From Mayberry to the Moon

Amazon: Product Description: Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon and Beyond, the first full-length biography of Ron Howard, takes an in-depth look at the Oklahoma boy who gained national fame as a child star, then grew up to be one of Hollywood's most admired directors. Although many show biz kids founder as they approach adulthood, Ron Howard had the advantage of brains, common sense, and two down-to-earth parents who kept him from having an inflated view of his own accomplishments. He also had a longstanding goal: to trade the glare of the spotlight for a quieter but equally creative life behind the camera. This biography tracks his career from 1960, when he debuted as six-year-old Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show through 2002, when he accepted his Academy Award® as Best Director for A Beautiful Mind.

Throughout the book it's noted (sometimes jokingly, sometimes not) that Ron cannot seem to rid himself of people still calling him Opie.

Some of the movies I enjoyed that were Directed/ Produced by Ron:

Splash- 1984 .......

Cocoon - 1985........

Willow-1988 .......

Backdraft -1991 .....

Apollo 13-1995.......

The Chamber - 1996......

From the Earth to the Moon - 1998 (HBO).......

A Beautiful Mind - 2001...... (the book was written and ended here)

Cinderella Man -2005....... (since then.. Ron is still going strong!)

The DiVinci Code - 2006.

Considering that Rons career is far from over, this was a fairly good biography.

For the most part in books like this when they begin to make each movie an individual chapter it gets drawn out and not so interesting. (well.. if you've seen the movies a rehash isn't all you want to read) I'm guessing this book wasn't too boring because I did read it to the end.

I truly admire Ron's directing career... let's face it, .. he's good ! And I think he has a lot more in him before it's all over.

Yes, I did watch him as Opie, and as Richie Cunningham and have probably seen just about everything he's done in front of the camera, and enjoyed it. But no matter how good the actor is (but you do need both to be good!)... what you see on the screen, is more how the director see's the story... and I do think Ron Howard has what it takes to be one of those exceptional directors.

I pretty much knew most of his story.. how his parents were in the business and how they allowed him to act at such a young age and watched over him etc. So there were no surprises tucked away in this book, but that's not why I read Biographies and Autobiographies... I do read them in hopes to get to know the individual better.. and in hopes that what I read makes me admire him more and not less. I guess I want verification that the person I am reading about deserves my accolades.

No surprises here. What you see is what you get... and so I continue to look forward to what Ron will give us next!

Written by deslily Blog about this entry

This entry has 2 comments: (Add your own)

#2 Comment from jmorancoyle
7/27/08 3:51 PM | Permalink

Both of his TV series run here everyday. He was a very decent little actor at the time. I remember when he first decided to direct. For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the first movie, only that we saw it at the outdoor, and it wasn't very good. Using that as a barometer, it is a amazing how much he's progressed since then. I love Backdraft (it takes place here in Chicago), and I love Apollo 13. And I'm sure if I thought about it more, I could come up with more of his movies I like better than the average movie.
Jude
http://journals.aol.com/jmorancoyle/MyWay
#1 Comment from madcobug
7/25/08 8:21 AM | Permalink

He has done good for himself. he was so sweet doing Opie. Have a nice weekend pat. Helen

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From Mayberry to the Moon