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?

I was taking a road trip to see my daughter graduate from college, so I downloaded a few audiobooks to listen to in the car. My wife had already read this, but said she wouldn't mind hearing it narrated. We started it on the last day of our return trip and got halfway through before we finally arrived home. We still had the paper book from the library too, so I switched over to that to finish out the book.

The Boys is an engaging and easy read with plenty of guest star cameos and a little bit of insider dirt. This is sort of a nostalgia wallow for me since I grew up watching Ron Howard on The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, and large chunks of the book are given over to anecdotes from the sets of those two shows. As presented, Ron is the rare child actor who transitioned relatively smoothly to adult roles and a successful directing career. More than a bit of a square, he had a pretty golden life and has a fairly positive attitude about everything now. To add a little spice and darkness, his brother Clint contributes the occasional chapter and interjection that present his more cynical take on things, as his child acting career petered out and he found himself becoming a bit of a cult figure due to his adult career as a character actor. Clint also talks about his problems with substance abuse.

The brothers let the book serve mostly as a love letter to their parents, who started and guided their childhood careers while their father scrabbled to keep his own acting career alive and their mother struggled with mental and physical health issues. They had their ups and downs but launched an entertainment dynasty while keeping everyone fairly humble.

The book pretty much ends with Ron directing his first movie, making me feel like there may be a second volume down the road covering the rest of his filmmaking career. I'd certainly pick it up if it came to be. ( )