Most of Andy's time, however, was spent controlling his earnest but over-zealous deputy, Barney Fife. Without much real police work to attend to, Andy's true job was protecting these and other citizens of Mayberry from their own hubris, intemperance, and stupidity. Otis (Hal Smith), the unrepentant town drunk, was trained to let himself into his jail cell after a Saturday night bender and to let himself out on Sunday morning. Town barber Floyd Lawson (Howard McNear) was a font of misinformation and the forerunner of Cheers' Cliff Clavin. Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) and his cousin Goober (George Lindsey) came right out of the "bumpkin" tradition that had been developed years ago in films, popular literature, and comic strips. Most of these characters were "hicks," playing comic foils to the sagacious Andy. The townspeople, and the ensemble of actors who portrayed them, were crucial to the success of the show.
JIM LINDSEY ANDY GRIFFITH SERIES
The directorial style of the series was also strikingly distinct, employing a relaxed, almost lethargic tone appropriate to the nostalgic settings of front porch, sidewalk, and barber shop. Over the years the writers fleshed out the geography and character of the town with a degree of detail unusual for series television.
Mayberry was based upon Andy Griffith's real hometown, and perhaps this was partially responsible for the strong sense many viewers got that Mayberry was a real place. When he wasn't at the Sheriff's office, Andy, a widower, was applying his old-fashioned horse sense to the raising of his young son Opie ( Ronny Howard), a task he shared with his Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier). Neither sophisticated nor worldly-wise, Andy drew from a deep well of unpretentious folk wisdom that allowed him to settle domestic disputes and outwit the arrogant city folk who occasionally passed through town. On The Andy Griffith Show, he played Sheriff Andy Taylor, the fair-minded and easygoing head lawman of the Edenic small town of Mayberry, North Carolina. Andy Griffith's homespun characterizations were already well-known to audiences who'd seen his hayseed interpretations of Shakespeare on The Ed Sullivan Show and his starring roles in the films A Face in the Crowd (1957) and No Time for Sergeants (1958). Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas designed The Andy Griffith Show to fit the image of its star.
JIM LINDSEY ANDY GRIFFITH TV
Genial and comparatively innocuous, these shows were just right for a time when TV was under frequent attack by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congressional committees for its violent content. The success CBS achieved with The Andy Griffith Show provided the inspiration for a string of hits such as The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, and Hee Haw. The trend began when ABC debuted The Real McCoys in 1957, but CBS became the network most associated with lt. Sheldon Leonard produced both shows for Danny Thomas Productions.Īn early example of television's "rural revolution," The Andy Griffith Show was part of a programming trend which saw the development of comedies featuring naïve but noble "rubes" from deep in the American heartland. The series pilot originally aired as an episode of Make Room For Daddy, a popular sitcom starring Danny Thomas. In its eight years on the air, from 1960 to 1968, it never dropped below seventh place in the seasonal Nielsen rankings, and it was number one the year it ceased production.
The Andy Griffith Show was one of the most popular and memorable comedy series of the 1960s.
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