157 Fun Facts About Andy Griffith

What did North Carolina rename in Andy Griffith's honor near his hometown in 2002?

A stretch of highway: part of US 52 became the Andy Griffith Parkway, and Griffith himself came home to speak at the dedication.

Andy Griffith earned a degree in what field from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill?

Griffith graduated from UNC in 1949 with a bachelor's degree in music, having entered as a pre-divinity student before switching majors.

In the 1969 comedy 'Angel in My Pocket', Andy Griffith played what kind of professional?

A minister: Griffith's Reverend Sam Whitehead takes his first pulpit in a feuding Kansas town, where his reckless brother-in-law turns the church boiler into a still.

In a 1963 'Andy Griffith Show' episode, which animal becomes a walking bomb after eating dynamite?

A goat belonging to a local farmer swallows the dynamite in 'The Loaded Goat', leaving Andy and Barney to coax him gently out of town before anything jolts him.

In which 1984 true-crime miniseries did Griffith play a prosecutor, two years before 'Matlock' began?

Fatal Vision cast Griffith as the prosecutor pursuing Green Beret doctor Jeffrey MacDonald; the performance is credited with inspiring the lawyer series in which he switched to the defense.

Why did 'The Andy Griffith Show' end in 1968?

Griffith left by choice after eight seasons, so CBS kept the town, renamed the show and carried on in the same Monday slot with a new leading man.

Which actress played the radio reporter who discovers Lonesome Rhodes in 'A Face in the Crowd'?

Patricia Neal's Marcia Jeffries finds him in a small-town jail, builds him into a star, and finally exposes him to his fans by leaving a microphone live.

Andy Griffith's 1997 Grammy-winning album, I Love to Tell the Story, was a collection of what?

Hymns made Griffith a platinum-selling singer in his seventies, decades after he had abandoned his youthful dream of a singing career for comedy.

Which actress played the pie-baking Jenna opposite Griffith in the 2007 film 'Waitress'?

Keri Russell's Jenna invents pies named for her troubles, such as Bad Baby Pie, while Griffith's gruff old Joe is one of her regular customers.

Andy Griffith died at his home in Manteo, on which North Carolina island?

Roanoke Island had been home for decades: Griffith first went there as a young actor in a summer outdoor drama, then settled near Manteo for good.

On which variety show did Griffith make his national TV debut in 1954, performing a comic monologue?

The Ed Sullivan Show booked the unknown comic on the strength of his hit comedy record, and by the following year he was starring on Broadway.

Who won the 1960 Tony for Best Actor in a Musical, beating Griffith's Destry Rides Again?

Jackie Gleason won for Take Me Along, leaving Griffith with two Tony nominations and no wins; that autumn he swapped Broadway for a sheriff's badge in Mayberry.

What was the last film Andy Griffith appeared in, released in 2009?

Play the Game has a ladies'-man grandson coach Griffith's lonely octogenarian widower, Grandpa Joe, back into the dating game.

How did Don Knotts come to be cast as Barney Fife on 'The Andy Griffith Show'?

He phoned Griffith with the idea after watching the pilot, suggesting the sheriff needed a deputy; the two had been castmates in No Time for Sergeants.

Who shares Griffith's birthday, June 1, 1926?

Marilyn Monroe was born in Los Angeles that same day; she had died before his sitcom began its third season, while he went on working into his eighties.

Don Knotts rejoined Griffith on 'Matlock' in the recurring role of Ben's what?

Neighbor Les Calhoun arrived in 1988 already in trouble: Knotts's character was accused of murdering the car salesman who had sold him a lemon, and Ben defended him.

What medical condition did Andy Griffith suffer from in 1983 that temporarily paralyzed his lower legs?

Guillain-Barré Syndrome paralyzed his legs within hours, he recalled; after months of therapy he walked again and went on to play Ben Matlock.

In the outdoor drama The Lost Colony, which historical figure did Andy Griffith eventually play?

Sir Walter Raleigh, the colony's sponsor, was the lead Griffith worked up to over several summers in Paul Green's pageant, after starting in smaller parts.

In 2010, Andy Griffith starred in a government TV ad explaining changes to which program?

Medicare turned 45 the day the spot was released; TV's most trusted sheriff was cast to reassure older viewers about the new health care law.

Who composed the whistled theme of 'The Andy Griffith Show', and did the whistling himself?

Earle Hagen did the whistling on the recording himself, although by his own account he had never whistled before in his life, and never did again.

