Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Show Book by Richard Michael Kelly The Untold Truth Of . Most people know The Andy Griffith Show well; it's one of the most famous classic shows in television history. We all know the story of the small, quaint North Carolina town overrun by several colorful characters. And at the center of is solid and steady Sheriff Andy Taylor, played by the one and only Andy Griffith. With his wacky deputy, , at his side, Andy Taylor is the voice of sanity and stabilizing force in Mayberry, keeping its zany residents from causing mayhem in their small town. The show gave us fantastic actors like , , , , and Howard McNear, who played memorable characters that are still well known today. And of course, the renowned director got his big break in show business at the age of six, playing Andy Taylor's son, Opie. These are just the essential details that everyone knows about the celebrated Andy Griffith Show . As it would turn out, there was a lot more going on behind the scenes that audiences would never have known. This is the untold truth of The Andy Griffith Show . The Andy Griffith Show was actually a spinoff. Not many people realize this, but The Andy Griffith Show was technically a spinoff of sorts. The first time Sheriff Andy Taylor made his appearance on television, he was a guest star on The Show (formerly known as Make Room for Daddy ) . In the episode, Danny Thomas drives through the town of Mayberry and gets pulled over by Sheriff Taylor for running an unnoticed stop sign. However, this version of Andy Taylor is far less jovial than his later incarnation that we know today. One of the series's running jokes is that Andy wields far more power in the small town than a sheriff might typically have, but he's at least fair. This version of Andy Taylor has no such scruples. When he fines Danny Thomas for his stop sign violation, he soon realizes that Thomas (being in show business) has access to plenty of money and doesn't hesitate to significantly increase the typical fine. Danny Thomas threatens to report Andy to the Justice of the Peace — only to discover that Andy also serves that role as well. Next, Danny tries to report Andy's corruption to the media, but Andy is also the editor of The Mayberry Gazette , making his small-town power complete. The episode ends with Andy and Danny coming to an agreeable resolution, and audiences were later given the beloved The Andy Griffith Show. The Andy Griffith Show theme had a name. We all know the whistling tune that opened that show, which is commonly recognized as simply "The Andy Griffith Show Theme." But the song did have a real name: "The Fishin' Hole." And it does have actual lyrics. The song was composed by and Herbert Spencer with the lyrics written by Everett Sloane. Andy Griffith was quite a skilled singer and guitar player, so the original plan was to have him sing the opening theme song. Griffith did go as far as recording the song, which can now be found YouTube. Ultimately, the lyrics were nixed for the opening and replaced with whistling only. According to Wide Open Country , the whistling that's heard is not Andy Griffith, but Earle Hagen, who was already an accomplished Hollywood composer and songwriter and created the theme songs for other famous TV shows like The Show, I Spy , and . Opie doesn't actually throw a rock in the opening. During the iconic opening, Andy and his son, Opie, are heading to the lake to go fishing, and little Opie throws a rock into the water. It turns out that this scene was more challenging to execute than you might expect. When the show began, Ron Howard (or, Ronny Howard, as he's billed in the show) was only six-years-old at the time and wasn't quite strong enough to throw the rock far into to hit the water. According to Biography, this scene would take more finessing on production's end to get it right. Assistant director Bruce Bilson had to plant a prop man behind a bush lying in wait for his signal. When Bison gave the cue, Ron Howard hurled the rock, but then the prop man threw his own rock that was guaranteed to land in the water. If you look more closely at the opening, you'll see there is a bit of a lag in time between when Ron Howard throws the rock and when it actually hits the water. Andy Griffith was a prankster. You wouldn't expect it as much from the mature Sheriff Andy Taylor, but Andy Griffith was quite the jokester on the set. According to Biography, Griffith delighted in pulling practical jokes on his fellow castmates. While his friend, Don Knotts, was napping, Griffith would often deliberately drop a metal film canister right near Knotts, letting it smash to the floor for maximum noise impact. Another time, Griffith sneaked into castmate George Lindsey's ("Goober") dressing room while he was sleeping and strung up duck guts around the room. Although they were good friends, Griffith also liked to needle Don Knotts about his real first name — Knott's actual legal name was Jesse Donald Knotts. According to Film Oracle , Knotts had a particular loathing for his original first name, and whenever Griffith sought to rile him up, he'd refer to Knotts as "Jess." But