Two weekends ago, Stan's "SCREAM VI and THE BOYS" went up with the second half dealing with Ron and Clint Howard's memoir THE BOYS. So you enjoyed the book?
Stan: I did. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Clint will tell his story and then Ron will tell his story.
You noted Loretta Swit of M*A*S*H?
Stan: Right. Ron doesn't have an unkind word to say about anyone. And some people are not very nice. But she's one of the ones he puts on blast. Really, the only one. Which makes you wonder how bad she is?
Pretty bad. She's more than earned her reputation and it's why she doesn't work. And M*A*S*H was a set with a lot of huge egos. She carried her ego over to films and no one was putting up with it. She gave okay performances. If she'd been able to really deliver, she might have had a film career. But she didn't and that's why her career collapsed. No one wanted to work with her. Whatever Ron wrote, he was being kind, I'm sure.
Stan: I came away impressed with Ron and Clint's father. He could have been a star father and just ripped them off. Instead, he made sure that they were protected nad he taught them life lessons and taught them acting as well.
You talk about Jim Nabors.
Stan: Right. Their father teaches them about the world as they grow up. Jim Nabors played Gomer Pyle on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW which was Ron's first big acting hit. He liked Jim but was confused when some of the crew, when Jim wasn't around, called him a "homo." He went to his dad to ask about that. His dad just explained that some men like women and some men, like Jim, are attracted to men. He didn't place any shame on it, just spoke to Ron in a way Ron could understand. That really stood out to me at a time when you've got nut jobs pimping nonsense like "Don't Say Gay" in schools.
So Ron was a star on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW and then, in the 80s, HAPPY DAYS. Anything there stand out?
Stan: Yeah. Everyone knows Fonie was the break out character. Ron played Richie who was the lead and the straight man like Dick Van Dyke was on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW. But Fonzie, played by Henry Winkler, was a break out audience favorite. And ABC wanted to then retitle the show to FONZIE'S HAPPY DAYS. Ron objected because that's not the show he signed up for. And then, early on, they all got Christmas gifts from ABC -- wallets. Even Marion Ross -- who played Mrs. Cunningham, Riche's mother, even she got a wallet. But Henry Winkler? ABC gave him a new VCR at a time when VRS were brand news and cost a lot of money. So that was frustration -- with ABC, not with Winkler. And it's good that happened. He wanted to direct. He was going to UCLA and studying film directing but had to drop out when the demands on HAPPY DAYS got to be too much. If things had been perfect, he might have stayed. But instead, he started directing and proving himself as a director. He wanted ABC to let him direct as part of his renewing his contract but they were idiots and said no. So he didn't renew his contract -- to their surprise -- and left the show. I am glad he left for another reason. I did watch HAPPY DAYS and I did not like Lori Beth. She wasn't given anything to do and was like one of the wives on MY THREE SONS. I think that would have been even more awkward if he'd stayed with the show. Richie was a leader on the show. Yeah, he turned to Fonzie but he was a leader and he could say no to Fonize if he needed to. And to have him with an appendage who did nothing episode after episode would have really destroyed why we liked Richie. The show did not have good writing for women.
So he goes on and he directs hits like SPLASH and A BEAUTIFUL MIND?
Stan: Right. He ends up an Academy Award winning director.
And one of Harvey Weinstein's targets.
Stan: Yeah, I thought about that while I was reading it. Havery Weinstein tried to destroy Ron's films -- you've said, C.I., turning the Academy Awards into a "blood sport." Well, Ron still go the Academy Award and he's got a career and can walk freely. Harvey's going to rot in prison.
Everybody pretty much knows Ron -- as a director or as an actor. You wrote about Clint's acting career and made some interesting points.
Stan: Okay, yeah. After they were child actors, Ron and Clinton continued acting in the 70s. Clint didn't get lot of long running roles on TV and he often had supporting parts in films. But we all know him, we recognize his face. And that's because he's been in basically everything. Look at his TV guest spots, for example, and there's at least one show even someone who barely watched TV will know. And he didn't get to end up with leading roles in films like AMERICAN GRAFFITI or THE MUSIC MAN or THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER like his brother Ron, but he made a ton of films and some are classics and some are cult classics -- like ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL. He has been a working actor and then some. I guess most of us, given the chance, would say we wanted to be the leading man. But Clint carved out an incredible career in these supporting parts. I was really impressed by that.
