hisfilmRansom, starringMel
Gibson,wasinspiredbya
real-lifekidnapthreatonhis
ownfamily.Right:Withhigh-
schoolsweetheartCherylon
theirweddingday.Below:At
thePavarottipremierewith
CherylanddaughterPaige.RingoStarrandKeithMoon.
“Theywanderedontoourset
onedayandHenryWinklerand
I weretryingtogetthemtoput
on‘50sclothesandbein the
show,butwecouldn’tcajole
themintoit,’saysRon.
GiventhatbothRingoand
Keithhadissueswithdrinkand
drugsatthetime,whatkind
ofstateweretheyin?“Well,
whenI workedwithRingoa
coupleofyearsago[onthe
BeatlesdocumentaryEight
Daysa Week], I wassurprised
hecouldremembervisiting.
Hesaid,‘I’msureKeithhad
noideawherehewas,butI had
a laugh!”’
Ronhasfacednosuch
demons.“I alwaysfeltpartying
wasnotthewayI wantedto
provemyselftopeers.”
Hisavoidanceofthepitfalls
ofHollywoodis evenmore
impressivegiventhathewas
virtuallyraisedonfilmsets–
hisparentsRanceandJean
wereactors.
Atjust 18 months,Ronmade
hisscreendebutalongsidehis
dadin thewesternFrontier
Woman. Bysix,hewasplaying
OpieTaylorin thelong-running
1960sseriesTheAndyGriffith
Show, whichturnedhimintoa
householdname.Byeight, he
wasearningmorethanhisdad.
At21,hemarriedhishigh-
schoolsweetheartCherylAlley
(now65),andthecouplehave
fourchildren,twoofwhom- BryceDallas(38)andPaige
(34)– areactresses.
Headmitshehadconcerns
abouthisdaughtersentering
theindustry,notleastin lightof
therecent#MeToomovement,
sparkedbysexualassault
accusationsagainstproducer
HarveyWeinstein.
“Mydaughtershavebeen
very fortunate not to have
experiencedanythingthatfalls
intothe#MeToocategory,”he
says.“Weinsteinwasa tough
businessman– hard-boiled
andevena bitofa bullyin the
businesscommunityattimes.
ButI’dneverheardthose
allegationsabouthim.”
However,hesaysthechanges
sweepingHollywoodhavebeen
a longtimecoming,“anda lot
ofusweresadlyoblivious”.
Hehasalwaysbeencloseto
hischildren,unlikethesubject
ofhisfilm,Luciano,whowas
estrangedfromhiskidsuntil
a finalrapprochementbefore
hisdeathin 2007,aged71.
SocouldRonfindcommon
groundwiththedramatictenor?
“Well,hewasveryhonest
aboutfeelinginsecure
sometimesabouthiswork,
andallartistsfeelit, whether
they’rewillingtoshareit or
not.”Hesmiles,awarethat
suchinsecuritiesmightseem
strange.“Foranyonewho
hasdedicatedtheircareer
tocreating,it’sstilla reliefto
hear someone else sayit.” #Aboveleft:Ronis most
recognisedforhisroleasRichie
in hitshowHappyDays,buthe’s
sincecarvedoutanaward-
winning career behind the lens.ThedocumentaryPavarotti
is in cinemas now.TEXT: LINDA DIAS/EVENT MAGAZINE
IN THE LONG RON