Far and way beyond the usual glass-bubble, self-focused Hollywood memoir, Ron and Clint's The Boys takes you behind the scenes of twentieth-century showbiz, but with a twist: your guides are actually nice, thoughtful people. In fact, I'd venture to say that Ron Howard in particular is an example of how growing up in a truly nurturing family can give someone the strength to grow into a strong, ethical person who is able, through hard work and just a little luck, to realize his potential. Such a background is probably rarer than you might think, and it's certainly rare in Hollywood.

In fact, I would have enjoyed hearing more from Clint, who struggled far more. One gets the sense that he didn't want to rain on Ron's sunny parade by talking about his struggles — and the difficult, dark-side-of-Hollywood things he saw and Ron didn't — by saying as much as he could have. He definitely plays second fiddle in this book, and that seems like a shame.

Aside from the Howards' personalities, and the loving and detailed portrait of their shared, almost unbelievably supportive parents, I enjoyed the trips behind the stages of The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, and learning about Ron's far from straightforward journey from acting to directing with the help of Roger Corman, who seems to have been a mentor to dozens of great directors. ( )

This was a very pleasant surprise, a memoir of Hollywood that was dominated not by name dropping but by their actual family life, and trials and tribulations. Well written, honest, enjoyable. ( )

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/cu4pVobS20A

Enjoy! ( )

Month of April 2022: Celebrity Profiles
Audiobook (13 hrs)
Read by brothers, Ron Howard and Clint Howard


The Andy Griffith Show is still one of my favorite shows today. I feel really sad that I can’t give this a big ol’ fat 5-star. But, I was actually a little disappointed, maybe a little bored would be a better word, during portions of this autobiography. 3 star really…average, take it or leave it.

This was read by both Ron and Clint. I would be listening to Ron, then suddenly out of the blue, Clint would chime in...sometimes on his part of the story, or a part of his life, sometimes it was just a sentence. This actually threw me off a bit. Their voices are so different; I wouldn’t be expecting the change. I was like, “Wait, what? Ron’s story is over?” They were both really good readers, but some parts were very interesting, and some parts literally put me to sleep. I wonder if I would have felt differently about their story if I had read the book myself? Could be that I’m just not really into audiobooks? I am trying a few for the first time this year.

Of course, I knew exactly which show Ron was talking about when it came to the little tidbits on The Andy Griffith Show and could visualize every scene. I really enjoyed hearing all about how this show was filmed. I will say I was surprised to find out that Ron had such a hard time throughout his school years because of his sweet little Opie character. Boy, kids can sure be mean.

I forgot about Ron playing Richie on Happy Days, which wasn’t one of my favorite shows back in the ‘70’s. I only watched because I was in love with Scott Baio. I never realized what good friends Ron and Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie, really were.

Richie was the star of the show, but was consequently being marginalized because the viewers were more into Fonzie. After several seasons, the producers were wanting to rename the show, “Fonzie’s Happy Days”. This kind of pushed Ron into directing, instead of acting, which is where he had always wanted to be since he was a little kid. This...he is very good at!

Ron found out a little later just what a good friend he had in Henry Winkler, who had told the producers, “No!” He was not for renaming the show after him because he knew Happy Days was Richie’s show. Needless to say, they are still good friends to this day. In fact, Henry is Godfather to all four of Ron Howard’s kids.

How ironic that my next book to read is Henry Winkler’s autobiography, “I’ve Never Met an Idiot on the River” (2011). It looks and sounds very promising. We’ll see. ( )

I've never been one to take for granted the eventful life I have led. Still, seeing my name in print triggers something in me - a feeling of stepping outside of myself. It could all have been so different. My name could easily have been Ronny Beckenholdt, had my Oklahoman parents not made the brave, crazy decision as young lovers to move to New York to become actors. Dad wouldn't have changed his name from Harold Beckenholdt to Rance Howard. Mom, the former Jean Speegle, would have become Jean Beckenholdt. And today, I would be...what? Wait, I know! How about a farmer in north central Oklahoma, where my dad's folks were from?