The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family

The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family

The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family

The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family

Hardcover

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Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Ron and Clint Howard, the former being the famous actor and director and the latter, a character actor living in the shadow of his brother, openly and repeatedly credit their father and mother, Rance and Jean, as the reason for their success. Rance, especially, is the hero of the book. He wanted to make it big in Hollywood but saw the early success of his kids and deferred his dreams to mentor his boys. Together, Ron and Clint's parents gave them the steady foundation they needed to fulfill their Hollywood destiny.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“This extraordinary book is not only a chronicle of Ron’s and Clint’s early careers and their wild adventures, but also a primer on so many topics—how an actor prepares, how to survive as a kid working in Hollywood, and how to be the best parents in the world! The Boys will surprise every reader with its humanity.”   — Tom Hanks

"I have read dozens of Hollywood memoirs. But The Boys stands alone. A delightful, warm and fascinating story of a good life in show business.”   — Malcolm Gladwell

Happy DaysThe Andy Griffith Show, Gentle Ben—these shows captivated millions of TV viewers in the ’60s and ’70s. Join award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard and audience-favorite actor Clint Howard as they frankly and fondly share their unusual family story of navigating and surviving life as sibling child actors.

“What was it like to grow up on TV?” Ron Howard has been asked this question throughout his adult life. in The Boys, he and his younger brother, Clint, examine their childhoods in detail for the first time. For Ron, playing Opie on The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days offered fame, joy, and opportunity—but also invited stress and bullying. For Clint, a fast start on such programs as Gentle Ben and Star Trek petered out in adolescence, with some tough consequences and lessons.

With the perspective of time and success—Ron as a filmmaker, producer, and Hollywood A-lister, Clint as a busy character actor—the Howard brothers delve deep into an upbringing that seemed normal to them yet was anything but. Their Midwestern parents, Rance and Jean, moved to California to pursue their own showbiz dreams. But it was their young sons who found steady employment as actors. Rance put aside his ego and ambition to become Ron and Clint’s teacher, sage, and moral compass. Jean became their loving protector—sometimes over-protector—from the snares and traps of Hollywood.

By turns confessional, nostalgic, heartwarming, and harrowing, THE BOYS is a dual narrative that lifts the lid on the Howard brothers’ closely held lives. It’s the journey of a tight four-person family unit that held fast in an unforgiving business and of two brothers who survived “child-actor syndrome” to become fulfilled adults.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780063065246
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 10/12/2021
Pages: 416
Sales rank: 639,009
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of his generation’s most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon, Rush, and Apollo 13 to the hit comedies Parenthood and Splash, he has created some of Hollywood’s most memorable films. Howard made his directorial debut in 1977 with Grand Theft Auto. He began his career in film as an actor, performing in The Journey when he was four years old. He also starred in The Music Man, the long-running television series The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, and in the film American Graffiti. His most recent films as a director are Hillbilly Elegy and the upcoming Thirteen Lives.


Clint Howard is a character actor and the younger brother of filmmaker Ron Howard. He began his acting career at the age of three when he played the role of Leon on The Andy Griffith Show. He starred opposite the titular bear in the popular late-’60s CBS television series Gentle Ben, and has gone on to act in countless TV shows and films over the years. Among his credits are Star Trek in virtually all of its incarnations, Apollo 13Seinfeld, Rock ’n’ Roll High School, Arrested Development, The Waterboy, and many horror films.

Table of Contents

Foreword Bryce Dallas Howard ix

Introduction xiii

1 The Accidental Actor 1

2 Mom and Dad: A Love Story 8

3 Becoming Californians 22

4 The New Kid in Town 37

5 Introducing Opie 49

6 The Truth about Mayberry 68

7 Hot Lights, Real Tears 83

8 Toughening Up 99

9 But First, The Tranya 115

10 Mom, in Her Element 132

11 One Role, Three Bears 151

12 The Injustice to Sandy Koufax 164

13 Fake Blood and Opie-Shaming 179

14 Wild Times in Jackson Hole 195

15 Dating Games, Real and Staged 212

16 The Education of R. W. Howard, Director 229

17 Growth Via Graffiti 245

18 Cruising, Boozing, Scoring 261

19 Clocking in to the Nostalgia Industry 275

20 Fonzie-Mania 290

21 Roger That 307

22 Range to the Rescue 322

23 Filming, Flying, Crashing, Burning 336

24 Richie Grows Up 355

Epilogue 359

Acknowledgments 373

Index 377

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