What was the original network that aired 'Matlock' before it moved to ABC?

NBC built the show around Griffith after its programming chief admired his turn as a prosecutor in a 1984 miniseries; ABC took over for the last three seasons.

Which president gave Andy Griffith the Presidential Medal of Freedom?

George W. Bush did the honors in 2005, quoting Griffith's own verdict on why Mayberry lasted: 'It was about love.'

Which real-life bluegrass band played the Darling boys on 'The Andy Griffith Show'?

The Dillards played the sons of the backwoods Darling clan from 1963 to 1966, and came back in the same roles for the 1986 reunion film.

In 2001, Andy Griffith guest-starred on which teen drama filmed in his home state?

Dawson's Creek was shot in Wilmington, the same coastal studio town where Matlock had filmed its last seasons.

Which character from 'The Andy Griffith Show' was known for locking himself in jail when he was drunk?

Otis Campbell, the town drunk, let himself into the cell with the key and let himself out again when sober.

In 'No Time for Sergeants', Griffith's draftee Will Stockdale joins which service?

The Air Force gets the guileless Stockdale, whose eagerness so upsets Sergeant King's quiet barracks that one scheme to humiliate him ends with the sergeant demoted instead.

Frugal lawyer Ben Matlock, despite his high fees, loved which food?

Hot dogs were his constant craving; Griffith himself reportedly disliked the character at first for being so vain and so cheap.

To which North Carolina town, often name-dropped in Mayberry, did Frances Bavier retire?

Siler City became the New York-born actress's real home: she spent her retirement in a town her own sitcom kept mentioning, and is buried there.

In which city did Ben Matlock run his private law practice?

Atlanta suited a character reportedly modeled on Bobby Lee Cook, a real-life defense attorney from the same state.

Under what churchly persona was Griffith billed on his 1953 comedy monologue records?

Deacon Andy Griffith was the name on the label; the record's narrator is a bewildered country fellow describing a rough game he has never seen before.

Which comedy legend received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the same White House ceremony as Andy Griffith?

Carol Burnett was honored just before him; the president then joked that his visitors that day had included the Dalai Lama and the Sheriff of Mayberry.

Which instrument did the young Andy Griffith learn in his church's brass band?

Trombone came first: Griffith learned it in the band at his local church, dreamed of a singing career, and only fell into comedy when a monologue got big laughs.

On which 1997 series did Andy Griffith reprise Ben Matlock in a crossover?

Diagnosis: Murder brought Ben Matlock in for the two-part 'Murder Two', in which Dr. Mark Sloan persuades his old friend to defend a young colleague accused of murder.

Griffith died on the eve of which holiday?

Independence Day was a day away when he died on July 3, 2012; fittingly for the man who played Sheriff Taylor, the news was announced through the local sheriff's office.

Which actress played Leanne MacIntyre, Ben Matlock's daughter, in the show's ABC seasons?

Brynn Thayer's Leanne came home to her father's firm after divorcing a husband he had never much liked, and joined him in court as a partner.

In 'A Face in the Crowd', Lonesome Rhodes rises from small-town radio to national power through which medium?

Discovered in a small-town Southern jail by radio reporter Marcia Jeffries, Rhodes rides local radio to a national television show whose audience makes him a kingmaker.

Which award did Don Knotts win five times for playing Barney Fife?

An Emmy went to Knotts five times, two of them for guest returns after he had left the cast, while Griffith never won one.

Andy Griffith earned a Grammy nomination for a folksy comedy retelling of which Shakespeare play?

Hamlet, told as a rambling country yarn, was a routine he first tried on a club audience; by his own account the laughs were so big that he never taught school again.

Which major label bought Griffith's 1953 comedy single from a tiny Chapel Hill company?

Capitol picked up the monologue after a small local pressing and carried it into the national top ten in early 1954.

Andy Griffith lent his voice to which animated holiday special in 1976?

Frosty's Winter Wonderland is the sequel in which the snowman takes a wife, Crystal, with Griffith narrating in place of the original's Jimmy Durante.

The exterior shots of Mayberry for 'The Andy Griffith Show' were filmed at what location in California?

Forty Acres, a Culver City backlot, supplied Mayberry's streets; in Star Trek's 'The City on the Edge of Forever', Kirk strolls past Floyd's Barber Shop.

Which instrument did Sheriff Andy Taylor often play on the front porch in Mayberry?

