10/08/2022
On this day in 1960, The Andy Griffith Show premiered on CBS, starring Andy Griffith, who played Sheriff Andy Taylor and co-starred Don Knotts, Frances Bavier, and Ron Howard. Throughout its 8-year run the show's premise never deviated from its original concept, though many of its cast of characters did. For instance, Andy disliked the way he played Sheriff Taylor throughout the first season, which was more of a toothy country bumpkin along the line of his character from No Time for Sergeants, Will Stockdale, than he cared for. Realizing that Sheriff Taylor was the linchpin for the town's kooky characters, Griffith channeled a more Lincolnesque approach to Andy Taylor which allowed him more latitude in helping characters like Barney Fife to develop more fully.
Happy Birthday to Ange, Barn, Opie, Aunt Bee and the rest of Mayberry's favorite citizens. Gawwwwwly!
