on television. He was the father of actor and filmmaker Ron Howard and actor Clint Howard, and grandfather of actresses Bryce Dallas Howard and Paige Howard. Howard appeared in films such as Cool Hand Luke (1967), Chinatown (1974), Splash (1984), Ed Wood (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Independence Day (1996), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Cinderella Man (2005), Frost/Nixon (2008), Nebraska (2013), and Max Rose (2016). He received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program for co-producing the television film The Time Crystal (1981).

Acting credits

Independence Day poster
6.9

Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances.

Independence Day

1996

How the Grinch Stole Christmas poster
6.8

The Grinch decides to rob Whoville of Christmas - but a dash of kindness from little Cindy Lou Who and her family may be enough to melt his heart...

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2000

A Beautiful Mind poster
7.9

From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash Jr. experiences it all. As a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, he made a groundbreaking discovery early in his career and stands on the brink of international acclaim. But as the handsome and arrogant Nash accepts secret work in cryptography, he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. His life takes a nightmarish turn and he soon finds himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery.

A Beautiful Mind

2001

Apollo 13 poster
7.5

The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.

Apollo 13

1995

Mars Attacks! poster
6.4

A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.

Mars Attacks!

1996

Angels & Demons poster
6.7

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is recruited by the Vatican to investigate the apparent return of the Illuminati – a secret, underground organization – after four cardinals are kidnapped on the night of the papal conclave.

Angels & Demons

2009

The Lone Ranger poster
6.1

The Texas Rangers chase down a gang of outlaws led by Butch Cavendish, but the gang ambushes the Rangers, seemingly killing them all. One survivor is found, however, by an American Indian named Tonto, who nurses him back to health. The Ranger, donning a mask and riding a white stallion named Silver, teams up with Tonto to bring the unscrupulous gang and others of that ilk to justice.

The Lone Ranger

2013

Chinatown poster
7.9

Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.

Chinatown

1974

Airplane II: The Sequel poster
6.1

A faulty computer causes a passenger space shuttle to head straight for the sun, and man-with-a-past Ted Striker must save the day and get the shuttle back on track – again – all the while trying to patch up his relationship with Elaine.

Airplane II: The Sequel

1982

Small Soldiers poster
6.6

When missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, the toys soon begin to take their battle programming too seriously.

Small Soldiers

1998

Cinderella Man poster
7.6

The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.

Cinderella Man

2005

Cool Hand Luke poster
7.7

When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.

Cool Hand Luke

1967

Universal Soldier poster
6.3

An American soldier who had been killed during the Vietnam War is revived 25 years later by the military as a semi-android, UniSols, a high-tech soldier of the future. After the failure of the initiative to erase all the soldier's memories, he begins to experience flashbacks that are forcing him to recall his past.

Universal Soldier

1992

Far and Away poster
6.8

A young free-spirited Irish woman from an affluent Protestant family spontaneously befriends a street-smart commoner cheated by her family’s hostile land takeovers. They escape to America, ready to take advantage of the 19th century Oklahoma land rush.

Far and Away

1992

Rat Race poster
6.3

In an ensemble film about easy money, greed, manipulation and bad driving, a Las Vegas casino tycoon entertains his wealthiest high rollers -- a group that will bet on anything -- by pitting six ordinary people against each other in a wild dash for $2 million jammed into a locker hundreds of miles away. The tycoon and his wealthy friends monitor each racer's every move to keep track of their favorites. The only rule in this race is that there are no rules.

Rat Race

2001

Cocoon poster
6.6

When a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigor.

Cocoon

1985

Nebraska poster
7.4

An aging, booze-addled father takes a trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim what he believes to be a million-dollar sweepstakes prize.

Nebraska

2013

Innerspace poster
6.8

Test pilot Tuck Pendleton volunteers to test a special vessel for a miniaturization experiment. Accidentally injected into a neurotic hypochondriac, Jack Putter, Tuck must convince Jack to find his ex-girlfriend, Lydia Maxwell, to help him extract Tuck and his ship and re-enlarge them before his oxygen runs out.

Innerspace

1987

The Dilemma poster
5.4

Longtime friends Ronny and Nick are partners in an auto-design firm. They are hard at work on a presentation for a dream project that would really launch their company. Then Ronny spots Nick's wife out with another man, and in the process of investigating the possible affair, he learns that Nick has a few secrets of his own. As the presentation nears, Ronny agonizes over what might happen if the truth gets out.

The Dilemma

2011

Ed Wood poster
7.5

The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.

Ed Wood

1994

Splash poster
6.3

A successful businessman falls in love with the girl of his dreams. There's one big complication though; he's fallen hook, line and sinker for a mermaid.

Splash

1984

Jonah Hex poster
5.0

Gunslinger Jonah Hex is appointed by President Ulysses Grant to track down terrorist Quentin Turnbull, a former Confederate officer determined on unleashing hell on earth. Jonah not only secures freedom by accepting this task, he also gets revenge on the man who slew his wife and child.

Jonah Hex

2010

Psycho poster
5.1

A young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own.

Psycho

1998

The 'Burbs poster
6.8

When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.

The 'Burbs

1989

Behind the camera