RIP, Andy. 
Tell Barney and Aunt Bea hey for me.
Poor [del]Horatio[/del] Andy.
I can’t tell you how many times as a teenager I sat in front of the TV stoned of my ass laughing myself to tears watching The Andy Griffith show.
Good memories indeed.
Did you ever fantasize about getting stoned and letting yourself into a cell to sleep it off?
Speaking of, I saw an episode of TAGS I had never seen before recently in which Otis buys a car. This is one of the b-w episodes (I wonder if there is anybody anywhere who thinks the post-Barney and color episodes were better?) and in it Otis buys a car. I was kind of curious where that would go since certainly drunk driving isn’t something you could joke about now and was surprised to see they took a strong stand on it then (though with humor of course- a convoluted plot to make Otis think he’s killed himself driving drunk).
By all accounts Griffith was super serious when not in character. I love what Ron Howard said about him:
Also extremely strong willed: when he developed a constant wheeze and cough during the show’s early seasons he quit a four pack a day smoking habit cold turkey and overnight.
Only two of them. Mitch died in 2010 and Doug died this May.
Sorry to hear that. I loved their music.
Holy crap! That’s a heck of a thing.
He was 86. You probably should have things planned out by that age, including where you wish to be buried and in what.
Thank you. It is a very pleasant memory.
I reread George Lindsey’s book last month after he died. He said pretty much the same. Andy was very much the boss on set. When Andy liked that weeks show he’d praise George, but Andy’s silence could really cut deep when he didn’t like that weeks show.
Andy has a real cast on his hand in several of the shows. It’s easily seen under his sheriff’s uniform. I’d always heard he broke it punching a wall at home. I’m pretty sure his ex made the claim. But never found a firm cite. imdb also repeats the story
I see they buried him five hours after his death. I suppose he did not want to be embalmed.
In any case, thanks for the memories, Andy.
Is that enough time to take him to a hospital and have the county coroner determine a cause of death, take the body to a funeral home, take the coffin to the grave site and get it in the ground? All parties must have been on high alert.
Sorry, but not quite…
from http://www.tagsrwc.com/faq/index.php
*Does Earle Hagen, the composer of The Andy Griffith Show Theme, still be royalties every time the theme song is played?
Not long ago, we got to talking about whether or not Earle Hagen still receives royalty payments every time The Andy Griffith Theme is played (BTW, that is the correct original title, NOT “The Fishin’ Hole.”) To settle this issue once and for all, I went straight to the source and asked The Maestro himself. Here’s what he had to say:
“Composers don’t receive royalties but they do get performance money. The difference is that royalties are determined by a guild negotiating re-use payments with the producers. These payments diminish over time by the number of repeat plays of the program. Performance money is paid by the broadcasters who have to secure licenses to perform the music under the copyright laws of the world. It amounts to pennies per minute, but with 3000 shows of all kinds that I have written, it adds up. I’m delighted that you have an interest after all these years.” Sincerely, Earle Hagen*
[QUOTE=Ron Howard]
Early in the second season of “The Andy Griffith Show,” I ventured a suggestion for a line change to make it sound more “like the way a kid would say it.”
I was just 7 years old. But my idea was accepted and I remember standing frozen, thrilled at what this moment represented to me.
Andy asked me, “What you grinnin’ at, youngin’?” I said it was the first idea of mine they’d ever said yes to. Without a pause, Andy responded for all to hear: “It was the first idea that was any damn good. Now let’s do the scene.”
[/QUOTE]
To me that reads like an actor who was very serious about his craft treating another actor the same way. I feel sure that rubbed off on Ron Howard, and helped make his career the success it is.
Back in the late 80s/early 90s some comedian pointed out that the three most successful movie directors of the time were “Opie, Laverne and The Meathead”.
When I heard that my benevolent host on so many occasions had passed away I went on the three day bender in his honor. Hence my delay in posting.
I’m gonna miss good ole Andy, and Aint Bea’s cooking.
RIP to a true Southern gentleman.
Holy cow! I never knew that Everett Sloane (Mr. Bernstein in Citizen Kane) wrote the “The Fishin’ Hole” lyrics.
But sure enough, from Sloane’s Wiki entry: “He wrote the unused lyrics to “The Fishin’ Hole”, the theme song for The Andy Griffith Show. Sloane guest starred on the show in 1962, playing Jubal Foster in the episode The Keeper of the Flame.”
I remember that episode - Jubal burns down his own barn, while drunk on moonshine, and tries to blame Opie. Andy has his checkbook out when somehow Barney gets into the 'shine. When Barn starts saying “Jubal, Jubal, Jubal” the jig is up!
Now that’s the best Andy Griffith Show trivia I’ve read in a while! Thanks.