8 details you may have missed about ‘The Andy Griffith Show’

Few television comedies have stood the test of time like  “The Andy Griffith Show.”  A spinoff of “The Danny Thomas Show,” it aired on CBS between October 3, 1960 to April 1, 1968, bringing to life the colorful characters and comedic situations of a fictional little town called Mayberry.

Here are some fun details about this amazing TV show that you may have missed:

1. Knotts was just a salaried employee

Andy Griffith owned 50% of the show and earned a large share of the profits. Don Knotts, however, was a salaried employee and left the show after five seasons when an ownership stake was denied to him.

2. The secret behind the theme song

Earle Hagen wrote the instrumental theme song, “The Fishin ‘ Hole,” in 15 minutes. Griffith recorded a vocal version— featuring Everett Sloane’s lyrics— but it’s never been used. Instead, the now classic whistling was done by Hagen.

3. Bring your spouse to work day

Look carefully— Barbara Bray Edwards, the true life wife of Griffith, made several appearances in the background on the show.

4. The inspiration for Mayberry is a real city

It’s called Mount Airy, North Carolina. The community of 10,000 residents is home to the Andy Griffith Museum and the annual celebration of “Mayberry Days,” which attracted almost 50,000 visitors for the 50th anniversary of the show in 2010.

5. How the characters got their names

Andy Taylor, Floyd Lawson, Ellie Walker and Helen Crump all got their names from towns near Mount Airy, North Carolina: Taylorsville, Lawsonville, Walkertown, Crumpler.

6. Gone With the Wind connection

Despite its genuine tiny village feel, the show was actually filmed at Desilu Studios in Culver City, California— on the same soundstage as’ Gone With The Wind.’ The lake is situated on the Franklin Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills, which is used in outdoor scenes.

7. Ron’s early beginnings

Ron Howard— then known as Ronnie— was just six years old when the show began and was barely able to read. He’d have to read his dad, Rance Howard, and other cast members to memorize him.

8. So good, you could watch it twice

CBS ran the show’s reruns during the day during the peak of its popularity, renaming them “Andy of Mayberry” to avoid confusion with the episodes of prime time. All episodes were changed back to “The Andy Griffith Show” when the show finished running.

More articles

Donate now to save Baby Jésus’ life!

Every day, Jésus experiences excruciating pain due to a rare and blistering skin condition called EB. With up to 80% of his skin affected, he relies on pain medication just […]

Read More

5 Collectibles That Are Worth More Than You Think

Do you have any of these collectibles? It may be time to cash out!

Read More

Husband Gives Wife a Birthday Cake Shaped Like An Amazon Shipping Box

Waylon McGuire had a ‘prime’ gift idea to give his wife on her birthday. He ordered a cake shaped like […]

Read More

The Worst Disease You Have Never Seen of the Year

baby-jesus-help-now

BABY JESÚS suffers in severe pain with 80% skin loss. You can stop his pain with a small donation to purchase pain medicine. Thank you!

Recent posts

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30 No Comparison Movies, TV shows, and advertisements all encourage us to compare ourselves to […]

Read More

Donate now to save Baby Jésus’ life!

Every day, Jésus experiences excruciating pain due to a rare and blistering skin condition called EB. With up to 80% of his skin affected, he relies on pain medication just […]

Read More

The Worst Disease You Have Never Seen of the Year

Joyce suffers in extreme pain every day from a rare blistering skin disease known as EB. With up to 80% skin loss, she can’t go one day without having pain […]

Read More

We are God’s masterpiece

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 One of the things we love about […]

Read More

Are You Ignoring Jesus?

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6 When we think about praising God, we often consider praying and singing as our primary ways, which they probably are. […]

Read More

Be Made New

Be made new in the attitude of your minds. Ephesians 4:23 You can’t deny the power that someone else’s genuinely positive attitude can have on you. It can be a […]

Read More
Scroll to Top