 |
| W. Paul Apel's new novel catches up with Ed Wood in his later days. |
The world is so small sometimes, it's a miracle we all fit in it. Let me give you an example.
 |
| Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham. |
If you read this blog for anything other than the Ed Wood content, you know that I cohost a podcast about the long-running nostalgic sitcom Happy Days, which originally aired from 1974 to 1984. The show stars actor-turned-director Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham, a mild-mannered Wisconsin lad navigating his high school and college years and dreaming someday of becoming a writer.
After seven seasons, Ron left the series in 1980 to focus on his producing and directing career, so his Happy Days character is said to have "joined the Army." In the show's final season, Richie finally returns home to Wisconsin, a wife and family in tow. His father, Howard (Tom Bosley), announces he has lined up a job for Richie at the local newspaper, The Milwaukee Journal, but Richie has other plans: he's moving to Hollywood to make it as a screenwriter!
In real life, one of Ron Howard's earliest cinematic projects away from Happy Days was a romantic comedy called Leo & Loree (1980), which he co-wrote and executive produced for his own company, Major H Productions. The film, which stars fellow Happy Days alum Don Most, tells the story of an ambitious recent college graduate named Leo Greene who defies his father's wishes, forsakes a respectable teaching career, and moves to Hollywood to make it as an actor. Having no connections in town whatsoever, he crashes on the couch of an old friend of his named Dennis (David Huffman). Our in-depth review of Leo and Loree was released just yesterday. In fact, I was editing it while I was preparing this very article!
Given all this background, you can imagine my state of déjà vu when I received a copy of W. Paul Apel's new Ed Wood-inspired novel, The Valley Obscured by Fog (Bear Manor Media, 2026). The book centers around Alan Starkwell, a recent college graduate who disappoints his parents when he turns down a newspaper job his father has lined up and moves to Hollywood to become a screenwriter. Alan, too, crashes in the home of a former classmate. He even cites the film American Graffiti (1973) starring Ron Howard as inspiration for wanting to get into the movies!
