SPECIAL EDITION

Remembering Rance Howard

Rance Howard (1928-2017)
Seen here in a 1983 publicity shot for his role as McCollough in Splash.

.

By Jim Clark
TAGSRWC

Rance Howard, died in Los Angeles on November 25, 2017. He was 89.  With his passing, we recognize the loss of someone who was one of the quiet keys to the success of “The Andy Griffith Show.”

GOTCHA!–The Howard men on location filming “A Black Day for Mayberry” in 1963.

With a simplicity and grace typical of his father and also a flair for new-fangled technology that Rance largely and happily finessed, Ron Howard announced his father’s death on Twitter that Saturday afternoon:

“Clint & I have been blessed to be Rance Howard’s sons. Today he passed at 89. He stood especially tall 4 his ability to balance ambition w/great personal integrity. A Depression-era farm boy, his passion for acting changed the course of our family history. We love & miss U Dad.”

Rance and future wife Jean Speegle met as teenagers in Oklahoma. Both were part of a touring repertory company that did plays for children. They were married while on tour. For their wedding ceremony, Jean dressed as Snow White and Rance was a huntsman.

Rance and Jean got off the road and initially settled in New York City, where Rance found work with “Kraft Theatre” and other shows of the late 1950s. Jean focused on running a household and raising a growing family.

The West being won by the Howard family!

Ronny began to show both great interest in and talent for acting. Rance taught Ronny technique and helped him learn his lines, which was especially necessary, because Ron could not yet read.

The first filmed work for both Rance and Ron (definitely for Ron) was the 1956 film Frontier Woman, which was shot in Mississippi and was not strictly what could be called a Hollywood production. Rance played the bad guy, Prewitt. Ron, about a year-and-half years old at the time, was cast against type as a crying infant. (Though filmed first, the movie was released after Rance’s first TV work for “Kraft Theatre,” which had been broadcast from New York that spring.)

The young couple eventually decided California was the place they ought to be. The family’s first big break on the West Coast came when Ronny was cast as Opie on TAGS.

The Governor’s Chauffeur

For the record, Rance himself appeared in four episodes of TAGS (as the Bus Driver in “Cousin Virgil,” as the Governor’s Chauffeur in “Barney and the Governor,” as a Treasury Agent in “A Black Day for Mayberry” (in which Clint also appears) and as a Party Guest in “The Rumor.”

In addition, Rance earned a story credit for “The Ball Game” in the eighth season (and truth be told, he essentially wrote the script as well, but wasn’t given the credit he deserved). Rance also previously had a quick part (Don’t blink!) as a member of the camera crew in “Danny Meets Andy Griffith,” the pilot for TAGS that was part of “The Danny Thomas Show.”

Rance likewise performed in “Happy Days” with Ron and with Clint in “Gentle Ben,” in which he played series regular Henry Boonhauer in 30 episodes and for which he also wrote the story or teleplay for five episodes.

ALL ABOARD–Rance Howard (right) with Martin Palmer on the Lone Ranger set in May 2012.

Rance had well over 300 film roles in close to that many different productions. His roles were fairly evenly split between TV series and movies. He loved to play cowboys. He was also often cast as detectives, drivers, and clergymen.  (He played the preacher who married Barney and Thelma Lou in Return to Mayberry.)

Rance appeared in two memorable episodes of “Seinfeld,” and he had good guest parts in episodes of hits such as “Bat Masterson,” “Gunsmoke,” “Bonanza,” “The Waltons” (five episodes as Dr. McIvers), “Murder, She Wrote,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “ER,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Babylon 5” and “Bones,” just to scratch the surface.

.

PATIENT PATRIARCH–Rance on “ER” in 2009 with Scott Grimes (center) and William H. Macy. Photo courtesy of NBC.

.

Rance appeared in 15 of the professional movies that son Ron has directed, including Grand Theft Auto (Ron’s first as director), Splash, Apollo 13 (which also included memorable performances by wife Jean and son Clint), A Beautiful Mind, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Parenthood and Frost/Nixon.

It’s probably a safe bet though, that far and away Rance’s favorite part in one of Ron’s movies was as the homesteader Tomlin (also Rance’s mother’s maiden name) in Far and Away, in which Rance gets to ride like the wind across the Oklahoma prairie to stake his claim. (Much of Far and Away was inspired by Beckenholdt family lore.)

Rance and son Clint have also had roles in many of the same movies, above and beyond movies directed by Ron.  Apple Seed, which completed filming this fall, is their most recent project together.

MUG SHOT–Rance Howard in a scene from Nebraska.

Six films in which Rance had parts were nominated for Best Picture Oscars, including three directed by Ron (Apollo 13, Frost/Nixon and winner A Beautiful Mind), one starring Ron (The Music Man), Chinatown (another Best Picture winner), and Nebraska, a 2013 nominee.

Rance also popped up in TV commercials from time to time, including memorable ones for Skittles, Chrysler, and Disneyland.

Rance starred in two movies released in 2017 (Broken Memories and Chasing the Star), and he is in four movies currently in post-production with expected releases in 2018, including Apple Seed, in which Rance had a leading role and which had wrapped filming shortly before his death. He also had won parts in three other films that had not yet started filming.

Of Rance’s role in Broken Memories, Ron recently commented, “This is definitely the best role of his life.” About his dad, he added later: “He has an undying love of the process, which has made him appreciate every day on a film or television set.”

Ron continued, “And he’s never lost the youthful excitement for being a part of a process that tells a story that reaches audiences in different ways and reflects the work of a team of collaborators that share that excitement and that always rubbed off on me, that joy of being lucky enough to be among the storytellers.”

A promotional poster for 2017’s Broken Memories.

.

Actress Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron’s daughter, also had this to say about her grandfather in November: “He’s had a 65-year career where he has never broken out as a movie star.”

She continued, “He’s never made the money that people dream of, and yet he’s carved out this incredibly unique and remarkable and beautiful career of a character actor. He’s an example of that stick-to-it-ness and what that adds up to in a life.”

OLD FRIENDS–Rance with longtime pal George Lindsey at the 2009 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival. Photo courtesy of Terry Pace.

All who knew Rance were struck by his generosity and humility. Though he preferred to stay out of the spotlight when not working, Rance was always gracious about participating, usually quietly, as was his way, in projects he considered worthwhile.  (Numerous times over the decades that generosity involved hospitality or assistance with endeavors associated with Mayberry and often with members of TAGSRWC. For that, we fans are forever grateful.)

Rance was preceded in death by first wife Jean, who died in 2000 and by second wife Judy (the former Judy O’Sullivan), whom he married in 2001 and who died of Alzheimer’s in January 2017.

A memorial celebration of Rance’s life is planned for early 2018.