Ron Howard recalls working with Andy Griffith in advance of Mayberry’s 50th anniversary
By MIKE THOMAS mthomas@suntimes.com
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Actor-director Ron Howard spoke with the Sun-Times in 2010 about his experience on “The Andy Griffith Show.” Here is an excerpt:
Q. What was it like being under the tutelage of a comedic master?
A. Well, I definitely learned so much there. And as a kid, I had no idea of the kind of education that I was getting. I think toward the end of the run, when I was 13 or 14 years old, I was beginning to get a sense of just what a privileged situation it was. Because even as a 6- or 7-year-old, I was allowed to hang around during the rewrite sessions and just hear what was going on. And it was fantastic for me.
Q. What did Andy teach you comedically, from a writing and acting standpoint?
A. Lots and lots about timing. And lots about the difference between playing something absolutely for real and having to heighten something or stress a certain line. Let me put it this way: He was basically teaching me the music of comedy, or the algebra of it.