his fellow castmates could give it right back to Griffith. Seeking revenge, some of his co-stars stole one of his shoes (his street shoe), and Griffith had to borrow a pair from the wardrobe crew to get himself home. At the end of the season, the cast ultimately did return the stolen shoe to Griffith — completely bronzed. Griffith might have been a prankster, but he could take it just as well as he could dish it out. was a serious actress. Frances Bavier might be best known for her role as the kindly Aunt Bee, but she was actually a veteran stage actress — and a serious one at that. Bavier was a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, worked in vaudeville, and later moved on to Broadway. Bavier was always the perfect professional no matter what she was working on, be it drama or comedy, television or film, or stage or screen. However, she always retained a serious demeanor whenever she was working, regardless of whether the camera was on her or not. Per Biography, while Andy Griffith was a jokester and prankster along with the rest of the cast, Bavier despised practical jokes. She severely disapproved of Griffith's shenanigans and caterwauling around the set. While the rest of the cast liked to dance and sing when they weren't filming, Bavier rarely joined them. At one point, she had an altercation with George Lindsey, who played . Bavier loathed coarse language, and one day Lindsey happened to be cursing up a storm on the set of the sequel series Mayberry RFD , angering Bavier to the point where she clocked him with her umbrella. She thought Griffith and most of the cast weren't taking their jobs seriously, which caused some friction between her and Griffith. According to Wide Open Country , Bavier didn't apologize for her part in the feud until shortly before her death. Don Knotts changed the dynamic of The Andy Griffith Show. Don Knotts didn't have a contract on-hand when he filmed his first episode of The Andy Griffith Show . According to Biography, if things didn't work out, he might have only guest-starred for a single episode. However, the chemistry between Knotts and Andy Griffith (who were already good friends) couldn't be ignored, and Knotts was offered a one-year contract to start, followed by a five-year one. And with Don Knotts's arrival, the show took a drastically different turn than originally planned. Since the show was named after him, Andy Griffith was intended to be the leading funny man. However, Knotts was proven to be the audience's favored comedic actor. Ultimately, Knotts became the zany Barney Fife we all know and love, while Andy became the mild-mannered and level headed member of the duo. As noted by Wide Open Country , with Don Knotts's arrival, Griffith's character became the straight man reacting to and solving the problems of Mayberry's madcap citizens. Knotts became a long-time fan favorite of the show with his delightful comedic acting and effortless interactivity with Andy Griffith. After Knotts departed the show after season five, many fans felt the show wasn't quite the same without him. Floyd the barber had a stroke. The gossipy , or "Floyd the Barber," as the character was better known, was played by Howard McNear and was another great favorite of the show. Floyd's barbershop — and Floyd himself — served as the spot where Mayberry's men could get a haircut and get the lowdown on the latest happenings in the small town. McNear was considered a great actor and comedian, having had a long career in radio and later in television before he accepted the role of Floyd Lawson. However, according to Closer Weekly , in the middle of the show's run, McNear suffered a severe stroke that caused his body's left side to become paralyzed. McNear did manage to recover after taking some time away from the show, but he was unable to stand for long periods of time. But McNear was so beloved by fans and an excellent friend to the cast; no one could bear to write Floyd out of the show. Instead, according to Film Oracle , Floyd's scenes in the later scenes were written to allow McNear to be seated or give him the appearance of standing using a bespoke stool. McNear was able to continue playing Floyd until 1967. To this day, Floyd the Barber remains one of the most memorable characters of The Andy Griffith Show . Andy and Helen were involved in real life. Aneta Corsaut played Andy's primary love interest, , on the show, but she wasn't intended to stick around for the long-term. Sheriff Taylor enjoyed brief relationships with other women on the show, but few ever stuck around for more than a few episodes. According to MeTV, the writers tried to give Andy a serious longterm girlfriend in the form of pharmacist Ellie Walker, played by Elinor Donahue, but the chemistry between the two actors just wasn't there. Although Donahue had signed a three-year contract, she asked to be released after one year, citing that she and Griffith really didn't click onscreen. Griffith himself admitted that he struggled to show real affection to Donahue's character, thus ending future appearances of Ellie Walker. But everything changed when Aneta Corsaut was cast to play young Opie's new