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The Andy Griffith Show

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The Andy Griffith Show
File:Andy Griffith Show1.jpg
The opening credits of The Andy Griffith Show, featuring Griffith as Andy Taylor and Howard as Opie.
Created bySheldon Leonard
StarringAndy Griffith
Don Knotts
Ronny Howard
Frances Bavier
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes249
Production
Running time30 minutes per episode
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseOctober 3, 1960 –
April 1, 1968

The Andy Griffith Show was an American television series that aired from 1960 to 1968. The show centered around Andy Taylor, (played by Andy Griffith), a rural sheriff who rarely carried a gun. The series was an immediate hit with its audience, and still enjoys success in syndication. Its whistled theme song (by Earle Hagen and Herbert Spencer with lyrics by Everret Sloane) is quickly identified by a significant portion of the public.

The show was executive produced by Griffith's manager, Richard O. Linke. However, it was producer Aaron Ruben (writer for The Phil Silvers Show), Sheldon Leonard (producer of The Danny Thomas Show) and Andy Griffith's attention to the scripts, that was credited for giving the show its enduring quality.

Synopsis

File:Andy Griffith Show2.jpg
Knotts as Barney Fife and Griffith as Andy Taylor

The Andy Griffith Show was based around a widower sheriff named Andy Taylor, raising his young son Opie in the town of Mayberry in rural North Carolina. In addition to being sheriff, he was also the town's justice of the peace dispensing summary judgments. Also, aside from the town of Mayberry, he apparently had jurisdiction in the surrounding county as well.

The first episode begins with their family housekeeper getting married (by Andy, as justice of the peace) and moving away. This sets up the arrival of Andy's Aunt Bee (called Aunt Bee by nearly everyone in town) who moves in and helps raise Opie.

Andy's cousin Barney Fife had just been hired as Andy's deputy sheriff. (Andy and Barney's family relationship is mentioned only three times, early in the first season.) Barney, along with the three members of the Taylor household, make up the core nucleus of the show's characters. Before long, other eccentric characters began showing up on the series, including auto mechanic "Gomer Pyle" (Jim Nabors from 1962-1964, whose role was spun-off into the series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.) and his cousin "Goober Pyle" aka "Goober Beasley" in one early script (George Lindsey), town drunk "Otis Campbell" (Hal Smith), hell-raising mountain man "Ernest T. Bass" (Howard Morris), absentminded barber "Floyd Lawson" (Howard McNear), and the rest of the townsfolk of fictional Mayberry, North Carolina. In 1964, the character "Helen Crump" (Aneta Corsaut) was added to the show as a love interest for Sheriff Andy Taylor, and before long she was Andy's main girlfriend, which she would remain until the series end in 1968.

Origins

The Andy Griffith Show originated from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show in February 1960. In that show, the character Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) is arrested by the sheriff for running a stop sign (at a spot where no crossroad has been built yet) while driving through Mayberry. Andy Griffith was already a well-known actor, and received a large hand from the studio audience upon entering the scene ("The name ain't 'Clem', it's 'Andy', Sheriff Andy Taylor!"). While Danny is waiting for a resolution to the problem, various denizens of Mayberry wander through the courthouse, notably Frances Bavier, who is playing a different character from her eventual Aunt Bee: a widow victimized by a formal wear shop owner, who is making her pay eternal rent for the tuxedo her husband was buried in. The Andy Griffith Show, its format and cast somewhat retooled from the premise of this episode, made its actual debut that fall.

Reaction

When the show premiered in 1960, many viewers felt a connection with widowed Sheriff Andy Taylor, his son "Opie" (Ronny Howard), his "Aunt Bee" (Frances Bavier), and his cousin and deputy sheriff, "Barney Fife" (Don Knotts). Ironically, the production of the series coincided with one of the largest cultural upheavals in history, but it focused on a quaint, idealistic community befitting the American Dream. Audiences took an instant liking to the show, and The Andy Griffith Show finished its first season at #4 in the United States.

