| The Andy Griffith Show | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Sheldon Leonard |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | |
| Opening theme | "The Andy Griffith Show Theme" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 249(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Production locations |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 25–26 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | October 3, 1960 (1960-10-03) – April 1, 1968 (1968-04-01) |
| Related | |
The Andy Griffith Show is an Americansitcom television series that was aired onCBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 inblack and white and 90 incolor.
The series originated from an episode ofThe Danny Thomas Show. It starsAndy Griffith asAndy Taylor, the widowed sheriff ofMayberry, North Carolina, a fictional community of roughly 2,000–5,000 people.[1] Other major characters include Andy's lifelong friend (and cousin), the well-meaning and enthusiastic but bumbling deputy,Barney Fife (Don Knotts), Andy's aunt and housekeeper,Bee Taylor (Frances Bavier) and Andy's young son,Opie (Ron Howard). The townspeople round out the regular cast. Regarding the tone of the show, Griffith said that despite a contemporary setting, the show evoked nostalgia, saying in aToday interview, "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by."[2]
The series was never placed lower than seventh in theNielsen ratings, ending its final season at number one. The only other shows to end their runs at the top of the ratings areI Love Lucy (1957) andSeinfeld (1998).[3] On separate occasions, it has been ranked byTV Guide as the 9th- and 13th-best series in Americantelevision history.[4][5] Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of sixEmmy Awards. The series spawned its own spin-off – Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964–1969) – and a reunion telemovie,Return to Mayberry (1986).
After the eighth season, when Griffith left the series, it was retitledMayberry, R.F.D., withKen Berry andBuddy Foster replacing Griffith and Howard in new roles. In the new format, it ran for78 episodes, ending in 1971 after three seasons. Reruns ofThe Andy Griffith Show are often shown onTV Land,MeTV,The CW, andSundanceTV. On those channels, the episodes are edited to make room for more commercials, but some airings on SundanceTV air the full uncut versions. The complete series is available on DVD and Blu-ray and intermittently on streaming video services such as Amazon Prime andParamount+. Mayberry Days, an annual festival celebrating the sitcom, is held each year in Griffith's hometown,Mount Airy, North Carolina.[6]
Sheldon Leonard—producer ofThe Danny Thomas Show—andDanny Thomas hired veteran comedy writer Arthur Stander (who had written many of the "Danny Thomas" episodes) to create a pilot show for Griffith, featuring him as justice of the peace and newspaper editor in a small town.[7] At the time, Broadway, film, and radio star Griffith was interested in attempting a television role, and theWilliam Morris Agency told Leonard that Griffith's rural background and previous rustic characterizations were suited to the part.[7] After conferences between Leonard and Griffith in New York City, Griffith flew to Los Angeles and filmed the episode.[7] On February 15, 1960,The Danny Thomas Show episode "Danny Meets Andy Griffith" aired.[7] In the episode, Griffith played the fictional Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry, North Carolina, who arrests Danny Williams (Thomas' character) for running a stop sign. Future players inThe Andy Griffith Show, Bavier and Howard, appeared in the episode as townspeople Henrietta Perkins and Opie Taylor (the sheriff's son), respectively.[7]General Foods, sponsor ofThe Danny Thomas Show, hadfirst access to thespin-off and committed to it immediately.[7] On October 3, 1960, at 9:30 p.m.,The Andy Griffith Show made its debut.[8]
The sitcom's production team included producersAaron Ruben (1960–1965) and Bob Ross (1965–1968).[7] First-season writers (many of whom worked in pairs) included Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart, Arthur Stander, andFrank Tarloff (as "David Adler"), Benedict Freedman and John Fenton Murray, Leo Solomon and Ben Gershman, and Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum.[7] During season six, Greenbaum and Fritzell left the show. Ruben departed forGomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a show he owned in part.[7] WriterHarvey Bullock left after season six.Bob Sweeney directed the first three seasons save the premiere.[9]The show was filmed atDesilu Studios,[7] with exteriors filmed atForty Acres in Culver City, California.[7] Woodsy locales were filmed north ofBeverly Hills atFranklin Canyon,[7] including the opening credits and closing credits with Andy and Opie walking to and from "the fishin' hole".[10]Don Knotts, who knew Griffith professionally (they had appeared together in both the Broadway and film versions ofNo Time for Sergeants) and had seenThe Danny Thomas Show episode, called Griffith during the developmental stages of the show and suggested the Sheriff character needed a deputy and comic sideman; Griffith agreed. Knotts auditioned for the show's creator and executive producer,Sheldon Leonard, and was offered a five-year contract playing Barney Fife.