# Frances Bavier aka "Aunt Bea" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939 "2012-09-17T04:00:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/61 "2012-09-21T05:02:24Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Vivian Vance is another actor who also thought herself too cool for school. She, Frances Bavier, and Robert Reed, all Serious Actors slumming it, should have had their own show… My Three Divas? Tina Louise did the same thing. It was common in early television, but there were exceptions. Natalie Schafer did the Gilligan pilot to get a free trip to Hawaii. She was the oldest of the cast and didn’t really expect, or even care if the series was picked up. On the Munsters they were worried that Yvonne De Carlo would be a diva because she was a legitimate movie star, but instead she was loved by the cast and crew, never putting on airs. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/62 "2012-09-22T01:42:33Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Her mom died in 1920, and her father shortly thereafter. [This death notice](http://books.google.com/books?id=wuQBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=charles+bavier+died&source=bl&ots=Ev5rjbP3Gf&sig=jr1_xtSujAQ21xeCezqTBcyOWXA&hl=en#v=onepage&q=charles%20bavier%20died&f=false) is almost certainly her dad. > [@Earl's link](#): > > Mr. Bavier attained the age of 70 years and breathed his last at the Mt. McGregor Sanitarium. > [@Wikipedia](#): > > The “Sanitarium on the Mountain” at Mount McGregor was opened in 1913 by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company for the benefit of its employees suffering from tuberculous(sic). Perhaps “breathed his last” is a decorous way of saying that he died while literally coughing out a bloody, tubercular lung, but I find the phrasing tacky. Maybe the personality defect ran in the family and the obituary writer was a co-worker that Mr Bavier had pissed off. And because the disease is tuberculosis and not tuberculous, I just made my first Wikipedia correction! ---
**Author:** ![sarah\_b](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@sarah\_b](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sarah_b)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/63 "2017-06-27T04:20:44Z")
I don’t understand why everyone believes that the character, on the “Andy Griffith Show” , called Aunt Bea thinks and strongly believe it should be spelled Bee. Her character’s first name was Beatrice and when Francis Bavier signed publicity photos she even spelled her character’s name Bea. Does anyone know why and when it may have been changed? Otherwise I am left to believe that the spelling Bee is wrong in various articles and even Francis’ grave stone. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/64 "2017-06-27T12:24:36Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Now come on, I can’t be the ONLY person to despise that Aunt Bea/Bee character completely. She was so shrill and nannying and that woman’s voice was 1000x worse than nails on a chalkboard. > > Anybody? Anybody? no! no! and…NO my god, people, have you forgotten the fried chicken and home made pie? and when she got tipsy, played the piano and sang “to to Tutsie, goodbye” or whatever that song was. LOVE Aunt Bea ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/65 "2017-06-27T13:00:42Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Considering that she and her husband were the producers of the show, I guess she could tell the director to do that. In _ **Star Trek: The REAL Story** _, Herb Solow had little but praise for her as head of Desilu in the '60s. She never interfered with any of his projects (though her new husband Gary Morton was a real PITA) and even pitched in on the set of the second \*\*\*Trek \*\*\*pilot when they fell behind schedule. Herb dropped off a copy of the script for the first pilot, telling Lucy she could suggest changes if she wanted to. He went back to her office weeks later and the script was still there where he put it, unread. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/66 "2017-06-27T13:04:13Z")
I always called her “Isn’t Bee”. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/67 "2017-06-27T14:06:42Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > In _ **Star Trek: The REAL Story** _, Herb Solow had little but praise for her as head of Desilu in the '60s. She never interfered with any of his projects (though her new husband Gary Morton was a real PITA) and even pitched in on the set of the second \*\*\*Trek \*\*\*pilot when they fell behind schedule… Bob Justman and other senior ST production people also later praised Lucy for being encouraging, giving them the money they needed, and letting them do their thing. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/68 "2017-06-27T14:21:04Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > On the Munsters they were worried that Yvonne De Carlo would be a diva because she was a legitimate movie star, but instead she was loved by the cast and crew, never putting on airs. Huh, I’d heard she was a bit of a terror, constantly trying to get away without the white stripe in her hair because she thought it made her look old and worried that everyone assumed she was doing TV because she was broke. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/69 "2017-06-27T15:34:25Z")
Did Frances B put on that tremulous voice for the Aunt Bea character? It is hard to imagine her as a successful stage actress with that voice. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/70 "2017-06-27T16:05:09Z")
> [@sarah\_b](#): > > I don’t understand why everyone believes that the character, on the “Andy Griffith Show” , called Aunt Bea thinks and strongly believe it should be spelled Bee. Her character’s first name was Beatrice and when Francis Bavier signed publicity photos she even spelled her character’s name Bea. Does anyone know why and when it may have been changed? Otherwise I am left to believe that the spelling Bee is wrong in various articles and even Francis’ grave stone. It was the official spelling in the show’s credits. The reason why they used “Bee” instead of “Bea” was because the writers decided to call her that. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/71 "2017-06-27T17:52:35Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I always called her “Isn’t Bee”. Yeah, I was thinking of how it always sounded like Andy was calling her “Ain’t Bee” myself. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/72 "2017-06-27T18:49:41Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Now come on, I can’t be the ONLY person to despise that Aunt Bea/Bee character completely. She was so shrill and nannying and that woman’s voice was 1000x worse than nails on a chalkboard. > > Anybody? Anybody? That is exactly the what they wanted in the character. She was supposed to be all those things. Actually i never found her that annoying And i’m afraid you probably are in low company there. TV audiences loved Julia Childs remember. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/73 "2017-06-27T20:58:44Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Huh, I’d heard she was a bit of a terror, constantly trying to get away without the white stripe in her hair because she thought it made her look old … Also, she kept getting stalked by that horny French skunk. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/74 "2017-06-27T23:52:28Z")
Aunt Bea was primarily a foil for misogynistic jokes. I hated storylines centered on her for that reason. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/75 "2017-06-28T02:31:08Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It was the official spelling in the show’s credits. The reason why they used “Bee” instead of “Bea” was because the writers decided to call her that. I’m confused due to your lack of antecedent. Did they use “Bee” or “Bea” in the credits? And, if the latter, when did the writers start spelling it “Bee” instead? Also, I’m assuming we all agree those would be pronounced the same way, like the stinging insect. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/76 "2017-06-28T02:44:18Z")
We had a very long thread about this sort of thing, if people want to search for it, but frankly, I don’t think we need to raise it’s desiccated corpse. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/77 "2017-06-28T02:46:29Z")
And in my Pathfinder world, there is an order of Witches in a place called the Witch Downs, where Aunt Bee is the 3rd highest level witch, very much a rumormonger and attention whore who is also secretly evil and a member of a Hag coven. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/78 "2017-06-28T12:28:52Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > And in my Pathfinder world, there is an order of Witches in a place called the Witch Downs, where Aunt Bee is the 3rd highest level witch, very much a rumormonger and attention whore who is also secretly evil and a member of a Hag coven. 😃 but can she make a good pie? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/79 "2017-06-28T14:56:43Z")
My favorite Aunt Bea episode was when for some reason, she was in charge of a couple of inmates at her house and she worked them so hard doing chores that they were terrified of being sent there again. I read somewhere that Andy and Frances had a reconciliation shortly before she died. It seems to me that in the early days of television, a lot of the theater veterans thought television was beneath them and perhaps that resentment of having to do this lesser job made them unpleasant to work with. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939/80 "2017-06-29T17:32:53Z")
Just had to add to this thread with this gem. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spIhx5m8CPk) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frances-bavier-aka-aunt-bea/634939.md?page=3)