Guitar in hand, Andy often ends the day on the front porch, sometimes with Barney joining in for a duet; Griffith had grown up singing and playing with his mother.

Which comic actor played Griffith's shiftless brother-in-law Bubba in the 1969 film 'Angel in My Pocket'?

Jerry Van Dyke's Bubba is the shiftless, hard-drinking relative whose schemes keep embarrassing his brother-in-law in a town already split by a feud.

After leaving the cast in 1968, Griffith stayed on 'Mayberry R.F.D.' in which behind-the-scenes role?

Executive producer was his title on the retitled show, which kept the town, the time slot and most of the cast while a new widower took over as lead.

As a UNC student, Griffith sang the comic leads in shows by which duo?

Gilbert and Sullivan hooked him by chance: he auditioned for The Gondoliers on a whim, loved it, and played the comic leads from then on.

Why did CBS cancel 'Mayberry R.F.D.' in 1971 while it was still popular?

The network wanted urban viewers, so in 1971 it axed its country comedies, hits included, in a sweep later nicknamed the rural purge.

In the episode 'Citizen's Arrest', Gomer tries to arrest Barney for which traffic offense?

An illegal U-turn is the charge: Barney has just ticketed Gomer for one, then makes the very same turn himself.

In the 2007 film 'Waitress', Andy Griffith played the crusty owner of what kind of business?

A diner: Griffith's old Joe owns Joe's Pie Diner yet is also one of its regular customers, a gruff soul who takes a shine to the film's heroine.

What takes housekeeper Rose away in the first 'Andy Griffith Show' episode?

Marriage takes Rose away, so Aunt Bee comes to keep house, and Opie spends most of the episode refusing to accept her.

Which sitcom's episode served as the backdoor pilot for the 1960 Mayberry series?

The Danny Thomas Show stranded its big-city entertainer in Mayberry, where the sheriff who arrests him turns out to be the justice of the peace who fines him too.

Under what title did 'The Andy Griffith Show' rerun in daytime?

Andy of Mayberry was the label CBS put on the repeats, which began airing by day in 1964 while new episodes were still running at night.

The Andy Griffith Show shares which ratings distinction with I Love Lucy and Seinfeld?

Ended its run ranked number one: the show never placed below seventh in eight seasons, and it finally reached the very top in its last.

Which two actors replaced Griffith and Howard as leads in 'Mayberry R.F.D.'?

Ken Berry and Buddy Foster, as widowed farmer Sam Jones and his son Mike, were introduced in Griffith's final season and gradually took over the stories before the title changed.

Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy sits in the foothills of which mountain range?

The Blue Ridge Mountains rise behind the town, whose quiet streets are widely taken as the model for his sitcom's Mayberry.

Which character did Frances Bavier play in the 1960 backdoor pilot?

Frances Bavier played the widow Henrietta Perkins in the 1960 pilot, then joined the series proper as Aunt Bee when it premiered that October.

Which company was the sole sponsor of 'The Andy Griffith Show' during its network run?

General Foods had first claim on the series because it already sponsored the sitcom that hosted the pilot, and it signed on at once.

Where were the lakeside opening credits of 'The Andy Griffith Show' filmed?

Franklin Canyon, in the hills above Beverly Hills, stood in for Carolina backwoods; the lake father and son stroll beside is a Los Angeles city reservoir.

What was the whistled 'Andy Griffith Show' theme titled once lyrics were added?

The Fishin' Hole got its words from character actor Everett Sloane, a Mayberry guest star, and Griffith himself sang them on a tie-in album.

In 'No Time for Sergeants', which punishment detail does Will Stockdale mistake for a promotion?

Latrine duty delights him: named Permanent Latrine Orderly, he keeps the place spotless and rigs the toilet seats to snap up in salute for inspection.

Which two mayors served Mayberry during 'The Andy Griffith Show'?

Pike and Stoner: easygoing, indecisive Mayor Pike held office for the first two seasons, then Roy Stoner arrived to run a far stricter town hall and clash with Andy.

Who played Ellie Walker, Andy Taylor's girlfriend in the first season of 'The Andy Griffith Show'?

Elinor Donahue, fresh from Father Knows Best, was billed ahead of Don Knotts, yet asked to be released from her three-year contract after one season.

Who played Deputy Warren Ferguson, Barney's short-lived replacement on 'The Andy Griffith Show'?

Jack Burns, once George Carlin's comedy partner, lasted only eleven episodes as Warren before the character was quietly dropped.

