Ron Howard would cry when The Andy Griffith Show went on hiatus

Howard viewed his costars as friends.

CBS Television Distribution

With the amount of acting prowess Ron Howard displays in The Andy Griffith Show, it can be easy to forget that, by all accounts, he was just a regular kid leading a relatively normal life outside of working hours. All of this was under the direction of Rance Howard, Ron's father, who was focused on ensuring that his son could have a typical childhood.

According to the book Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon...and Beyond by Beverly Gray, filming of The Andy Griffith Show was set up around Howard's schedule so that the boy could join a Little League team and attend practices and games without it conflicting with the shooting schedule.

For Howard, working on The Andy Griffith Show didn't even feel like work all the time. As a young boy, he saw his costars as pals to spend time with, not just his fellow actors. So, Howard began to grow attached to people like Don Knotts and Andy Griffith. Much like any child does, Howard would get emotional when it was time to part ways with his friends, even if it was just for a little while.

"I used to cry every year when the show went into hiatus," Howard said of The Andy Griffith Show during an interview with The Winnipeg Sun. Howard wasn't just warmed by the kindness that the cast and crew showed him as an actor; he was also grateful for the learning opportunities that helped him prepare for his future as a director, even if he didn't realize his path yet.

Disregarding Howard's age, the young actor was involved in more and more production elements of the program, giving him a peek behind the scenes...and at his future.

"The thing is the directors really used to let me in on the creative process," said Howard. "I used to sit around story meetings, watching jokes evolve."

Watch The Andy Griffith Show on MeTV!

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4 Comments

JHP 8 days ago
well - Ope was flirting with

Karen Folker - Karen Burgess (same thing)
Thelma Lou
Miss Frump

and he would miss the fights with the bully (Sheldon?) - Steve Quincy (apple thrower)
obectionoverruled 8 days ago
don knotts goes down in my book as the funniest american comedian ever. that horse race includes jack benny, lucille ball, bill murray, john candy and rodney dangerfield. there’s really no one close to knott’s originality, flat out funniness including his goofy looks, sense of timing, hilarious facial expressions, one liners usually set up by andy or otis, and THE MOST IMPORTANT characteristic of a terrific comic - presence. try watching any of the andy griffith shows in which barney is absent or, towards the end, out of the cast. the show died without him. i continually watch the reruns to enjoy the humorous skits where he chops through the wall at the bank safe, tickets the governor’s limo, chases a dynamite loaded goat around town, polices andy’s lakeside date with miss helen and tries to tell floyd how to cut hair. priceless. i don’t think there will ever be another comic like him. (of course, i also told my friends the Mets would win the world series last year.)
JHP obectionoverruled 8 days ago
will just say one thing

Yelling "comedians";
Sam Kinison
Lou Costello
Jackie Gleason
FrankensteinLover 9 days ago
I love knowing so many of them were and stayed so close especially Andy and Barney
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