The Andy Griffith Show was so popular that the beloved American comedy series — created by Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas, and starring Andy Griffith (duh) as Sheriff Andy Taylor, Ron Howard as Opie Taylor and Don Knotts as Barney Fife — were still the number one show on television the year it ended. (Needless to say, CBS probably would’ve liked to keep the sitcom around.) Luckily for fans, reruns are still available thanks to the show being in syndication for over 50 years.
1. Aunt Bee and Andy Griffith Didn’t Get Along…
At All Sweet Aunt Bee, say it ain’t so! Andy Griffith and Aunt Bee actress Frances Bavier didn’t like each other during filming. Apparently, Frances Bavier was not a fan of her character on the television series. The feud lasted so long that Bavier didn’t apologize until she was pretty much on her deathbed.
2. Don Knotts Left the Show Because of Some Bad Communication
When the show was starting the first season, Andy Griffith told Don Knotts that he only wanted to do it for five years so the two of them both signed five-year contracts. At the end of five years, Knotts started looking for new work and signed a three-year picture deal with Universal. But by that point, Griffith wanted to keep doing the show. He offered Knotts a new contract, but it conflicted with the one he’d just signed with Universal, so he was forced to leave the show. Hence why Deputy Barney Fife wasn’t in the last few seasons of the show, nor was his girlfriend Thelma Lou, played by Betty Lynn.
3. Opie Pretty Much Never Had a Mom
Talk about a weak backstory. All we know about Ron Howard’s character’s mother is that she died when he was a “speck of a boy.” They never even gave her a name. Poor Opie.
4. Andy Griffith Thought
He’d be the Funny One on the Show… Then Don Knotts Happened At the time of the show’s premiere, Andy Griffith was a popular stand up comic. He assumed that he was going to be the main comedic character on the show, especially since, you know, it was his show. But a funny thing happened along the way. Mainly, Don Knotts. Barney Fife was far and away the fan-favorite, comedy-wise, so Griffith decided that in the interest of the show he would become the straight man to Fife’s comic relief.
5. The Andy Griffith Show Shared a Minor Character with Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C
His name was Mister Schwamp, and pretty much all he did was sit on a bench. Sometimes Sheriff Taylor or Barney Fife would say “hi” to him but that was about it. Turns out he was the show’s production manager. There was also a character on the show named Goober Pyle, the cousin of Jim Nabors’ Gomer Pyle.
6. Sheriff Andy Taylor is a GOAT Dad
Andy Taylor was ranked number 8 in TV Guide’s list of the “50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time” (June 20, 2004 issue). His son Opie didn’t have a mother, but at least his dad was great. Andy also had his fair share of great girlfriends like Ellie Walker and Helen Crump.
7. The Show Filmed on the Same Set as an
All-Time Movie Classic The Andy Griffith Show shot on the same set as the film Gone with the Wind. We sort of wonder if every studio in Hollywood just had one “small town” set they shot everything on.
8. The Show Won Two Emmy Awards
Don Knotts and Frances Bavier each won for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, respectively. Andy Griffith was never nominated. The show was also once nominated for Best Comedy Series, but it lost.
