Here’s What Ron Howard Really Thought of Andy Griffith
One of the things that I absolutely adore about The Andy Griffith Show is the relationship between widower Sheriff Andy Taylor and his son, Opie. Over the course of the show’s eight seasons, we really got to know this father-son duo and learned a lot from them. One of the things that made these two so darn enjoyable was that, while Andy did most of the teaching and Opie did the bulk of the learning, every now and again, the tables were turned.
While in real life, Andy Griffith may have relished the opportunity to be something of a father figure to Ron Howard, who played Opie in the series, according to Andy himself, Ron didn’t quite see him that way. Prior to his death, Andy was quoted as saying, “Ronnie never considered me a father figure. He considered me his friend.”
So maybe that father-son relationship was just acting, but truthfully, I think Ron Howard saw him as both a father figure and a friend. Ron has often mentioned that after his actual parents, Andy had the biggest impact on his life.
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While working on The Andy Griffith Show, Ron soaked up all the knowledge that he could from those around him. Andy taught him about hard work, collaboration, and taking ownership of your art. Additionally, Ron learned that hard work and having a good time didn’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Ron talked to the Archive of American Television before Andy Griffith’s death in 2010, and he said a number of really interesting things. First and foremost, he called Andy a natural entertainer and said that he was the foundation upon which The Andy Griffith Show was built. Ron also said that Andy was a natural leader, albeit an informal one, because he wasn’t acting as a producer or writer on the series.
Ron also shared a really important lesson that Andy taught him about working in film and television. According to Ron, Andy set the tone on the set of their show, and that tone was a playful one when the time was right, when it was appropriate to be having fun. But when it was time to make the show, to get everything just right, to make sure that the jokes landed, that the scenes were funny, that was serious business.
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Here’s what The Hollywood Reporter quoted Ron as saying at the time of Andy’s death in 2012: “He treated me really well, but he made it a learning experience, not in a stern, taskmaster kind of a way, but I was really allowed a real insight into creativity and how things work and why some scenes were funny and others weren’t. That insight has served me really well over the years. Andy was really kind to me, always playful and fun, but, by the same token, he wanted to get the work done.”
If those things aren’t examples of a father figure, I don’t know what is.
Andy Griffith was a special human being. He wasn’t perfect. No doubt about that. He had flaws a mile long, and during his later years, he could be a crotchety old cuss. However, this was a man who remained humble and never forgot where he came from. To this day, the residents of Mount Airy, North Carolina talk about Andy and the positive impact he had on them. In a way, you could say he was a father figure for more than just Ron Howard, he was an example for that entire little town.
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July/August 2025
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