My all time favorite shows are The Andy Griffith Shows! Andy Griffith was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, the only child of Carl Lee Griffith and his wife, Geneva (Nunn). Griffith was born the same day (June 1, 1926) as motion picture icon Marilyn Monroe. As a baby, Griffith lived with relatives until his parents could afford to buy a home. With neither a crib nor a bed, he slept in dresser drawers for several months. In 1929, when Griffith was three, his father began working as a carpenter and purchased a home in Mount Airys blue-collar south side. He attended the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and graduated with a bachelor of music degree in 1949. He began college studying to be a Moravian preacher, but he changed his major to music and became a part of the schools Carolina Playmakers. At UNC, he was president of the UNC chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Americas oldest fraternity for men in music. He also played roles in several student operettas, including The Chimes of Normandy (1946), and Gilbert and Sullivans The Gondoliers (1945), The Mikado (1948) and H.M.S. Pinafore (1949). After graduation, he taught music and drama for a few years at Goldsboro High School in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he taught, among others, Carl Kasell. He also began to write and was cast in many films and TV roles. Beginning in 1960, Griffith starred as Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show for the CBS television network. The show took place in the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina, where Taylor, a widower, was the sheriff and town sage. The show was filmed at Desilu Studios, with exteriors filmed at Forty Acres in Culver City, California. From 1960 to 1965, the show co-starred character actor and comedian — and Griffiths longtime friend — Don Knotts in the role of Deputy Barney Fife, Taylors best friend and comedy partner. He was also Taylors cousin in the show. In the series premiere episode, in a conversation between the two, Fife calls Taylor Cousin Andy, and Taylor calls Fife Cousin Barney. The show also starred child actor Ron Howard (then known as Ronny Howard), who played Taylors only child, Opie Taylor. It was an immediate hit. Griffith never received a writing credit for the show, but he worked on the development of every script. Knotts was frequently lauded and won multiple Emmy Awards for his comedic performances (as did Frances Bavier in 1967), while Griffith was never nominated for an Emmy Award during the shows run. In 1967, Griffith was under contract with CBS to do one more season of the show. However, he decided to quit the show to pursue a movie career and other projects. The series continued as Mayberry R.F.D., with Ken Berry starring as a widower farmer and many of the regular characters recurring, some regularly and some as guest appearances. Griffith served as executive producer (according to Griffith, he came in once a week to review the weeks scripts and give input) and guest starred in five episodes (the pilot episode involved his marriage to Helen Crump). He made final appearances as Taylor in the 1986 reunion television film, Return to Mayberry, and in two reunion specials in 1993 and 2003, with strong ratings.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 16:28:02 +0000
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