schoolteacher, Helen Crump. Again, she wasn't expected to last long, but Corsaut and Griffith's chemistry was electric. Arguably, maybe a little too electric. As described by Film Oracle , Andy Griffith was already married to Barbara Edwards at that time, but he and Corsaut became romantically involved on the set. Their relationship was apparently inadvertently discovered by a crew member delivering food to Andy Griffith's hotel room while he happened to be with Corsaut. Griffith and Edwards eventually divorced, but Corsaut never married Griffith. Don Knotts tried to return to The Andy Griffith Show. After season five, Don Knotts left The Andy Griffith Show , and Barney's departure left a noted and significant gap in the show. There was a reason for Knotts's exit, and it all came down to communication issues. According to Biography, Andy Griffith initially told Don Knotts that the show would only last five seasons. So, Knotts prepared for the coming end of the show and started to line up more work in time for the season five conclusion. He ultimately signed a five-film contract with Universal Studios. However, the network managed to persuade Andy Griffith to do a sixth season of the show (there would later be a seventh and eighth season). Except that meant Don Knotts had to decline due to his film contract. However, Andy Griffith revealed that at one point, Knotts offered to return to the show if he could have an ownership stake in the production. Griffith misunderstood Knotts's request, assuming that Knotts wanted half of Griffith's own share (Griffith owned 50 percent of the series' rights) when Knotts was actually only looking for a much smaller stake. Knotts and Griffith were good friends and ultimately didn't feel comfortable negotiating at this level with each other. The talks ended, and Knotts didn't return to the show. But that didn't stop the two from remaining friends for the rest of their lives. The Andy Griffith show gave us . Before Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. , Gomer was Mayberry's dimwitted, but kind-hearted gas station attendant. According to Biography, Jim Nabors was introduced in season three (while Howard McNear was on medical leave after his stroke). Nabors was on The Andy Griffith Show for two seasons, and audiences loved Gomer for his wacky hijinks and amiable personality. After his two seasons, according to Reuters, CBS proposed an entire spinoff show starring Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle. Thus, Gomer left Mayberry to join the Marines (leaving Mayberry's gas station in the hands of his equally goofy cousin, Goober Pyle), and gave audiences, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. in 1964. Those who loved Gomer on Andy Griffith were more than happy to watch him in a new environment where Nabors would really have a chance to shine in a starring role, rather than just an ensemble. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., was a major fan favorite and did reach number one in the on quite a few occasions. The Andy Griffith Show went out on a high note. After eight seasons, The Andy Griffith Show came to an end in 1968. It held the number one spot in Nielsen ratings. According to Britannica, throughout the show's entire eight-year run, The Andy Griffith Show never sank below number seven in their Nielsen rating. Both Don Knotts and Frances Bavier had won Emmys for their performances and the show itself was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series. The show didn't even completely come to an end at the time. Where The Andy Griffith Show ended, so began the spinoff show, Mayberry R.F.D . Viewers just weren't ready to say goodbye to Mayberry and its peak entertainment just yet. However, the focus of Mayberry R.F.D. was no longer on Andy Taylor. As noted by Wide Open Country , a new father-son duo: a widowed farmer named Sam Jones and his son, Mike, became the leads. Andy Taylor kicked off the first season of the new show with his wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Helen Crump, but after that, he would only very occasionally pop up as a side character, keeping the story focused on Sam and Mike. Other characters from The Andy Griffith Show did carry on to Mayberry R.F.D. in more prominent roles: Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee, George Lindsey as Goober Pyle, and as . The Andy Griffith Show cast reunited one more time. The cast of The Andy Griffith Show did get back together one more time in 1986 for a TV movie special called . Most of the surviving original cast made an appearance in the special (Howard McNear who played the notable Floyd the Barber passed away in 1969). The main exception was Francis Bavier (Aunt Bee), who turned down the offer to appear in the special. This may have been due to health reasons or that Bavier felt she was finished playing the character — her reasons were never confirmed. But audiences were delighted to see Andy Griffith and Don Knotts together again in their iconic roles along with the rest of the beloved characters like Gomer and Goober Pyle, Howard Sprague, and Ernest T. Bass. Fans were also happy to see the adult Ron