But we both have regrets, that we probably picked on her a little too much. “And on the other side,” says Clint, “Ron and I both love Mom dearly. He took them to movies such as “ The Wild Bunch” in their youth. Likewise, the veteran performer coached his sons on their scenes not as if they were child actors but just actors: He didn’t teach them to play cute for the camera but to listen and respond. When very young Ron reads some, ahem, colorful (American) graffiti in the toilet stalls on the “Andy Griffith” set and asks his dad about it, Rance explains it in matter-of-fact detail. All along, his sons’ view of him as a loving, pragmatic guide stays steady.
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They were ‘sophisticated hicks’ - my mom came up with that one.”Ī lot of actors would love to have Rance Howard’s career - close to 300 film and TV credits, plus some screenwriting along the way - but the book’s portrait of him professionally is of a constant scrapper: A working man struggling through long, painful dry stretches. “They were too adventurous for Oklahoma and a little too cornpone for Hollywood. “They came from the Midwest, and if you met them, you’d say, ‘Salt-of-the-earth Americana stands before you.’ But the reality was, what middle-of-the-road Middle American kid thinks, ‘I’ll just leave and go to New York or L.A.’? And they did that. “Something I learned from the book: Our parents, they were eccentrics. In exploring that, the titular boys came to better understand their parents. Ron says the brothers’ “survival” through the perils of Hollywood (including Clint’s struggles with addiction, described in the book) had “everything to do with our upbringing and the kind of offbeat parental sensibility that affected us in such a powerful way.” Jean gave up her acting dreams early on in service of the family Rance pursued his until the end while mentoring their sons in the business. The book has its share of showbiz reminiscences: Tales of Burt Lancaster showing up at a production’s motel to carry on a long-running affair Harrison Ford and Paul Le Mat bombing poor “Opie” with beer bottles in a motel parking lot during the making of “ American Graffiti” Bob Gibson and Bart Starr appearing on “Gentle Ben.” The volume and olfactory signatures of the sweat of some of young Ron’s adult co-stars are among the more vivid recollections.īut more than anything, “The Boys” is about how their father, Rance Howard, and mother, Jean Speegle Howard, shaped them and their careers. Dad’s side of the family was more cautious. Ron says, “ was from my mom’s side of the family she was gregarious, she was energetic, she was funny. Now they’re in their 60s and have together written a book of the Howards: “ The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family,” about their experiences growing up in the business and coming out more or less sane.
Clint became one of the more recognizable character faces in movies and on TV shows such as “Star Trek” and “Mod Squad.”
The brothers had runs of acting success as kids, Ron on “ Andy Griffith” and others and Clint all over, including as the non-ursine star of “ Gentle Ben.” After starring in “ Happy Days,” grown-up Ron directed such films as “ Apollo 13” and “ A Beautiful Mind,” winning Oscars for directing and producing the latter. Gravity-defying Clint is side-lighted by a window, somewhat deferential to big brother but more animated and quick to guffaw. During a Zoom interview, Ron talks more than Clint, is more functionally illuminated and moves less.
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In tank top and wildish white hair, Clint looks in character for a movie located deep in the woods of North Carolina, but he’s in the state for an “ Andy Griffith Show” fan event (Ron, of course, played young Opie on that ’60s hit, while Clint had a beloved recurring role as Leon, the kid cowboy armed with a sandwich). His image on the screen remains sideways, and his older sibling allows the slightest of smiling head shakes - a silent “That’s my brother.” Brother Clint Howard, five years his junior and proud owner of more than 250 acting credits, nods with something like satisfaction. “Sideways,” says Ron Howard, steady helmsman of about 30 features and documentaries.
“Well, I either have to be sideways or upside down.
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