Which actor played wild mountain man Ernest T. Bass on 'The Andy Griffith Show'?

Howard Morris, a veteran of Sid Caesar's sketch shows, played Ernest T. in only five episodes, yet the wild man became one of Mayberry's best-remembered characters.

Which unseen Mayberry character worked as the telephone operator?

Sarah is spoken to but never seen: callers ask her to put them through, and she is notorious for listening in on their conversations.

Besides Griffith, Howard, Bavier and Knotts, who was the only actor to appear in all eight seasons?

Hope Summers, who played Aunt Bee's friend and rival Clara Edwards, turned up in every season from 1960 to 1968, the only supporting player to do so.

When Don Knotts left 'The Andy Griffith Show' in 1965, where did the storyline say Barney Fife had gone?

Raleigh Police Department was the story: Barney leaves to become a big-city detective, and Knotts came back for five guest visits in the color seasons.

Which actor played Sergeant Vince Carter, the drill instructor forever bellowing at Gomer Pyle?

Frank Sutton barked at Jim Nabors for five seasons, then followed him onto The Jim Nabors Hour, where the old adversaries turned up together in comedy sketches.

Which country-variety show featured George Lindsey as Goober for years after 1971?

Hee Haw was itself dropped by CBS in 1971 but lived on in syndication, where George Lindsey's Goober was a regular for the next two decades.

What was the name of Griffith's character in his ten-episode 1971 follow-up series?

Mayor Andy Sawyer of Greenwood was a new man, yet Goober and Emmett dropped by in the first episode and greeted him as an old friend.

What kept Frances Bavier from appearing in the 1986 reunion film 'Return to Mayberry'?

She was in ill health and living quietly in retirement, so the film has Andy lay a flower on Aunt Bee's grave; Bavier herself died three years later.

Which political campaign did Griffith and Howard support in a 2008 Funny or Die skit as Andy and Opie?

Barack Obama's campaign got the endorsement in October 2008, when the pair stepped back into roles they had last played together in a 1986 reunion film.

Which 'Andy Griffith Show' episode did TV Guide rank 24th on its 1997 list of the 100 greatest episodes?

Opie the Birdman has Opie kill a mother bird with his new slingshot, then raise her orphaned chicks until he must face setting them free.

Griffith's father Carl earned a modest living in which hometown industry?

Furniture making paid the bills: Carl Griffith worked at a local furniture factory, and his son credited him with the knack for telling a funny story.

Which country band scored a hit with a single called 'Mayberry', named after Griffith's fictional town?

Rascal Flatts sang of longing for the easygoing life of the sitcom town; the nostalgia took the single to number one on the country chart.

Which network erected bronze statues of Andy and Opie in Mount Airy and Raleigh?

TV Land put up the bronze in Raleigh first, then a second in Griffith's hometown in 2004, where he came back to speak at the unveiling himself.

Why did 16 third-season episodes of 'The Andy Griffith Show' fall into the public domain?

CBS failed to renew the copyrights on sixteen third-season episodes, putting them in the public domain; a 2007 ruling nonetheless protected them as derivative works of copyrighted earlier episodes.

As a baby, where did Andy Griffith sleep for several months?

Griffith's parents, too poor at first to afford a crib, bedded the infant in dresser drawers for several months while they lived with relatives.

Griffith began college intending to become a preacher in which church?

Moravian ministry was the plan because the band at his hometown's Grace Moravian Church had first drawn him in; at UNC he changed course and never took the pulpit.

Which future NPR newsreader was among Griffith's students at Goldsboro High School?

Carl Kasell found a mentor in Griffith at Goldsboro High; Griffith urged him toward the theatre, but Kasell chose radio and became the newscast voice of NPR's Morning Edition.

Which Shakespeare play did Griffith retell in country dialect on the B-side of 'What It Was, Was Football'?

The B-side gave a bewildered country-boy summary of Romeo and Juliet, a routine Griffith also performed on television variety shows.

Which anthology series aired the live 1955 teleplay of 'No Time for Sergeants' starring Griffith?

The United States Steel Hour broadcast Ira Levin's one-hour adaptation of Mac Hyman's novel on March 15, 1955, with Griffith as Will Stockdale; Levin then expanded it for Broadway.

Which actor beat Griffith's 'No Time for Sergeants' turn to the 1956 featured-actor Tony?

Ed Begley took the 1956 Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Inherit the Wind, beating Griffith's Will Stockdale; Griffith did win a Theatre World Award that year.