Howard appear as a grown-up Opie, married with a journalism career, and embarking on fatherhood. The movie wrapped up most loose ends and brought a happy conclusion bringing our time in Mayberry to a permanent end. Barney married his old girlfriend after years apart, and Andy is reelected as sheriff of Mayberry with Barney at his side as deputy once again. A satisfying finish to one of the most revered shows in television history. ‘The Andy Griffith Show’: Ron Howard Said Two Things Come to Mind When he Remembers ‘Aunt Bee’ In “The Andy Griffith Show Reunion,” Opie actor Ron Howard revealed two things that come to mind when he remembers Aunt Bee actress Frances Bavier. “When I think of her, I actually think about nurturing and I think about food,” Howard shared. “Of course, Frances didn’t do the cooking. Reggie Smith, our prop guy, made it right over here in the prop room. But a lot of problems can be solved with a piece of pie or a piece of fried chicken.” Watch the “Andy Griffith Show Reunion” clip here: On ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ Bavier Could Be Tough to Work With. Howard may recall Bavier as nurturing, but the actress could be tough to work with as far as the other adults were concerned. In Richard Kelly’s 1981 book “The Andy Griffith Show,” co-creator and told Kelly that Bavier was not exactly warm and fuzzy. She was “a rather remote lady,” Leonard told Kelly. “Highly professional and a fine comedienne, fine actress with very individual character. She was rather self-contained and was not part of the general hijinks that centered upon Andy on the set.” Director went further. According to Closer Weekly, he told pop culture historian Geoffrey Mark that directing Bavier was “like stepping on a landmine. If you would ask her to move three inches to the right to get in the proper frame, she’d blow a fuse and refuse.” Bavier Died in North Carolina. The actress died in December of 1989 at age 86. She suffered heart failure shortly after leaving the cardiac care unit of Chatham Hospital in North Carolina, the Associated Press reported. Over the course of her life, Bavier gained more than 20 years of stage experience. She was a veteran actress by the time she started on “The Andy Griffith Show” at age 57. And she won an Emmy for her portrayal of Aunt Bee in 1967. “Many episodes focused on her and she was essential to the success of the show,″ John Meroney, founder of the Andy Griffith Show Appreciation Society, told the AP. “[She] had more experience going in than any of the other cast members. She was the only one from a large city and the fact that she could portray Aunt Bee showed the depth of her talent.” Bavier had settled in Siler City, North Carolina in 1972. A reclusive person, she refused media interviews, and when she was in the hospital she would only agree to see Andy Griffith, Don Knotts or Ron Howard. ‘The Andy Griffith Show’: Here’s Why Andy’s 1st Love Interest Demanded to Be Written Off. Did you ever notice that all the characters on The Andy Griffit h Show were single? There’s a very specific reason why. As an eligible bachelor in the fictional town of Mayberry, Andy Griffith had many love interests. However, he never married. In fact, all of the main characters of the show remained single throughout the show’s eight seasons. In The Andy Griffith Show Book by Richard Kelly, actor Jack Dodson explained why the show’s writers wanted the characters unmarried. “It is a tremendous hindrance to the writer to have married characters because it deprives the writer of the freedom to create circumstances,” said Dodson in the book. “A character needs to move from one environment to another, and he would not always be believable if he were married.” However, there was one character who was supposed to play Griffith’s love interest for several years, but after only one season, she asked to be written off the show. Elinor Donahue, left, and Andy Griffith from The Andy Griffith Show | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images. Elinor Donahue Asked To Leave The Andy Griffith Show. Donahue joined the cast of The Andy Griffith Show in 1960. During an interview, Donahue said that she didn’t even audition for the role. “I was called into the office to meet with the producers, went home that afternoon, and found out I had the part. And I didn’t read or anything. I didn’t know that much about it except that I was going to be in the show with Andy Griffith,” said Donahue. Donahue joined the cast in its first season as Ellie Walker, the town’s new pharmacist. She moves to Mayberry after agreeing to take over the town drugstore from her uncle. While there, she connects with Griffith, and the two start dating. However, during the same interview, Donahue said that “it didn’t really work out.” “I did 11 episodes, just there for the first season. I had a three-year contract. When we took a break for the hiatus, I asked to be let out of the contract,” said Donahue. Here’s Why She Wanted Out. Donahue said that she was navigating personal issues while trying to work on the show and it was exhausting. “I was going through some personal problems at the time and I needed