Commentary

The show operated on at least two levels: there were the corny, nitwit antics of the supporting players, who provided most of the humor, and there was also the straightforward presentation of the occasional story involving a criminal to be caught or a love interest to be established. There was often a storyline of a serious nature concerning Andy's being a single parent to Opie. (The series never explained the circumstances surrounding Andy's wife, though she is mentioned in the episode "A Wife for Andy".)

One of the show's dynamics was the relationship between Andy Taylor, the cool-headed sheriff and Barney Fife, his high-strung, overzealous deputy. From a comedic aspect, Andy usually served as the straight man to Barney's over-the-top antics. Andy's laid-back law enforcement style was more in step with the sleepy town he officiated than Barney's, whose "by-the-book" attitude towards law and order generally served to cause more problems than to prevent them. Andy rarely wore his full uniform and almost never carried a weapon, as opposed to Barney, who was never seen on duty without his cap and tie and was so anxious to use his gun, he had to carry his sole bullet in his shirt pocket for safety.

Andy had an understanding of the townspeople, and he regularly made exceptions to the rules. Because of this approach, Mayberry rarely ever saw any major crime under his jurisdiction. His familiarity with the small town and his intricate relationships with the individuals residing there made Andy a natural choice for sheriff. In contrast, Barney's heavy-handed version of law and order went steadily against the grain of the slow-paced lifestyle in Mayberry. On one occasion, Andy had to leave town for a day and left Barney in charge as acting sheriff. When he returned, he discovered dozens of the townspeople had been arrested, including Aunt Bee and her ladies group (for "Unlawful Assemblage and Inciting a Riot"—they were standing in front of the courthouse chatting), and the mayor (for "Vagrancy and Loitering"). Andy held a brief trial for each "criminal" one at a time, and promptly dismissed every case.

Andy had a different moral code than the average law enforcer. He did what he thought was right, and that sometimes meant he had to lie to protect the feelings of his friends and loved ones, which he saw to be more important than brazen honesty in certain situations. Andy regularly used reverse psychology on people, which he clearly saw to be for their own good. He seemed to have a keen eye for surreptitious or otherwise questionable situations, which the somewhat simple people of Mayberry sometimes lacked. If somebody he cared about made a poor decision, he would find a way to get them out of the situation without letting them know their mistake. He was regularly getting Barney out of some kind of trouble, which he tended to bring upon himself, letting him believe he had done right all along. Another one of Andy's character traits was giving false credit to someone (usually Barney) for something he had done himself, and let them receive the adulation for it.

Another of the show's dynamics was Andy's relationship with his son, Opie, as a single father. He was constantly teaching Opie moral lessons and making him think through situations. In one instance, Opie had accidentally killed a mother bird, leaving three baby birds unattended. Rather than punishing him by conventional methods, Andy convinced Opie that he needed to take care of the birds himself, since it was because of him that they had no mother. Opie took the baby birds in and raised them as his own until they were able to fly. From this experience, Opie learned a sense of responsibility and that actions produce consequences.

The later years

In the fall of 1965, Don Knotts would leave the show to pursue a career in feature films. Griffith had said early on that he only planned to do the show for five years. As that time approached Knotts signed a movie contract. Griffith reconsidered his earlier decision and Knotts, who wanted to continue as Barney, tried to get out of or rework his film contract. The film studio wouldn't consider either option so Knotts had to leave the show. Beginning with the 1965-66 season, the series would be broadcast in color. The opening and closing credits were reshot, but retained the familiar theme "The Fishin' Hole". Also this season, Jack Burns joined the cast as Warren Ferguson, a new deputy to replace the departed Knotts; however, the character was dropped mid-season without explanation. Griffith later said that it just hadn't worked out.

