On Oct. 3, 1960, TV was modified perpetually when the very first episode of The Andy Griffith Present premiered. The sequence, set within the fictional North Carolina city of Mayberry, ran for 249 episodes — most of these in black and white — earlier than it led to April 1968. It additionally sparked two spin-offs: Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and Mayberry, R.F.D. Many authentic solid members additionally returned for the 1986 reunion particular Return to Mayberry.
Griffith performed Andy Taylor, a widowed sheriff who was type and thoughtful — however stored everybody in line when he needed to. Don Knotts performed Barney Fife, Andy’s cousin and deputy who usually acquired as much as main hijinks. Ron Howard performed Andy’s lovable son Opie. Frances Bavier performed Andy’s Aunt Bee, who helped handle the home.
The Andy Griffith Present has been in syndication for many years, amusing authentic followers plus hundreds of latest ones yearly. Forward, right here’s what occurred to the solid of The Andy Griffith Present.
Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor
Andy Griffith determined to depart The Andy Griffith Present in 1968, ending the sequence. He advised ipromiseyoumedia in 1979 that he regretted that call. The 9 years that adopted have been a “dry spell,” he mentioned. “I did 5 pilots that acquired nowhere, had two sequence that flopped.”
“A deep panic set in,” he mentioned of his profession. Within the ‘70s, he appeared in miniseries like Centennial, From Right here to Eternity and Roots: The Subsequent Generations. Then in 1983, he was identified with Guillain-Barré syndrome and was paralyzed for 3 months. Recuperation took six months of bodily remedy.
Quickly after, his profession bounced again. He starred within the 1984 miniseries Deadly Imaginative and prescient after which within the TV film Matlock, which was picked up for a sequence. “I am working more durable than ever,” he advised ipromiseyoumedia in 1986.
The 1986 Andy Griffith Present reunion got here out of him, Knotts and Howard presenting collectively on the Emmys in 1983. Matlock ran till 1995. He made a handful extra media appearances, together with in an episode of Dawson’s Creek and in 2003’s The Andy Griffith Present Reunion: Again to Mayberry, earlier than he died in 2012 at age 86.
Griffith was married to Barbara Bray Edwards from 1949 to 1972. He was married to Solica Cassuto from 1973 to 1981. In 1983, he married Cindi Knight, who was with him till his dying. “It is a splendid marriage,” Griffith advised ipromiseyoumedia in 1986. “Our thrust in life is to carry pleasure to one another.”
The actor and his first spouse welcomed two youngsters collectively by adoption, Dixie and Andy Jr.
Ron Howard as Opie
Ron Howard seemingly predicted his future, when, at age 6, he advised Griffith and the present’s producers that he wished to be a “writer-producer-director.” They purchased him his first digicam. “Andy was like an exquisite uncle to me,” he advised ipromiseyoumedia in 1986. “He created an environment of laborious work and enjoyable that I attempt to carry to my films.”
Howard starred in one other basic TV sequence, Pleased Days, as Richie Cunningham, and within the beloved 1973 movie American Graffiti.
Nonetheless, in the course of that success, his first sequence remained particular to him. Of the 1986 The Andy Griffith Present reunion, he advised ipromiseyoumedia, “I did not suppose the expertise would reside as much as my expectations. However the emotions are nonetheless there.”
Howard left Pleased Days in 1980 to concentrate on his directing profession. His first movie was 1982’s Evening Shift and in 1984 he discovered main success with Splash. On the time, he defined to ipromiseyoumedia how edifying it was. “It is not like folks at all times ran round saying I used to be a joke, however that is the belief of the potential folks thought I had. It’s actual gratifying,” he mentioned.
Howard’s many profitable movies embody The Paper, A Stunning Thoughts, Frost/Nixon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Cinderella Man. In 2002, A Stunning Thoughts received him the Oscars for Finest Image and Finest Director. He’s additionally a six-time Emmy winner, for initiatives together with Arrested Growth, Curious George and Jim Henson Thought Man. He additionally received a Grammy for The Beatles: Eight Days a Week.
Howard married Cheryl Alley, his highschool sweetheart, in 1975. They share 4 youngsters: Paige, Jocelyn, Reed and actress Bryce Dallas Howard.
Don Knotts as Barney Fife
For his function as Barney Fife, Don Knotts received 5 Emmys and he’s broadly considered one of many biggest comedian actors of all time. “Andy and I simply clicked,” Knotts advised ipromiseyoumedia in 1986 of his bond with Griffith. On the time, he known as the sequence “the very best factor I’ve ever carried out.”
Knotts left the sequence in 1965, believing that the present was going to finish. He signed a contract with Common and appeared in films like The Ghost and Mr. Hen and The right way to Body a Figg. Knotts additionally appeared in a sequence of Disney films within the ‘70s, together with The Apple Dumpling Gang, Gus and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.
