Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 6, 1993 TAG: 9302060320
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From wire reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
MAYBERRY REUNION GATHERS OLD-TIMERS
"I was proud of it then and I am still proud of it," said Andy Griffith of his classic 1960-1968 CBS comedy series "The Andy Griffith Show," which has become a cult phenomenon in reruns.CBS casts a nostalgic eye on homespun, wholesome series in the special "The Andy Griffith Show Reunion," airing Wednesday (at 8 p.m. on WDBJ-Channel 7).
The tribute features regulars Don Knotts (Barney Fife), Ron Howard (Opie), George Lindsay (Goober), Jim Nabors (Gomer) and Jack Dodson (Howard Sprague), numerous film clips and some guests.
"It is very interesting to see all of us the way we were 32 years ago and the way we are now," Griffith said. "It is not so much a shock than it is kind of interesting."
The one-hour show, Lindsay said, shows a "gentler time" in America. "It makes you say, `hey.' "
Griffith, now starring in the hit ABC series "Matlock," said he had no idea "Andy Griffith," which was always a Top 10 show, would be going strong 32 years later.
"I never thought about reruns at all when we were doing it," said Griffith, who began the series in 1960 after starring in three motion pictures. His first, "No Time for Sergeants," was a huge hit.
" `A Face in the Crowd,' while it is in the [National] Archives as a classic, it didn't make money when it first opened, so that is a mark against you," he said. "Then I did a terrible picture called `Onionhead.' I basically struck out [in Hollywood]."
After appearing on Broadway in the musical "Destry" ("which wasn't very good"), he decided to try television.
Producer Sheldon Leonard created the idea of Griffith as the widowed Sheriff Andy Taylor, who resided in the small North Carolina town of Mayberry. Frances Bavier was cast as Aunt Bee and now-film director Ron Howard as his son Opie. The pilot aired in February 1960 as an episode of "The Danny Thomas Show" and quickly sold as a series.
Before "Andy Griffith" began that fall, Don Knotts, who appeared with Griffith in "No Time for Sergeants" called him and asked, " `Don't you need a deputy?' The addition of Knotts as the high-strung Barney altered the tone of the series.
"I was supposed to have been the comic, the funny one," Griffith said. "It might not have lasted even half a season that way, but when Don came on I realized by the second episode Don should be funny and I should play straight to him. Then each time we had a good comic actor come on, we would ask him if he would like to be a regular on the show and that is how we built the town of Mayberry."
Jim Nabors was one such actor. Initially, Nabors was signed to play the naive, innocent Gomer for just one episode. He ended up staying on for nearly two seasons and was given his own successful series, "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."
Nabors said he has fond memories of the series. "It was one of the rare times that you look forward to going to work every day because you knew you were going to laugh all day. The demeanor on the set all stemmed from Andy. Though he ran a real tight ship, we always had a lot of fun."
"Andy made you operate at 110 percent because you brought yourself up to his level," said Lindsay, who joined the series in 1965 as Gomer's equally naive cousin, Goober. "He is probably the best script constructionist that ever was."
"Everybody believed that Don and I just showed up and did the stuff we did," Griffith said. "But it was very carefully written and choreographed and rehearsed."
Lindsay believes "Andy Griffith" has endured four generations because "people didn't know we were actors. I think they thought we were those people. Isn't it kind of interesting? I think everybody except Ronny all came from the New York theater and everybody had a college degree."