Over the years stations that had syndicated broadcast rights to 1960s classic sitcoms that began as black and white shows but went color after a year or two (Gilligan's Island, My Three Sons, Bewitched, I Dream Of Jeannie for example) tended to run the color episodes more often than the black and white ones. In some instances TV stations would even skip the black and white episodes of such shows altogether. With Andy Griffith the opposite would happen. The black and white episodes from 1960 to 1965 were much more popular and aired much more than the 1965 to 1968 color episodes. The main reason is because Don Knotts made the early to middle episodes so popular. Once Don Knotts left the show it was not as popular. In syndication, the color episodes never did well while the Don Knotts episodes remained popular. Also in the southeast especially North Carolina and South Carolina the series receives very high ratings on broadcast television to this day.

Griffith left the show in April 1968 when his show was #1 in the televison ratings (one of only three shows to do so, the other two being I Love Lucy in 1957, and Seinfeld in 1998). Griffith and CBS saw the potential profit in continuing the franchise, so Mayberry and most of the supporting characters lived on in a spin-off, or perhaps more correctly a continuation show entitled Mayberry R.F.D.. The first episode featured the marriage of Andy Taylor to his longtime girlfriend Helen Crump. Mayberry R.F.D. continued until 1971 with Ken Berry (who had joined the cast that year as farmer Sam Jones) as the star of the new show. Mayberry R.F.D. was cancelled in the spring of 1971 along with CBS' other rural-themed shows, as the network sought to attract the younger, more urban demographic advertisers desired.

Mayberry

The Andy Griffith Show was set in and around the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina. In the context of the show, the town of Mayberry was located in the County of Mayberry. (Andy and Barney were employees of Mayberry County.) According to roadside signs seen in various episodes, the town population varies between 2,000 and 5,360 during the eight seasons of The Andy Griffith Show. Raleigh was a few hours' drive away but the nearest city was Mount Pilot, located to the east of Mayberry in Pilot County. Mt. Pilot had a population of 30,000 and was known for its fast pace. Another nearby city mentioned numerous times on the show is Siler City, in Chatham County. It is also the town where Frances Bavier, the actress who played Aunt Bee, retired and was buried.

There is no real town of Mayberry but it is widely believed that this fictional town is based upon Andy Griffith's real hometown of Mount Airy in Surry County, North Carolina.

The word Mayberry has become a common term in American parlance. In a positive sense, it is synonymous with the peaceful charm and wholesome goodness of small town America. In a negative sense, the term has been used as an insult to insinuate the ignorace and lack of sophistication often associated with people from rural areas, and as an example of an idealized, fictional white south that never really existed.

Mount Airy, North Carolina

Years after the series ended, tourists driving through rural North Carolina still asked for directions to Mayberry, not realizing that the town depicted in the series is a composite of Surry County and the town of Mount Airy. The adjacent town to fictional Mayberry is named Mt. Pilot, and is an obvious reference to nearby Pilot Mountain, which is better known as a mountain rather than a town.

The Forty Acres Lot

The TV show itself was filmed entirely in Hollywood, on the RKO Pictures backlot called "Forty Acres", which is recognizable to fans of the 1950s program The Adventures of Superman and was used in many other TV shows and movies. The "Forty Acres" lot was torn down in 1976 (In the reunion TV movie Return to Mayberry in 1986, the small California town of Los Olivos was used as the town of Mayberry). Even the apparently rural fishing hole that led off each episode was actually in the Los Angeles area: Franklin Canyon Lake, just north of Beverly Hills.

Lists

Characters and Cast

Main articles: List of all Andy Griffith Show cast

Episodes

Main articles: List of The Andy Griffith Show episodes.