Which 1958 military comedy cast Griffith as a US Coast Guard sailor?

Onionhead (1958) made Griffith's Al Woods a Coast Guard ship's cook with no cooking experience; Warner Bros. put him in it to follow its film of No Time for Sergeants.

Who co-starred with Griffith in the 1959 Broadway musical 'Destry Rides Again'?

Dolores Gray played the saloon singer Frenchy opposite Griffith's Destry; both were Tony-nominated and lost, while Michael Kidd won for the show's choreography.

Which actress made her film debut opposite Griffith in 'A Face in the Crowd'?

Lee Remick made her film debut as Betty Lou Fleckum, the teenage drum majorette whom Lonesome Rhodes impulsively marries.

Which Star Trek star played an ad man menaced by Griffith's ruthless executive in 1974's 'Pray for the Wildcats'?

William Shatner played Warren Summerfield, one of the ad men Griffith's Sam Farragut forces onto a dirt-bike trip through Baja; the sadistic part was a sharp turn away from Mayberry.

Griffith's only Primetime Emmy nomination came for which 1981 TV film?

Murder in Texas (1981) earned Griffith his only Emmy nomination, as Ash Robinson, the Houston oilman whose daughter's unexplained death led to her surgeon husband's indictment for murder.

Which music legend played the sheriff opposite Griffith's villain in 'Murder in Coweta County'?

Johnny Cash played Sheriff Lamar Potts, who goes after Griffith's John Wallace when the powerful landowner chases a sharecropper over the line into Coweta County and kills him there.

In the 1977 miniseries 'Washington: Behind Closed Doors', Griffith played a former president loosely based on whom?

Lyndon B. Johnson was the model for Griffith's Esker Scott Anderson; the miniseries drew on The Company, a novel by Nixon aide John Ehrlichman, who went to prison over Watergate.

In the 1979 series 'Salvage 1', Griffith's junk dealer builds a homemade rocket to collect scrap left where?

The Moon was the goal: Harry Broderick builds the Vulture from a cement mixer, a tanker trailer and surplus rocket engines to bring back the equipment the Apollo missions left behind.

Which 1975 comedy cast Griffith opposite Jeff Bridges as a crusty old cowboy-movie extra in 1930s Hollywood?

Hearts of the West cast Griffith as Howard Pike, a crusty old extra at a threadbare B-picture outfit who teaches Jeff Bridges's would-be Zane Grey to act and do stunts.

Which Leslie Nielsen spoof featured Griffith as a comical villain in 1996?

Spy Hard cast Griffith as General Rancor, a madman who lost both arms in an earlier encounter and now 'arms' himself with bolt-on robotic limbs as Leslie Nielsen's Agent WD-40 hunts him.

Which two relatives of Ron Howard joined Griffith in the cast of 'Play the Game'?

Rance and Clint Howard, Ron's father and brother, both appear in Play the Game; Clint had been Leon, the cowboy-suited toddler forever offering bites of his sandwich on the old show.

Which director gave Griffith his film debut in 'A Face in the Crowd'?

Elia Kazan directed A Face in the Crowd in 1957 from Budd Schulberg's script, handing the lead to a comic monologist who had never made a film.

In which country star's 2008 video 'Waitin' on a Woman' did Griffith appear?

Brad Paisley cast Griffith as the old man on a bench who tells a young husband that waiting on a woman is worth it; the video ends with him in a white suit on a beach, still waiting for his wife.

A Wisconsin man legally took Griffith's name in 2006 to run for what office?

William Fenrick of Wisconsin legally took the name Andy Griffith to run for sheriff of Grant County; he lost the election, and a federal judge later rejected Griffith's trademark suit.

Griffith's late TV ad was credited with 2000's 'Mayberry Miracle', which made Mike Easley what?

Governor of North Carolina: Easley's lead over Richard Vinroot was slipping until Griffith's ad aired in the closing weeks, and Democrats credited it with halting the slide.

Griffith met his third wife, Cindi, when she was a cast member of what?

The Lost Colony brought them together: Cindi was acting in the Manteo outdoor drama where Griffith had spent his own early summers on stage, and they married in April 1983.

Griffith underwent what surgery in May 2000?

Quadruple heart bypass surgery came in May 2000 at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Virginia; Griffith recovered and kept acting for most of another decade.

On which sketch show did Griffith reprise his sheriff in a 1982 cameo?

