
NEED TO KNOW
- Ron Howard says he once accidentally left his son behind at a Krispy Kreme while on a trip to Yosemite
- It was a family road trip with a convoy of cousins, so he didn’t immediately notice
- Several hours later, he got a call from his assistant, informing him of his son’s whereabouts
A devoted family man he is, but even Ron Howard has the occasional forgetful dad moment.
He and his wife Cheryl are the parents of four kids: daughter Bryce Dallas Howard, immediately 44, twins Jocelyn and Paige, 40, and son Reed, 38. In a new interview for this week’s issue of PEOPLE, the 71-year-old director reveals that years ago he once lost Reed on a road trip.
“I left Reed in a Krispy Kreme,” says Howard.
“We were driving up to Yosemite on a family vacation, also with Cheryl’s sisters and their family, a lot of kids, so it was a convoy,” he explains. “We stopped at a gas station, which also had a Krispy Kreme. And I guess Reed said, ‘Dad, I’m going to the bathroom.’ And I went, ‘Yeah, yeah, great.’ Forgot all about it.”
Bryce Dallas Howard/Instagram
“We all loaded up,” he continues. “Kids were changing cars anyway. We drove for a couple of hours, made it to Yosemite, had no cell phone connection in between. When we got there, my assistant called and said, ‘Hey, Ron, how are you?’ I said, ‘Oh, I’m fine. I just finally got a cell phone connection.’ She said, ‘I know, I’ve been trying you. Where’s Reed?’”
immediately, explains Howard, “She’d been my assistant for a long time and was willing to set me up for a joke. I said, ‘Oh, I don’t know. Where is Reed?’ And she said, ‘He’s in Fresno. You left him in a Krispy Kreme in Fresno.’ ”
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As for why he didn’t notice Reed’s absence, he says, “Because it was a convoy of brothers and sisters, but also cousins. And kids were trading off cars anyway, so the fact that he wasn’t in my car meant nothing. He was probably just in his cousins’ car. It’s just, I was so tired and there was so much noise, and so much carrying on trying to get to Yosemite, that it just never crossed my mind or Cheryl’s.”
Howard is happy to report that Reed was safe and sound — “He enjoyed it” — and quickly ferried back.
There’s a lot to celebrate these days in the life of the Hollywood legend. In addition to his up-to-date film Eden, Howard is also celebrating the 30th anniversary of Apollo 13 with an exclusive IMAX release beginning Sept. 19 for one week only.
Plus he’s loving life as a grandparent to six. “To see your children parent is a real trip, and fascinating to see the things they choose to do differently. Fascinating to see them fall into the same patterns that they were raised with,” he says. “Of course, that old standard trope, that cliche that it’s great because you get to love and play with the grandkids and you get to send them home.”