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‘The Andy Griffith Show’: Clint Howard Reveals He Doesn’t Remember His First Appearance on the Show

Clint Howard might be one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood. Today, he has over 250 roles under his belt. A quick look at his IMDb profile shows that he’s never been too picky about his roles. He’s been in gritty slasher films, wholesome family TV shows, Star Wars, Star Trek, and just about everything in-between. However, he held his first role sixty years ago. He appeared alongside his brother Ron Howard on The Andy Griffith Show.

Clint and Ron Howard grew up in Hollywood and both entered the business at an early age. Their father, Rance Howard, was a filmmaker and actor. At the same time, their mother, Jean Speagle Howard, was an actress. The Howards led their boys to the spotlight. Then, they followed their own paths. Ron followed in his father’s footsteps and became a filmmaker. Clint, on the other hand, stayed in front of the camera for the bulk of his career.

Recently, Clint Howard spoke to The AV Club ahead of the release of his and Ron Howard’s joint memoir. That book, The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family, hits shelves tomorrow. Howard’s interview gives a taste of what we can expect from the book.

Clint Howard Started Young

Clint Howard celebrated his 62nd birthday in April and can legitimately say he has sixty years in the entertainment business. As a result, he doesn’t remember his first role. Not long after his 2nd birthday, Clint played Little Leon in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show. When asked about it he said, “I don’t remember. What I remember are the conversations and the talks with Mom and Dad about all this, but I do not remember when I started in the entertainment business.”

It’s hard to understand holding a career so long that you don’t remember your first days. However, Clint Howard looks back at it with some humor. “I really start having memories in show business at about the age of five,” he told the publication. “So, like I tell people, I’ve been paying attention for about 55 years and have actually been in the business for 60.”

The AV Club asked Clint Howard how it felt looking back at his earliest television appearance. He told them, “Well, boy, I was a cute kid.” In fact, that’s how he landed the role. Howard told The AV Club that he and his mother were regularly on the set of The Andy Griffith Show. Their mother wanted to be there to watch Ron work and didn’t want to hire a babysitter. One day, a director saw Clint and decided that he was too cute to not be on the show. So, they put him in a scene. The rest, as they say, is history.