Two-part question:
a) I was just noticing that the “Andy Griffith Show” episodes on TV Land as of late are missing Don Knotts as his Deputy. When did Andy get a side-kick? Maybe these are later episodes and Don Knotts (and Otis) quit the show? Anyone know the history? (Yes, Otis is missing, too!)
b) Was “Mayberry RFD” a spin-off, or the prequel to the “Andy Griffith Show”?
Thanks
a. Don Knotts was in the original cast of the show. When he left, they really didn’t replace him. According to the IMDB, Knotts left in 1965 and Otis left in the final season.
b. A spin-off.
Really? I remember seeing some goofy guy in the color versions as Andy’s deputy. I remember because I couldn’t stand that man. The character’s name, if I recall correctly, was Harold or Howard. Something with an H.
Ack! I called hubby and he said the guy’s name was Warren.
Weren’t the characters Andy and Barney related? I seem to recall that they were second cousins or something like that.
Yes, Captain, they’re cousins of some sort.
Not only did Andy “jump the shark” with this guy, he went back and mutilated it and fed it to other sharks.
Jack Burns, best known as Avery Schreiber’s comedy partner for many years. He was also one of the people who came rushing on-stage when Andy Kaufman caused the riot on the old “Fridays” set. Burns, who I think was in on it, was trying to calm the waters, saying something like “It’s just a trick.” (Don’t remember the exact words.)
Basically if it’s in color, there’s no Barney.
Don Knotts’ last season was also the last season they filmed in B&W.
After a while, even Andy left. Then it became the Aunt Bea, Goober, Opie, Howard Sprague and F-Troop-Guy Show (aka Mayberry RFD).
Happy
Knotts made a couple of return appearances as Barney Fife after leaving the show, and those are two of the few color versions of “Andy Griffith” that I’ll watch. It just wasn’t the same after Barney left.
Why did Don Knotts leave the show, by the way?
Don Knotts left to make movies, if I recall correctly.
Isn’t that when he started his string of Disney flicks? (The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Reluctant Astronaut, etc.)
Yup. I remember seeing an hour-long documentary on “The Andy Griffith Show” several months back. Knotts was being told he could make a mint in the movies. He made the jump, but fell short – his movie career never really took off. He and Griffith were very close, but I can’t remember if Griffith supported him going to the movies or tried to tell him it was a bad idea.
He also had a short-lived variety program. I remember one episode where he was leading a singing group singing “Moonlight Bay.”
He kept stopping the song to go over and kiss one of the pretty singers, after which he would turn around to the camera looking to see if he had been “caught.”
As I said, “short-lived.”
Ah, Mayberry. “The Andy Griffith Show” is the Rembrandt of sitcoms.