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The Boys

A Memoir of Hollywood and Family

by Ron Howard & Clint Howard

Length 13 hours 18 minutes

Language English

Narrators Ron Howard, Clint Howard & Bryce Dallas Howard

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Bookseller recommendation

“This is one that I listened to, instead of reading in print, and I highly recommend the listening experience! Ron and his brother Clint take turns narrating, and it’s SO much fun for anybody who grew up in the 1970s. (I hadn’t realized that Ron’s little brother was the star of Gentle Ben. He also had a hilarious cameo on Star Trek when he was around 4.) There’s so much interesting stuff about growing up doing shows in the ‘70s, and Ron’s narration is so engaging. This was fun and so nostalgic.”
— Donna • A Great Good Place for Books

Summary
About the authors
About the narrators

AN AUDIOFILES BEST AUDIOBOOK OF 2021

WINNER OF AN AUDIOFILES EARPHONES AWARD: ""This audiobook is simply a delight...a must-listen.""

“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 Days, The 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.

Biography & Memoir Nonfiction

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 13, Seinfeld, Rock ’n’ Roll High School, Arrested Development, The Waterboy, and many horror films.