[7] Theshow's theme music was composed byEarle Hagen, who also performed the whistling in the opening and closing credits.[11]Herbert Spencer was credited by theBMI as "co-composer", but was not involved with the composition of the theme.[12] In 1961, actorEverett Sloane, who also guest starred as Jubal Foster in the episode "The Keeper of the Flame", wrote lyrics for the theme after he learned it did not have any.[13] This vocal version of the theme was renamed "The Fishin' Hole" and first appeared on anLP album of music from the show.[14] One of the show's tunes, "The Mayberry March", was reworked several times in different tempo, styles, and orchestrations as background music. The show's sole sponsor wasGeneral Foods,[7] with promotional consideration paid for (in the form of cars) byFord Motor Company (mentioned in the credits).[citation needed]
Initially, Griffith played Taylor as a heavy-handed unworldly country bumpkin, grinning from ear to ear and speaking in a hesitant, frantic but friendly manner. The style recalled that used in the delivery of his popularmonologues such as "What It Was, Was Football." He gradually abandoned the "rustic Taylor" and developed a serious and thoughtful characterization. Producer Aaron Ruben recalled:
He was being that marvelously funny character fromNo Time for Sergeants, Will Stockdale [a role Griffith played on stage and in film] ... One day he said, "My God, I just realized that I'm thestraight man. I'm playing straight to all these kooks around me." He didn't like himself [in first year reruns] ... and in the next season he changed, becoming thisLincolnesque character.[7]
As Griffith stopped portraying some of the sheriff's more unsophisticated character traits and mannerisms, creating his own problems and troubles was impossible in the manner of other central sitcom characters such as Lucy inI Love Lucy or Archie Bunker inAll in the Family, whose problems were the result of their temperaments, philosophies, and attitudes. Consequently, the characters around Taylor were employed to create the problems and troubles, with rock-solid Taylor stepping in as problem solver, mediator, advisor, disciplinarian, and counselor.[7]
The series revolves aroundAndy Taylor (Andy Griffith), the sheriff of the sleepy, slow-paced, fictional community ofMayberry, North Carolina. His laid-back but level-headed approach to law enforcement makes him the scourge of localmoonshiners and out-of-town criminals, while his abilities to settle community problems with commonsense advice, mediation, and conciliation make him popular with his fellow citizens. His professional life, however, is complicated by the repeated gaffes of his inept deputy,Barney Fife (Don Knotts). Barney is Andy's cousin and best friend. At home, widower Andy raises his young sonOpie (Ronny Howard), assisted by his maiden aunt and housekeeper,Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier). Opie, though generally respectful and well-behaved, is also curious and adventuresome and tests his father's parenting skills. Aunt Bee, meanwhile, is a wonderful cook and housekeeper, but her ill-considered romances and occasional quirks cause her nephew concern.
Andy's friends and neighbors include, at various times, barberFloyd Lawson (Howard McNear;Walter Baldwin portrayed the role in the 1960 episode "Stranger in Town"), service station attendants and cousinsGomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) andGoober Pyle (George Lindsey), and local drunkardOtis Campbell (Hal Smith). There are two mayors over the course of the series: Mayor Pike (Dick Elliott) is more relaxed, but often indecisive, while Mayor Roy Stoner (Parley Baer) has a more assertive personality. Other semi-regulars include townswomanClara Edwards (Hope Summers), Barney's sweetheartThelma Lou (Betty Lynn) and Andy's schoolteacher sweetheartHelen Crump (Aneta Corsaut). Ellie Walker (Elinor Donahue) is Andy's girlfriend in the first season, while Peggy McMillan (Joanna Moore) is a nurse who becomes his girlfriend in season 3. In the color seasons, County ClerkHoward Sprague (Jack Dodson) and handyman Emmett Clark (Paul Hartman) appear regularly, while Barney's replacement, DeputyWarren Ferguson (Jack Burns), appears in about half of season six.
Ernest T. Bass made his first appearance in episode 94 ("Mountain Wedding"), as well as four later episodes. The actor who portrayed him,Howard Morris, also played George, the television repairman in episode 140 ("Andy and Helen Have Their Day") and two uncredited voice roles, as Leonard Blush and a radio announcer. Morris also directed a total of eight episodes of the show, none while portraying Ernest T. Bass.
Unseen characters such as telephone operator Sarah, and Barney's love interest, local diner waitress Juanita Beasley, as mentioned in the first season, are often referenced. The show's announcer for the first five seasons, Colin Male, portrayed Game Warden Peterson in episode 140 ("Andy and Helen Have Their Day").
