We’re bettin’ you remember all of “Opie’s friends.”
Every year, Mayberry Days brings fans of The Andy Griffith Show to Mt. Airy, North Carolina, the small town Mayberry is reportedly based on. That’s when they can mingle with cast members of the Mayberry universe, and the centerpiece of this year’s festival was a lively round-up of “Opie’s friends,” the child actors who played kids helping Opie learn tough lessons in this idyllic setting.
In the photo below, there’s Clint Howard (Ron Howard’s brother, who played Leon), Dennis Rush (the freckle-faced kid who played Opie’s best pal Howie Pruitt) and Keith Thibodeaux (the I Love Lucy transplant who played another good pal to Opie, Johnny Paul Jason).
On the far right is the moderator Neal Brower, who’s such an authority on The Andy Griffith Show that he actually gives lectures on the show at North Carolina universities. You can read more about his panel with Opie’s pals here.
There were plenty of other familiar faces from Mayberry in attendance at Mayberry Days, including Maggie Mancuso (Charlene Darling-Wash), Rodney Dillard (of The Dillard Boys), Ronnie Schell (best known as Duke Slater on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., but also a Mayberry resident on two occasions), and, of course, Betty Lynn (who played Thelma Lou). There was also Don Knotts’ daughter Karen Knotts. See even more photos of all these folks and more, walking in the parade here.