In 1979, Knotts returned to TV full-time with a task as landlord Ralph Furley on Three’s Firm. He stayed with the sequence for 4 seasons, till it led to 1984. “It allowed him to succeed in a brand new viewers, one other era who had probably not seen The Andy Griffith Present,” his daughter Karen advised Lady’s World in January 2025.
Knotts continued to work broadly on TV and appeared in a recurring function as Les Calhoun on Matlock alongside Griffith. He additionally made frequent appearances on TV selection and speak exhibits. He labored broadly as a voice actor in his later years; considered one of his final roles was in 2006’s Air Buddies.
Knotts was married to Kathryn Metz from 1947 to 1964; they shared youngsters Thomas and Karen, an actress. Knotts was married to Loralee Czuchna from 1974 till they cut up in 1983. In 2002, he married Frances Yarborough. They have been collectively till his 2006 dying at age 81.
Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee
Bavier performed Aunt Bee on each The Andy Griffith Present and Mayberry R.F.D. from 1960 to 1970, making her the longest-tenured character in Mayberry. She received an Emmy for her function in 1967. She additionally appeared in a single episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
“Many episodes centered on her and he or she was important to the success of the present,” John Meroney, founding father of the Andy Griffith Present Appreciation Society, advised the Los Angeles Instances in 1989. “When she began on the present she was 57 and had extra expertise moving into than any of the opposite solid members. She was the one one from a big metropolis and the truth that she may painting Aunt Bee confirmed the depth of her expertise.” She hardly ever gave interviews.
In 1972, she retired from performing and moved to Siley Metropolis, N.C., which was usually talked about as a neighbor of Mayberry. She died in 1989 at age 86.
Aneta Corsaut as Helen Crump
Aneta Corsaut performed Helen Crump, Sheriff Andy Taylor’s girlfriend, on The Andy Griffith Present. She had made her movie debut in 1958’s The Blob alongside Steve McQueen. Helen and Andy married within the first episode of Mayberry R.F.D.
Corsaut continued to behave after the sequence, showing on episodes of Gunsmoke, Columbo, Emergency! and Home Calls. She additionally appeared a number of instances on Matlock alongside Griffith and Knotts.
Corsaut by no means married and had no youngsters, however the 2016 ebook Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Traditional American TV Present, by Daniel de Visé, claimed that she and Griffith had an affair whereas making The Andy Griffith Present.
Corsaut died in 1995 at age 62.
Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle
Jim Nabors’ Gomer Pyle was so profitable he acquired the present’s first spin-off, which aired from 1964 to 1969. Throughout that point and for years after, he additionally labored as a singer in Las Vegas and sang on TV selection exhibits. Virtually yearly from 1972 to 2014, he sang “Again Residence Once more in Indiana” earlier than the Indianapolis 500.
However by 1978, he had moved to Hawaii and gone into semi-retirement. “I felt my profession had peaked after Gomer,” he advised ipromiseyoumedia in 1986. “I did not need to stick round for lesser work.” However he did seem in 1982’s The Finest Little Whorehouse in Texas, 1983’s Stroker Ace and 1984’s Cannonball Run II.
In 2013, Nabors married Stan Cadwallader, his associate of 38 years. They’d met within the ‘70s when Cadwallader was a firefighter in Honolulu. They wed in Seattle, shortly after homosexual marriage grew to become authorized in Washington state.
“I am 82 and he is in his 60s and so we have been collectively for 38 years and I am not ashamed of individuals understanding, it is simply that it was such a private factor, I did not inform anyone,” Nabors advised Hawaii Information Now on the time. “I am very completely happy that I’ve had a associate of 38 years and I really feel very blessed. And, what can I let you know, I am simply very completely happy.” He additionally advised the outlet that when he labored in Hollywood, he wasn’t public about his sexuality, however his coworkers knew.
Nabors died in 2017 at 87.
George Lindsey as Goober Pyle
George Lindsey’s The Andy Griffith Present character was initially Goober Beasley, however he was later renamed so he may very well be a cousin of Gomer Pyle. Reflecting on the sequence when he filmed the reunion in 1986, he advised ipromiseyoumedia, “This was a household that all of us grew up with. They will need to bury me in my Goober hat.” The character additionally appeared often on Mayberry R.F.D.
Lindsey continued to seem on TV, together with in an episode of M*A*S*H. He additionally voiced characters in Disney’s The Aristocats, Robin Hood and The Rescuers. From 1972 to 1992, Lindsey additionally performed Goober on the nation music present Hee Haw.
Lindsey was married to Joyanne Herbert from 1955 to 1991 once they divorced. They shared son George Jr. and daughter Camden. He was in a relationship with Anne Wilson till his dying at 83 in 2012.