Sign in with Facebook
Jim's Reviews > The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family
The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family
by
by
Great double memoir by the Howard brothers, framing the story of their young lives and careers through the prism of their relationship with their parents.
I’m a big fan of the Andy Griffith Show and I’ve read a lot about it. Ron gives as great a perspective on that show as any I’ve read, with a lot of great stories and insights. He truly loved Griffith, who was an important figure in his life. (And this is probably the only AGS behind-the-scenes stuff I’ve read where Francis Bavier isn’t a villain!)
The other great parts of the book for me covered his time on Happy Days (which include the beginning of his lifelong friendship with Henry Winkler, who is apparently as great a guy as he seems, plus some interesting battles Howard had with ABC) and the production of the first movie in his career as a director: “Grand Theft Auto.”
Clint has good stuff as well, including a behind the scenes of a great Star Trek episode - The Corbomite Maneuver. But overall his story kind of backfills Ron’s. In a good way! The two of them took very divergent paths and it was interesting to hear their separate versions of the same time period.
Really interesting Hollywood memoir.
I’m a big fan of the Andy Griffith Show and I’ve read a lot about it. Ron gives as great a perspective on that show as any I’ve read, with a lot of great stories and insights. He truly loved Griffith, who was an important figure in his life. (And this is probably the only AGS behind-the-scenes stuff I’ve read where Francis Bavier isn’t a villain!)
The other great parts of the book for me covered his time on Happy Days (which include the beginning of his lifelong friendship with Henry Winkler, who is apparently as great a guy as he seems, plus some interesting battles Howard had with ABC) and the production of the first movie in his career as a director: “Grand Theft Auto.”
Clint has good stuff as well, including a behind the scenes of a great Star Trek episode - The Corbomite Maneuver. But overall his story kind of backfills Ron’s. In a good way! The two of them took very divergent paths and it was interesting to hear their separate versions of the same time period.
Really interesting Hollywood memoir.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
The Boys.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Started Reading
April 15, 2022
– Shelved
April 15, 2022
– Shelved as:
to-read
April 15, 2022
– Shelved as:
television
April 15, 2022
– Shelved as:
memoir
April 15, 2022
– Shelved as:
audio
April 15, 2022
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Allison
(new)
-
added it
Apr 15, 2022 08:44PM
I just bought a copy of this last week—even more excited to finally crack it open now! Great review, Jim!
reply
|
flag
Nice review Jim! I did not know about this book but I’ll have to check it out. Did Ron talk about American Graffiti at all? Also, is there a good Andy Griffith biography out there?
Allison wrote: "I just bought a copy of this last week—even more excited to finally crack it open now! Great review, Jim!"Thank you Allison, you will enjoy it!
Aaron wrote: "Nice review Jim! I did not know about this book but I’ll have to check it out. Did Ron talk about American Graffiti at all? Also, is there a good Andy Griffith biography out there?"Yes and Yes! He talks quite a bit about American Graffiti, especially the relationships between the cast. Very good part of the book.
And for a book on Andy, I highly recommend Andy and Don by Daniel de Vise. It’s hilarious and is a great dual biography of the two men and their friendship.
Nice review, Jim. I loved Ron in The Music Man and The Andy Griffith show growing up and since. It's been fun watching his career evolve over the years
Bill wrote: "Nice review, Jim. I loved Ron in The Music Man and The Andy Griffith show growing up and since. It's been fun watching his career evolve over the years"Thanks Bill! He talks about trying to learn to sing for TMM. I have never seen it, I need to.