Saturday Night Live put host Ron Howard back in Mayberry as the sheriff's grown son, and Griffith appeared on tape as the sheriff himself; The Clash were the musical guests.

Dean Hargrove's 'Matlock' follows the formula of which classic series he had just revived as TV films?

Perry Mason was the template: Hargrove and Fred Silverman brought Raymond Burr back in 1985's Perry Mason Returns, then gave Griffith a lawyer who also exposes the real culprit in court.

Which law school is Ben Matlock a graduate of?

Harvard Law School trained Ben Matlock, who then worked as a public defender before going into private practice and charging far steeper fees.

Which car did Ben Matlock drive, always in gray?

Matlock drove a plain gray Ford Crown Victoria, a sedan as unshowy as his suits; on the old show, Ford had supplied Sheriff Taylor's squad cars too.

What retainer fee did Ben Matlock typically charge?

Matlock's standard retainer was $100,000, paid up front, though he waived or reduced it for clients he believed in or who could not pay.

Which actress starred in the gender-flipped 'Matlock' reboot that premiered in 2024?

Kathy Bates plays Madeline 'Matty' Matlock, a persona: she is really a wealthy retired lawyer who talks her way into a firm she believes hid evidence that could have saved her daughter.

Who played Matlock's first private investigator, stock-market whiz Tyler Hudson?

Kene Holliday played Tyler Hudson, the sharp-dressed investor turned investigator, for Matlock's first three seasons; Clarence Gilyard Jr.'s Conrad McMasters replaced him.

Which 'Matlock' character was a district attorney who became Ben's good friend?

Julie March, played by Julie Sommars, came back in the final season to ask Ben to defend a thief she had convicted of murder, after her informant admitted he had lied.

Which West Virginia city was Don Knotts born in?

Morgantown raised Don Knotts and saw him graduate from West Virginia University there in 1948 after his wartime Army service; a statue of him now stands outside its Metropolitan Theatre.

Which sitcom character did Don Knotts play from 1979 to 1984?

Ralph Furley arrived on Three's Company in 1979 as the new building manager after the Ropers left for their own spin-off, and Don Knotts stayed until the show ended in 1984.

On whose variety show did Knotts play the 'extremely nervous man' in Man in the Street interviews?

Steve Allen's mock Man in the Street interviews made Knotts famous from 1956; he always played the same extremely nervous man and stayed with Allen's troupe through the 1959-60 season.

What did Don Knotts reportedly do with Danny, the ventriloquist's dummy from his wartime Army act?

Threw it overboard, by a castmate's account: Knotts toured the Pacific with the Army revue Stars and Gripes and grew to hate Danny, the dummy his act depended on.

Which soap opera gave Knotts his first TV break from 1953 to 1955?

Knotts's first TV break was Search for Tomorrow, on which he played Wilbur Peterson from 1953 to 1955 while also appearing on Howdy Doody as Tim Tremble.

Which early 'Andy Griffith Show' episode convinced Griffith that Knotts should be the comic and he the straight man?

Watching 'Manhunt', the second episode, Griffith saw how funny Knotts's Barney was and decided to play straight man from then on.

In the 1964 film 'The Incredible Mr. Limpet', Don Knotts's shy bookkeeper turns into what?

A fish, and a talking one: Henry Limpet falls into the water at Coney Island, becomes an animated fish and helps the US Navy find and destroy Nazi submarines.

By his own account, why did Don Knotts leave 'The Andy Griffith Show' in 1965?

Griffith had said the show would end after five seasons, so Knotts lined up a five-film deal with Universal; when Griffith decided to carry on, Knotts had already made up his mind to go.

What full name does 'The Andy Griffith Show' give its sheriff?

Andrew Jackson Taylor is how he is listed in the old high-school yearbook he and Barney dig out; the sequel series later christened his baby son Andrew Samuel Taylor Jr.

A film made about Mayberry's sheriff within the show called him the 'Sheriff Without a' what?

Gun: a magazine article headed 'Sheriff Without a Gun' first drew crooks posing as TV producers to rob Mayberry's bank, and a season later a Hollywood studio filmed his story under that title.

Which 1951 sci-fi classic featured Frances Bavier as Mrs. Barley?

The Day the Earth Stood Still put Frances Bavier's Mrs. Barley in the boarding house where the alien Klaatu hides in plain sight as a lodger named Carpenter.

What does the 'R.F.D.' in the title 'Mayberry R.F.D.' stand for?