some time,” Donahue said. “I’d gone directly from Father Knows Best to having a couple of months of turmoil in my personal life that was not settled at all. It was an ongoing whirlwind. And then went right into The Andy Griffith Show . I was exhausted.” Although she feels no resentment towards the producers or the cast, Donahue said that she wishes they asked her to stay. When asked if she would have stayed if the producers asked, Donahue said, “Probably. I badly needed in that period someone to want me, to like me a lot. It was a tough time.” Andy Griffith Show Book. The Andy Griffith Show was one of the most successful series in television history. It ranked among the top ten shows in the nation during each of its eight prime-time seasons, from 1960 to 1968. Over forty years later, the 249 episodes still remain some of the most frequently watched syndicated shows on television. In this book, Richard Kelly makes clear to everyone, from the occasional fan to the serious student of television, why The Andy Griffith Show is still so beloved. Richard Kelly, a native New Yorker, was a graduate student at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, when he became a devoted fan of The Andy Griffith Show. Dr. Kelly wemt on to become an professor emeritus of English at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. His specialty is 19th-century English literature and he has written biographies of Douglas Jerrold, Lewis Carroll, George Du Maurier, and Graham Greene. In 1975, Dr. Kelly decided to depart from his Victorian humor to write a critical study of his favorite television show. In 1981, The Andy Griffith Show was first published. A nonprofit, independent press that publishes diverse books, including literary fiction, poetry, and nonfiction about the American South and beyond. ‘The Andy Griffith Show’: One Member Described Difficulty Directing ‘Aunt Bee’ Actress Frances Bavier. Everyone who turns on “The Andy Griffith Show” finds “Aunt Bee” to be a sweet, kind character. The actress who played her could be difficult. Frances Bavier, who played “Aunt Bee” on the “Griffith” show as well as its spinoff “Mayberry R.F.D.,” came on the show from a theatrical career. Her background was not in comedy, which definitely was a thread throughout the “Griffith” show’s run. But Bavier had a bit of a reputation for being difficult to work with. In fact, one of the show’s other characters was rather vocal about it. Howard Morris, who played “Ernest T. Bass” on the show, had a deep history in comedy from his days as a writer and performer on the classic “Your Show of Shows.” Morris played different roles on that show and worked incredibly well with that show’s main star, Sid Caesar. On the “Griffith” show, Morris directed a few of those episodes. When it came to working with the show’s actors, Morris usually got along with the entire cast. One exception, though, was “Aunt Bee” character actress Frances Bavier. Howard Morris Didn’t Get Along With ‘Aunt Bee’ Actress. Pop culture is something that interests so many people these days. There actually are historians who focus on pop culture. One of them, author Geoffrey Mark, spoke a little bit about the Morris-Bavier relationship on the set. Historian Geoffrey Mark said, “I can only repeat what I was told, but on ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ Howard Morris, who played Ernest T. Bass on the show and directed episodes of it, said that directing Frances was like stepping on a landmine. “If you would ask her to move three inches to the right to get in the proper frame, she’d blow a fuse and refuse,” Mark said. Bavier did win an Emmy Award for her role on the “Griffith” show. Sheldon Leonard, who was the executive director on the show, shared his thoughts around Bavier in an interview with “The Andy Griffith Show Book” author Richard Kelly. Leonard flatly said she was the most difficult person to work with in the cast. Leonard Remembers Bavier As Being ‘Self-Contained’ He remembered her “a rather remote lady. Highly professional and a fine comedienne, fine actress with very individual character. She was rather self-contained and was not part of the general hijinks that centered upon Andy on the set.” Leonard worked with comedian and entertainer Danny Thomas, who actually gave Andy Griffith’s Andy Taylor character its first appearance on TV in Thomas’ “Make Room For Daddy” show on ABC. Bavier died on Dec. 6, 1989. She reportedly contacted Griffith a few months before her death, apologizing for being difficult with him and others on the show. Morris portrayed Bass on a number of episodes where it crossed over from black-and-white television into color television. There’s no word whether or not Morris and Bavier ever managed to settle their differences. Bavier and “Aunt Bee” remain a loving part of a show that still touches people’s hearts every day. Griffith, Don Knotts, Ron Howard, Jim Nabors, George Lindsey, Morris, Howard McNear, and others in the cast are still seen in episode after episode. They are deeply loved and, in spite of Bavier’s differences with Morris and others, “Aunt Bee” will always be a character near and dear to many fans.