How would you tell the story of your parents and your early upbringing?
Well, that’s a question that Ron Howard and brother Clint Howard tackle in The Boys because both of the boys grew up on television—not watching it—but starring in programs that dominated the ratings in pre-streaming days. Ron, then Ronny, played Opie Taylor in the long-running Andy Griffith Show. Clint starred in Gentle Ben as the boy who had befriended a bear.
Later, Ron traded television—after starring in Happy Days—for filmmaking, a life-long passion. Clint continued in his career, becoming a rarity: a child star who matriculated into an adult actor, playing hundreds of character roles. Both were the sons of Jean and Rance Howards, both Oklahoma-born actors who migrated first to New York and later to Los Angeles.
Four Lessons
Without giving away key parts of the story, I will focus on four aspects of the book that resonated with me from a leadership angle.
The first lesson is craft. Rance Howard did not push either of his boys into acting; he opened the door for them, and each flourished in his own way. Since Ronny and Clint were acting before they could read, it fell to Rance to help them interpret their lines and get to the story’s truth. A technique that both mastered and Rance, in turn, shared with other child actors — and adults, too — as a dialogue coach on many films and television shows, often when he had a small acting role himself.
The second lesson is persistence. Rance never made the big time, but he was a working actor his entire life. His work ethic as one seeking work and also writing screenplays provided an example for both boys. Although Ron succeeded as an actor, his true passion was film, and like any budding filmmaker, he had to go through hoops to succeed. Clint, too, persisted as a character, persevering through personal crises to continue working.
The third is lesson is brotherhood. Ron and Clint take turns telling their boyhood stories and their experiences. What comes through loudly and clearly, however, is the respect that each has for the other. Ron is five years Clint’s senior, a positive in that he broke ground that his little brother could use to his advantage. Clint had struggles with substance abuse, but neither brother gave up on himself or their relationship. Because Ron had married and lived on the East Coast, Clint became closer to his father after his mother died. The two continued running lines for acting roles right up to the final weeks of Rance’s death.
The fourth lesson is collaboration. Andy Griffith was a movie star turned television icon when he created the Andy Griffith Show. The fictional town of Mayberry was a nostalgic look at Andy’s own hometown, Mount Airy, North Carolina. The collaborative ethos on the set buttressed the community created on television. The Andy that Ron describes was kind, gracious and diligent. Andy worked as hard as anyone to make the show true to character and set an example through his work ethic. It was a family show that ran like a family in the sense that people pulled their weight for themselves and others.
The Final Cut
Given that The Boys is a memoir, some of the remembrances—although researched—may be biased. Not that there are dark sides not explored, but that what Ron and Clint remembered may not be the whole story. Not because they are hiding anything, but because they are telling their own story from their own point of view. “Memory is the diary we all carry within us,” wrote Oscar Wilde.
The Boys is more than a warm-hearted story. It’s an inside look at how to survive in a business that could be cruel without succumbing to it, but instead by maintaining a positive attitude through hardship and success.