Rural Free Delivery was the Post Office programme that carried mail out to country addresses, sparing farm families the trip to a distant post office to collect it.

What is Aunt Bee's full first name?

Beatrice Taylor is Aunt Bee's full name; she arrives in the very first episode to keep house for Andy and Opie, who at first refuses to accept her.

What did Andy and Barney secretly call Aunt Bee's pickles?

In 'The Pickle Story', Andy and Barney privately dub Aunt Bee's homemade pickles 'kerosene cucumbers' and secretly swap in store-bought jars to spare her feelings.

Which actor played Briscoe Darling, patriarch of Mayberry's musical mountain family?

Denver Pyle played Briscoe Darling in the family's six visits to Mayberry, and the show's writers borrowed his surname when they named the gas-station attendant Gomer.

Which of these exclamations was a catchphrase of Mayberry's Gomer?

Shazam! was Gomer's cry of wonder at the simplest things, squeaked out in a high comic voice, yet whenever the character sang, out came Jim Nabors's rich baritone.

In 'Return to Mayberry', Andy returns from a job as what in Cleveland?

Andy comes home from Cleveland, where he had been a U.S. postal inspector, to see Opie become a first-time father and finds Mayberry changed.

What job has Mayberry's reformed town drunk taken in 'Return to Mayberry'?

Driving an ice cream truck: the man who once let himself into a cell to sleep off his weekends is long sober by the 1986 reunion film and sells ice cream around town.

In which body of water do Gomer and Goober see a 'monster' in 'Return to Mayberry'?

The 'monster' Gomer and Goober spot in Myers Lake, the town's fishing hole, turns out to be a publicity stunt rigged by businessman Wally Butler.

Which actress played Sam's cousin who replaced Aunt Bee as housekeeper in 'Mayberry R.F.D.'?

Alice Ghostley joined Mayberry R.F.D. as Sam's cousin Alice for its final season after Frances Bavier's Aunt Bee left in 1970.

Which song did Jim Nabors sing before the Indianapolis 500 for decades?

Back Home Again in Indiana was Nabors's pre-race ritual almost every year from 1972 to 2014; the first time, he later admitted, he had the lyrics written on his hand.

At which Santa Monica nightclub did Griffith discover Jim Nabors?

Griffith saw Nabors's singing-and-comedy act at The Horn, a Santa Monica cabaret, and brought him onto the show; the hayseed character Nabors did there already resembled Gomer.

What was Goober's surname when George Lindsey first joined the show in 1964?

Beasley was Goober's first surname; the writers renamed him Goober Pyle to tie him more firmly to his cousin Gomer once Jim Nabors had been spun off into his own series.

Which radio Western character did Howard McNear originate before Floyd the barber?

Howard McNear created Doc Adams on the radio Gunsmoke, playing the frontier physician from 1952 to 1961, while Milburn Stone played the part on television.

Which Winnie the Pooh character did Mayberry actor Hal Smith voice in four shorts?

Hal Smith voiced Owl in four of Disney's five Winnie the Pooh shorts, later took over as Pooh himself, and was the voice of Goofy from 1967 to 1983.

Which annual September festival in Griffith's hometown celebrates his show and its cast?

Mayberry Days is held on the last weekend of each September in the town that inspired Mayberry, which also trades on the link with a Floyd's Barber Shop and an Andy Griffith Museum.

Which Mount Airy diner, famous for its pork chop sandwich, was a boyhood haunt of Griffith's?

Snappy Lunch, open on Main Street since 1923, was a boyhood haunt of Griffith's and earned a mention on the show; its breaded pork chop sandwich is the signature dish.

'A Face in the Crowd' was based on a Budd Schulberg short story with what title?

Schulberg expanded his short story 'Your Arkansas Traveler', from the 1953 collection Some Faces in the Crowd, into the screenplay; Lonesome Rhodes blended Will Rogers, Huey Long and Arthur Godfrey.

Which pep pill does Griffith's Lonesome Rhodes pitch as a virility booster?

Rhodes turns the worthless pep pill Vitajex into a craze with suggestive ads promising vigor; A Face in the Crowd entered the National Film Registry in 2008.

Which magazine printed Griffith's 1953 comedy monologue as an illustrated feature in 1958?

Mad printed the routine in 1958 with drawings by George Woodbridge, keeping most of the recording word for word and spelling out Griffith's drawl.

Which 1950 film featuring Betty Lynn was later remade with Steve Martin?

Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) cast Betty Lynn in the true story of a time-and-motion expert who raises twelve children by his own efficiency methods; Steve Martin starred in the 2003 remake.

Which future superstar played opposite Aneta Corsaut in the 1958 horror film 'The Blob'?

Steve McQueen took a flat fee for The Blob (1958) rather than a share of profits he was sure would never come, then watched it become a hit; Aneta Corsaut later played Helen Crump.

In which 'Andy Griffith Show' episode did schoolteacher Helen Crump first appear?

Helen Crump, Opie's new schoolteacher, debuted in 'Andy Discovers America' in 1963, clashing with Andy over history homework; the two went on to marry in the sequel series.

Which Mayberry county clerk did Jack Dodson play after Griffith spotted him in a Broadway play?

Howard Sprague went to Jack Dodson after Griffith saw him in Hughie on Broadway; Dodson had first turned up in Mayberry as insurance agent Ed Jenkins.

Which recurring 'Happy Days' role did Jack Dodson play?

Ralph Malph's father, optometrist Mickey Malph, was a recurring late-1970s part for Jack Dodson, one that put him back on a set with Ron Howard, his old Mayberry castmate.

Which 1939 jazz standard did the composer of Mayberry's whistled theme write as a tribute to Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges?

Harlem Nocturne was written in 1939 while he was playing in Ray Noble's orchestra; decades later it became the theme of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer.

Which series won the composer of Mayberry's whistled theme an Emmy in 1968?

I Spy filmed around the world, and instead of reusing canned cues it gave its episodes original scores built on the local music, from the Far East to Mexico.

Joanna Moore, who played the sheriff's girlfriend Peggy in Mayberry, was the mother of which 1970s child star?

Tatum O'Neal was her daughter with actor Ryan O'Neal; Moore played nurse Peggy McMillan in four episodes, and a decade later Tatum won an Oscar at ten for Paper Moon.

Which 1962 musical film did the young Ron Howard appear in?

The Music Man (1962) cast Ron Howard as shy, lisping Winthrop Paroo, the boy the con man Harold Hill coaxes out of his shell; he sings 'Gary, Indiana'.

Which 1977 film was Ron Howard's directorial debut?

Grand Theft Auto (1977), a Roger Corman car-chase comedy Howard also starred in, was his feature directing debut; he left Happy Days in 1980 to direct full-time.

Where does Barney Fife keep his single bullet, on Andy's orders?

In his shirt pocket, because Andy makes him carry his revolver unloaded; Barney tends to load it anyway and fire it by accident.

How are Andy and Barney said to be related in a few early first-season episodes?

Cousins is what the first season calls Andy and Barney a couple of times; the writers then let the tie drop, and for the rest of the run the two are simply lifelong friends.

What is Barney Fife's full first name?

Barney's full name is Bernard P. Fife; his middle name was a running continuity gag, given variously as Milton, Oliver and just 'P.'.

Which homemade treat of Thelma Lou's was a favourite of Barney's?

Cashew fudge was Thelma Lou's speciality and Barney's weakness; she later turned up married to another man, then finally wed Barney in the 1986 reunion film.

Which makeshift instrument does mountain patriarch Briscoe Darling play in his family's band?

A jug: Briscoe keeps time for the family band by blowing across the mouth of a ceramic jug, and once tried to court Aunt Bee by kidnapping her.

Which film star did Goober love to imitate with a cry of 'Judy, Judy, Judy'?

Cary Grant was Goober's proudly bad party piece; George Lindsey, who played him, had first read for the part of Gomer, which went to Jim Nabors.

Which episode is the only one in which Gomer and Goober appear together?

Fun Girls (1964) brought in Goober and is the only episode he shares with Gomer; its title pair, two overbearing women from Mount Pilot, make Helen and Thelma Lou jealous.

What health crisis struck Howard McNear, Floyd the barber, midway through the third season of 'The Andy Griffith Show'?

A serious stroke left McNear with little use of his left side; when he came back about a year later, Floyd was filmed seated or standing against a hidden support.

Ernest T. Bass proudly calls himself the best what 'in the county'?

Ernest T. Bass boasts he is the best rock thrower in the county, hurling rocks through windows across Mayberry and taking fierce pride in his aim.

How long after Andy Griffith died was he buried, by his family's prior arrangement?

Under five hours: Griffith died at his coastal North Carolina home early in the morning and, as long planned, was laid to rest in a family cemetery before noon, with no service.