The Untold Truth Of The Andy Griffith Show

the andy griffith show which aired in 1960 was one of the most beloved and highly rated shows in television history the untold truth of the andy griffith show is that it was actually a spin-off series andy griffith had an onset affair and a contract issue led to don knotts's departure not many people realized this but the indie griffiths show was technically a spin-off of sorts the first time sheriff andy taylor made his appearance on television he was a guest star on the danny thomas show 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 kind than his latter incarnation that we know today that's quite a role you got that 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 finds danny thomas for his stop sign violation he soon realizes that the tv star 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 peace only to discover that andy also serves that role as well next dany 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 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 cast mates while his friend don knotts was napping griffith would often deliberately drop a metal film canister right near knots letting it smash to the floor for maximum noise impact another time griffith sneaked into castmate george lindsay's 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 notta's actual legal name was jessie donald knotts apparently 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 once stole one of his shoes 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 griffin completely bronzed griffith might have been a prankster but he could take it just as well as he could dish it out francis 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 andy griffith was a jokester and a prankster along with the rest of the cast but bavier despised practical jokes she severely disapproved of griffith's shenanigans around the set and 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 lindsay who played goober pyle bavier loathed coarse language and one day lindsay 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 job seriously which caused some friction between her and griffith 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 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 funnyman however knotts proved to be the audience's favorite comedic actor becoming the zany barney fife we all know and love while andy became the mild-mannered and level-headed member of the duo when knotts departed the show after five seasons many fans felt the show wasn't quite the same without him the gossipy floyd lawson or floyd the barber as the character was better known was played by howard mcnair and was another fan favorite 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 in the middle of the show's run mcnear suffered a severe stroke that left his left side paralyzed 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 floyd's scenes in the later seasons were written to allow mcnear to be seated or given 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 anita corso played andy's primary love interest helen crump 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 at one point writers tried to give andy a serious long-term girlfriend in the form of pharmacist ellie walker played by eleanor 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 on screen 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 anita corso was cast to play young opie's new school teacher helen crum again she wasn't expected to last long but corso and griffith's chemistry was electric arguably maybe a little too electric andy griffith was already married to barbara edwards at the time but he and corso 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 corso griffith and edwards eventually divorced but corso never married griffith 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 naza'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 not prepared for the coming end of the show and started to line up more work and 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 and later a seventh and eighth sadly 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 request assuming that knotts wanted half of griffith's own share 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 before gomer pyle usmc gomer was mayberry's dimwitted but kind-hearted gas station attendant according to biography jim nabors was introduced as the character in season three and stayed for two seasons and audiences loved gomer for his wacky hijinks and amiable personality shazam captain marvel wouldn't have thought of that barney after his two seasons cvs proposed an entire spin-off show starring neighbors as gomer pyle thus gomer left mayberry to join the marines and gave audiences gomer pyle the usmc in 1964. those who loved gomer on andy griffith were more than happy to watch him in a new environment where neighbors would really have a chance to shine in a starring role rather than just an ensemble gomer pyle usmc was a major fan favorite and reached number one in the nielsen ratings on quite a few occasions after eight seasons the andy griffith show came to an end in 1968 while it held the number one spot in nielsen ratings throughout the show's entire eight year run the andy griffith show never sank below number seven in nielsen's rankings both don knotts and francis bavier had won emmys for their performances and the show itself was nominated for outstanding comedy series and even after all that the show didn't completely come to an end at that time where the andy griffith show ended so began the spin-off show mayberry rfd viewers just weren't ready to say goodbye to mayberry just yet however the focus of mayberry rfd was no longer on andy taylor 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 rfd in more prominent roles though including francis bavier as ann b george lindsay as guber pyle and jack dodson as howard sprague the cast of the andy griffith show did get back together one more time in 1986 for a tv special called return to mayberry most of the surviving original cast made an appearance in the special with the main exception being francis bavier who turned down the offer to appear this may have been due to health reasons or that bavier felt she was finished playing the character her reasons were never confirmed oh you know ap always said i had a short lip 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 guber 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 to our time in mayberry barney married his old girlfriend velma lou after years apart and andy was re-elected 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 check out one of our newest videos right here plus even more grunge videos about classic tv shows are coming soon subscribe to our youtube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one

Channel: Grunge

Views: 175,332

Rating: 4.8864069 out of 5

Keywords: grunge, grunge channel, the untold truth, the andy griffith show, andy griffith show, don knotts, andy taylor, sheriff andy taylor, the town of mayberry, mayberry, andy pranks, prankster andy, gomer pyle, frances bavier, floyd lawson, floyd the barber, aneta corsaut, characters of the andy griffith show, cast of the andy griffith show, andy griffith show characters, andy griffith show cast, andy griffith and don knotts, the andy griffith show seasons, auntbee

Id: 8jqvsNKRxYA

Length: 12min 5sec (725 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 28 2020