‘The Boys’: Ron Howard on His ‘Complicated Relationship’ with ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ Theme Song

Ron Howard and his brother Clint’s memoir The Boys hit bookstores and e-readers today and among many of the revelations shared by the siblings from their decades in the entertainment industry were Ron’s memories of The Andy Griffith Show. Here’s what the actor and filmmaker had to say about his love-hate relationship with the theme song from the still-popular comedy.

Howard famously played Opie Taylor on the 1960s comedy

From the age of 6 until he was 14, Ron Howard spent many of his formative years in the fictional town of Mayberry. He played the sheriff’s son Opie Taylor and told the Television Academy Foundation how the name of his character came about, offering some little-known background information about the name.

“The name came from a bandleader from the 1940s who used to tour the South,” Howard said. “Andy [Griffith] particularly admired this bandleader, so I think he suggested the name.”

About who Opie was, Howard said, “I was the sheriff’s son growing up. Mother had passed away, but looking to Aunt Bee as sort of a mother figure. Mostly leaning on my father, my Pa.”

His love-hate relationship with the ‘Griffith Show’ theme song

In his recently published joint memoir with his brother, actor Clint Howard, Ron shared his very honest thoughts on the Griffith Show‘s theme song and how it’s followed him around all these decades later.

“I’ve had a complicated relationship with that famous whistled theme song,” the A Beautiful Mind director wrote. “By and large, I regard it positively: it evokes fond memories of Andy’s warmth and the joy that we took in working together. But there were times in my life when that damned song was the bane of my existence. I’d be in a public place, ballcap pulled low, calling no attention to myself, when I’d hear a faint version of the tune tooting from someone’s lips — and that’s when I’d know that I had been made.”

Even worse, Ron added, was the borderline cruel bullying he endured from classmates because of his past role on television: “In school, I would sometimes be at my locker, minding my own business, trying to find a homework assignment that I had misplaced, when behind me I’d hear whistling along with derisive laughter — and that’s when I knew that I was being mocked for some jerk’s amusement.”

The end of ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ was the end of an era for Howard

The filmmaker noted that the classic series would always hold a special place in his life and heart. When it came to an end in 1968, CBS threw the cast a “big wrap party” to celebrate the show and its actors. A teenager by this point, Howard wrote that he came to a painful realization at the event.

“All the men and women with whom I had worked since the age of 6, in front of and behind the camera, were there,” he recalled. “I was 14 and determined not to cry. Then Andy announced through a microphone that he wanted to speak. ‘I want to thank y’all for your good work,’ he said. ‘You didn’t just make a successful TV show. You brought the town of Mayberry to life. In doing that, you brought my childhood to life again, week after week. I can’t tell you what that means to me.’ At this, I started to lose the emotional battle. Andy’s words jolted me, making me recognize something I had not yet come to terms with. My boyhood had taken place here, on this soundstage. I started weeping inconsolably in front of everyone. It was so embarrassing.”

Thankfully, Howard’s mother was on hand to give him the needed perspective that although a big part of his current life was ending, it was also the start of “a new beginning” and the next promising part of his life.

It almost sounds like the kind of wisdom Sheriff Taylor would’ve passed along to his son.