In the series' last few episodes, farmer Sam Jones (Ken Berry) debuts and later becomes the lead of the retitled show,Mayberry R.F.D.[7] Don Knotts, Aneta Corsaut, Jack Dodson, and Betty Lynn also appeared on Griffith's later show,Matlock.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | Rank | Rating | Viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||||
| Intro | 1 | February 15, 1960 (1960-02-15) | — | — | — | ||
| 1 | 32 | October 3, 1960 (1960-10-03) | May 22, 1961 (1961-05-22) | 4 | 27.8 | 13.12[15] | |
| 2 | 31 | October 2, 1961 (1961-10-02) | May 7, 1962 (1962-05-07) | 7 | 27.0 | 13.10[16] | |
| 3 | 32 | October 1, 1962 (1962-10-01) | May 6, 1963 (1963-05-06) | 6 | 29.7 | 14.93[17] | |
| 4 | 32 | September 30, 1963 (1963-09-30) | May 18, 1964 (1964-05-18) | 5 | 29.4 | 15.17[18] | |
| 5 | 32 | September 21, 1964 (1964-09-21) | May 3, 1965 (1965-05-03) | 4 | 28.3 | 14.91[19] | |
| 6 | 30 | September 13, 1965 (1965-09-13) | April 11, 1966 (1966-04-11) | 6 | 26.9 | 14.48[20] | |
| 7 | 30 | September 12, 1966 (1966-09-12) | April 10, 1967 (1967-04-10) | 3 | 27.4 | 15.10[21] | |
| 8 | 30 | September 11, 1967 (1967-09-11) | April 1, 1968 (1968-04-01) | 1 | 27.6 | 15.64[22] | |
The show comprises eight full seasons and 249 episodes[7]—159 episodes in black and white (seasons 1–5) and 90 in color (seasons 6–8). Griffith appears in all 249 episodes with Howard appearing in 202, Bavier appearing in 175, and Knotts appearing in 141. Only Griffith, Howard, Bavier, Knotts and Hope Summers appeared in all eight seasons. Knotts left the show at the end of season five to pursue a career in films (on the show, it is explained that he takes a job as a detective with theRaleigh Police Department) but returned to make five guest appearances as Barney in seasons six through eight. His last appearance is in the final season, in a story about a summit meeting with Soviet dignitaries "ranked eleventh among single comedy programs most watched in television between 1960 and 1984, with an audience of thirty-three and a half million."[7]
In October 1964, CBS addedreruns of the show to its daytime schedule. TitledAndy of Mayberry to distinguish the repeat episodes from the new episodes airing in primetime, these aired in daytime until September 1970. The show entered syndication a year later under its original title.
At the end of season four (May 1964), thebackdoor pilot "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." aired and the following September, the spinoff seriesGomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. debuted with Jim Nabors in the role of Gomer andFrank Sutton asdrill instructor Sergeant Vince Carter.
In the last episodes of the eighth season, as Griffith was preparing to leave, the character Sam Jones, played byKen Berry, was introduced as the new star and the series was retitledMayberry R.F.D. Most of the cast members continued their original roles, with Bavier becoming Sam's housekeeper. To create a smooth transition, Andy and Helen were married in the first episode with the new title and remained for a few additional episodes before leaving with a move toRaleigh, effectively ending their appearances.
AfterRFD's cancellation in 1971, George Lindsey played Goober for many years on the popular country-variety showHee Haw.
Goober, Barney and Emmett all made appearances in the series premiere ofThe New Andy Griffith Show, which starred Griffith as a similar but canonically different character, Mayor Andy Sawyer. All three characters treated Sawyer as if he were Andy Taylor. The series only lasted ten episodes.[23]
In 1986, the reuniontelemovieReturn to Mayberry was broadcast with several cast members reprising their original roles. Absent, however, wasFrances Bavier. She was living inSiler City, North Carolina in ill health and declined to participate. In the TV movie, Aunt Bee is portrayed as deceased (and in fact, Bavier did die three years later), with Andy visiting her grave. Also absent were Howard McNear, Paul Hartman, Jack Burns, and the cast members who were featured only in theMayberry RFD seasons.
