The Andy Griffith Show was one of the best shows in television history. Part of that had to do with the brilliant acting folks became accustomed to while watching the show, but it also because of the family aspect to the show. The chemistry with all of the actors, especially Don Knotts and Andy Griffith. Well, that family environment permeated throughout the rest of the cast and the cast’s family, actually. The Andy Griffith Show star Don Knotts’ daughter recently reflected on her friendship with now-legendary director Ron Howard.
In her new memoir, she said of Howard, “We were the same age.” She continued”I never knew a kid like Ronny before.” He was different than most kids. But part of that was because he grew up in the show business industry. He had a very different kind of upbringing. She continued,”I mean, he was still a little boy, but he had a certain gravitas about him.” There was a difference between Ron Howard and the rest of the kids that she knew growing up.
She added that Ron Howard would do other cool things with her on-set, as he would show her around, even showing her all the hijinks involved, as the shoe nail prank. Howard was a great friend to her on set.
Ron Howard’s Book
Ron, along with his brother Clint, also wrote a book of their own. In it, they talked about a myriad of things about growing up in Hollywood. However, they did get rather personal in it. Ron Howard told EW, “There were a few things that were sort of difficult to revisit. Some of the unsettled feelings that I had around Happy Days were things that I talked about a little bit. But I’ve never delved into it in the way that I did in the book. I also recognize how emotional it was then and how vitally important it was to me then. Yet now putting it into perspective, I recognize that it was just part of my growth.”
He went back and reflected on his complicated time on Happy Days. What he felt then and his perspective now.
Ron Howard concluded, “It was an aspect of the real world that was good and healthy for me to face because it ultimately motivated me to go ahead and pursue my big dream, which was to be a filmmaker. But revisiting that I found uncomfortable. Also admitting that as Clint got older and began experimenting with drugs and alcohol and having some struggles there that I could recognize that I had made some poor choices in terms of recognizing what my brother needed from me and what my parents needed to hear from me that I had fallen short on or misjudged. It was painful to put that into writing, but important.”
That’s a lot to tackle and Ron Howard did so thoughtfully and honestly.
