Veteran actor Rance Howard died on Saturday, November 25, 2017 in Los Angeles. He was 89 years old.

His son, director-actor Ron Howard made the announcement on Twitter writing, “A Depression era farm boy, his passion for acting changed the course of our family history.”

He is also the father of actor Clint Howard and grandfather to actresses Bryce Dallas Howard and Paige Howard.

He was born Harold Rance Beckenholdt on November 17, 1928 in Duncan, Oklahoma. He left the family farm to study at the University of Oklahoma, then headed to New York City to pursue acting. He worked in children’s theater then landed a role in the touring company of the play Mister Roberts with Henry Fonda.

His film and TV career began in 1956 in Frontier Woman. His TV appearances were varied and expansive, including Kraft Theatre, The Andy Griffith Show, Gunsmoke, The Waltons, Seinfeld, and Angel.

On film, he was in The Music Man, Cool Hand Luke, Chinatown, Cocoon, Innerspace, The ‘Burbs, Universal Soldier, Little Giants, Independence Day, Rat Race, Nebraska, and he was working on a few projects at the time of his passing.

He appeared in several of Ron Howard’s movies, such as Splash, Parenthood, Apollo 13, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Beautiful Mind, Angels & Demons, and Grand Theft Auto – which Rance and Ron wrote together.