Griffith and Howard reprised their roles a final time for aFunny or Die skit supporting the2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama.[24]
In 1993,The Andy Griffith Show had a Reunion Special which featured Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Ron Howard, Jim Nabors, George Lindsey, and Jack Dodson.[25]
In 2003, four surviving cast members (Griffith, Howard, Knotts, and Nabors) came together for a reunion special that featured the actors reminiscing about each other's time on the show. The production was interspersed with archival footage and short filmed interviews with some of the other surviving cast members. This special was calledThe Andy Griffith Show: Back to Mayberry.[26][27]
The Andy Griffith Show was a top ten hit through its entire run, never ranking lower than seventh place in the yearly ratings.[28] A Nielsen study conducted during the show's final season (1967–68) indicated the show ranked number one among blue collar workers followed byThe Lucy Show andGunsmoke. Among white collar workers, the show ranked third, followingSaturday Movies andThe Dean Martin Show.[7] The final season ofThe Andy Griffith Show was the number one ranked show on television.[29] Other shows to have accomplished this includeI Love Lucy[30] andSeinfeld.[31] In 1998, the yearSeinfeld ended, more than five million people a day watched the show's reruns on 120 stations.[32]
1961
1962
1963
1966
1967
Very little merchandise was produced forThe Andy Griffith Show during its original run, a peculiarity for a hit TV show in the 1960s. One theory for the lack of merchandise is that the show's producers, Griffith in particular, wanted to protect its image as a realistic and thoughtful offering and keep the public's focus on the show itself rather than its branding.[35] Among the handful of merchandise released during the show's first run,Dell Comics published twoThe Andy Griffith Showcomic books, one drawn byHenry Scarpelli, the other byBill Fraccio.[35][36] In 2004, copies in near-mint condition were priced in excess of $500 each.[37] There was also asoundtrack album, two coloring books, and a 1966Grape-Nuts cereal box with a photo of Griffith in character as Sheriff Andy Taylor beside a lemon pie recipe on the back.[35] The show's enduring popularity has spawned considerable merchandise during the decades following its cancellation,[35] including board games, bobblehead dolls, kitchenware, and books. In 2007, a line of canned foods inspired by the series was made available in grocery stores across America.
Griffith's hometown ofMount Airy, North Carolina, annually hosts a week-long "Mayberry Days" celebration featuring concerts, parades and appearances by the show's players.
In 2003, the country bandRascal Flatts released the song "Mayberry" and many of the lyrics pay tribute to the show. Canadian rapper and singerDrake references the show's theme song in his 2009 track "Best I Ever Had".[38]
The cable television networkTV Land erected bronze statues of Andy and Opie in Mount Airy andRaleigh, North Carolina (see:Pullen Park).[39]
The Taylor Home Inn inClear Lake, Wisconsin, is a bed-and-breakfast modeled after the Taylor Home.[40] The Mayberry Cafe inDanville, Indiana, features Aunt Bee's Fried Chicken and a replica of Andy'sFord Galaxie police car.
In 2021, the original feature filmMayberry Man was produced by children of actors fromThe Andy Griffith Show featuring Mayberry tribute artists set in a fictitious modern-day Mayberry.
In the late 1980s, Premier Promotions released various episodes on VHS. Most tapes had either two or four episodes. In the early to mid-1990s,United American Video (under license from the show's then-syndicatorViacom Enterprises) released VHS tapes of various episodes. They either had two or three episodes. These compilations were culled from episodes early in the show's run that had lapsed into the public domain; these episodes continue to be circulated on unofficial video releases.
Starting in 2004,Paramount Home Entertainment (under theCBS Home Entertainment label starting in 2006) released all eight seasons as single-season packages on Region 1 DVD.The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete Series was first released as a 40-disc boxed set in 2007. In addition to all 249 episodes of the series, its bonus features included the episode "Danny Meets Andy Griffith" fromThe Danny Thomas Show which served as the pilot, the episode "Opie Joins the Marines" fromGomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. which featured Ron Howard and the 95-minute,made-for-televisioncomedy filmReturn to Mayberry. In 2016,The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete Series was repackaged and released again as a 39-disc set that featured all 249 episodes of the series but did not include the bonus feature disc. The last 16 episodes of the third season, which lapsed into thepublic domain after CBS neglected to file copyright renewals on the episodes in 1989, are available on discount DVDs. The 2007 lawsuitCBS Operations Inc v. Reel Funds International Inc. ruled that the episodes in question werederivative works based on the copyrighted episodes even though the episodes themselves were not under copyright and granted CBS indirect copyright over the public domain episodes; the rulingenjoined Reel Funds International, a public domain distributor, from selling DVDs with those episodes within the jurisdiction of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.[41][42]
| DVD name | Ep# | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The First Season | 32 | November 16, 2004 |
| The Second Season | 31 | May 24, 2005 |
| The Third Season | 32 | August 16, 2005 |
| The Fourth Season | 32 | November 22, 2005 |
| The Fifth Season | 32 | February 14, 2006 |
| The Sixth Season | 30 | May 9, 2006 |
| The Seventh Season | 30 | August 29, 2006 |
| The Final Season | 30 | December 12, 2006 |
| The Complete Series | 249 | May 29, 2007 |
| The Complete Series | 249 | February 16, 2016 |
Note: The Region 1 release ofThe Third Season contains two episodes edited for syndication: "The Darlings Are Coming"—which had several scenes cut—and "Barney Mends a Broken Heart", which had itsepilogue cut.