Notable Guest Stars

  • James Best played guitarist Jim Lindsey in "The Guitar Player" and "The Guitar Player Returns".
    Best is best known for his role as Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard.
  • Buddy Ebsen played Dave Browne, the drifter hobo in "Opie's Hobo Friend".
    Ebsen is best known for his role as Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies.
  • Both Bob Denver and Alan Hale Jr., known for their roles on Gilligan's Island, guest starred on episodes of the show. In "The Farmer Takes a Wife", Hale played "Big Jeff" Pruitt, the farmer who falls in love with Thelma Lou, much to Barney's dismay. In "Divorce, Mountain Style", Denver played Dud Wash, the husband of Charlene Darling, who is jealous of her attraction to Andy.
  • Everett Sloane played Jubal Foster, the farmer/moonshiner in "The Keeper of the Flame". He also composed lyrics for the show's theme song; Andy sang them on the show's soundtrack album, but the lyrics were never used on the show.
    Sloane is best known for his role as Mr. Bernstein in the film Citizen Kane.
  • Bill Bixby played Ronald Bailey in "Bailey's Bad Boy".
    Bixby is best known for his role as Dr. David Banner on The Incredible Hulk. Bixby and Don Knotts would work together again in 1975 in the family western The Apple Dumpling Gang
  • Barbara Eden played Ellen Brown, the title character of "The Manicurist".
    Eden is best known for her role as Jeannie in I Dream of Jeannie.
  • Sterling Holloway played Burt Miller, the traveling merchant in "The Merchant of Mayberry".
    Holloway's voice is best known as the voice of Winnie the Pooh.
  • Allan Melvin played different characters in eight episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.
    Melvin is best known for his roles as Sam Franklin on The Brady Bunch and Barney Hefner on All in the Family.
  • Don Rickles played traveling salesman Newton Monroe in "The Luck of Newton Monroe".
  • Jerry Van Dyke played bumbling musician Jerry Miller in "Banjo-Playing Deputy". He was considered as a permanent replacement for Don Knotts, who left at the end of season 5.
  • Jamie Farr played a gypsy in "The Gypsies".
    Farr is best known for his role as Max Klinger on M*A*S*H.
  • Jack Nicholson played the baby's father in "Opie Finds a Baby" and played the defendant in "Aunt Bee the Juror".

Trivia

  • In the series, Barney Fife is supposedly Andy's cousin, but it was only mentioned in three episodes of the first season of the series, and then it was dropped.
  • When Don Knotts left the series, he made five more guest appearances on the show when it was explained that Barney had moved to the state capital of Raleigh, North Carolina to become a detective. His last guest appearance on the show in 1968 was the most watched episode of the entire series.
  • Actor Jerry Van Dyke made a guest appearance on one of the first Andy Griffith episodes after Don Knotts' departure in an episode that is clearly set up to introduce Van Dyke as a replacement deputy. He was invited to join the program, but declined in order to star on the TV flop My Mother the Car. Years later, Van Dyke said he wished he had accepted the offer.
  • Griffith often denied that Mayberry was modeled after his hometown of Mount Airy, N.C., but in one 1965 episode, "Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau," he can be seen perusing a copy of the Mount Airy News [1] in his living room.
  • A noticable difference in the show occurs in season 6. The back door to the Taylor home moves from the back wall to the side wall (the same side the dish cabinet is on)

See also

Distribution

The Andy Griffith Show remains popular. It is syndicated by CBS Paramount Television for reruns to be broadcast by television stations across the United States. It is also broadcast nationally on cable television on TV Land, and the first six seasons are currently available on DVD. It is still seen on many television stations throughout the South many years after the series ended thus making The Andy Griffith Show the longest-running program to continue airing in the region years after its ceased production.[citation needed]

The Mayberry FAQ says that the copyrights on some episodes have expired. These are all episodes from the 1962-63 season. There are about a dozen and a half of them in total. These are episodes available on discount home video DVD's. It also says that composers don't receive royalties but they do get performance money. The difference is that royalties are determined by a guild negotiating re-use payments with the producers. These payments diminish over time by the number of repeat plays of the program. Performance money is paid by the broadcasters who have to secure licenses to perform the music under the copyright laws of the world.

References

  • The Andy Griffith Show (television program) produced by CBS Television Network 1960-1968. Distributed in rerun syndication by CBS Paramount Television.
  • The Andy Griffith Show by Richard Kelly (John F. Blair, Publisher, 1994).
  • The Andy Griffith Show Book by Ken Beck and Jim Clark (St. Martin's Griffin, Publisher, 2000).
  • Mayberry Memories by Ken Beck and Jim Clark (Rutledge Hill Press, Publisher, 2000).
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