![]() ![]() In that era, an actor could never really be candid about their sexuality.Īunt Bee might have been a gentle soul, a woman who was primarily focused on the kitchen, but in real life, the actor who played her was a fierce, driven career woman.īavier was born in New York City in a brownstone on Gramercy Park. She dated some women but passed them off as “good friends”. He queerness was an open secret to the Andy Griffith Show cast and crew, and in Hollywood gay circles. ![]() While the character of Aunt Bee was thought of as “everyone’s aunt” by fans, off the set, Bavier was a far different personality than the woman that she portrayed on television. He proved to be the most popular character. Knotts auditioned for the show’s creator and executive producer, Sheldon Leonard, and was offered a five-year contract playing Barney Fife. Knotts, who knew Griffith professionally and had seen The Danny Thomas Show episode, called Griffith during the developmental of the show and suggested the Sheriff character needed a deputy. The show was filmed at Desilu Studios, with exteriors filmed in Culver City (which looked like a small town at the time) and north of Beverly Hills at Franklin Canyon, including the opening credits and closing credits with Andy and Opie walking to and from “the fishin’ hole”. The complete series is available on DVD and can be seen on Amazon Prime. Reruns of The Andy Griffith Show are still popular. It ran for 78 episodes, ending in 1971 after three seasons. (1964–1969) and a reunion television special, Return To Mayberry (1986).Īfter the series ended with Griffith, it morphed into Mayberry, R.F.D., with Ken Berry and Buddy Foster replacing Griffith and Howard, but as new characters. The series even spawned its own spin-off, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Neither Griffith nor the show won any awards during its eight-season run, yet Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings, ending its final season at Number One (the only other shows to go out at the top of the ratings are I Love Lucy (1957) and Seinfeld (1998). ![]()
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