Stories

Here's how one of Ron Howard's childhood bullies became one of his best friends Howard was Opie, through and through. March 26, 2024, 10:20AM
Despite his talent for comedy, it was always Don Knotts' dream to play a serious character "I doubt that I'll ever get that chance." March 25, 2024, 9:55AM
A Florida town once made Don Knotts an honorary deputy While making an appearance to promote his film, Knotts was given the award of a lifetime. March 22, 2024, 1:48PM
The real reason why Don Knotts wasn't in the pilot episode of The Andy Griffith Show Simply put, there wasn't a Barney, yet. March 19, 2024, 11:07AM
Andy Griffith once said that the best thing that he and Don Knotts did together was nothing at all The actors were simple men — and it made them famous. March 18, 2024, 10:25AM
Don Knotts was always willing to play Barney Fife again, if Andy Griffith asked Knotts couldn't say no to Griffith. March 18, 2024, 9:54AM
Betty Lynn revealed she had ''a little crush'' on Andy Griffith No wonder Barney was always the jealous type. March 14, 2024, 1:30PM
Jim Nabors got a letter from Ron Howard more than 50 years after they met It seems Gomer and Opie kept in touch! March 12, 2024, 11:10AM
Here's how The Andy Griffith Show shaped Matlock Character-based comedy was the golden rule. March 8, 2024, 10:28AM
Don Knotts revealed why he actually preferred being the second banana to a television star Knotts explained why there was some value in being the sidekick. March 6, 2024, 1:55PM
Don Knotts dated a star from Little House on the Prairie. Here's why it didn't work out Can you guess which actress it was? March 6, 2024, 9:27AM
Andy Griffith and Johnny Cash starred in a TV movie with an infamous real-life lawyer James Neal was involved in some of the biggest trials of the '80s March 5, 2024, 10:03AM
''The Andy Griffith Show'' theme song's secret weapon was its simplicity The tune we love to whistle. March 5, 2024, 9:36AM
Andy Griffith didn't like watching the first season of The Andy Griffith Show, and changed because of Howard McNear The real reason Andy Taylor changed between Season One and Season Two March 5, 2024, 9:34AM
Ron Howard did an Andy Griffith impression after a very successful first date with his now-wife They say every man will become his father, and for Opie, it was no different. February 29, 2024, 1:11PM
A young Ron Howard came up with a ''Flintstones'' episode while on a car ride with his father As if Howard wasn't already successful enough. February 23, 2024, 4:38PM
Don Knotts' financial feud with Andy Griffith: The real reason Barney left Mayberry? Why did Knotts leave for Hollywood? February 22, 2024, 10:30AM
Ron Howard and Betty Lynn cried when Don Knotts left Mayberry Tears flowed when the actor left the show. February 22, 2024, 8:54AM
Ron Howard had as normal an upbringing as possible The young actor had a great support system around him. February 20, 2024, 10:35AM
Ron Howard loved being a child actor, but he also wouldn't recommend it to anyone else Child acting is not for the faint of heart. February 16, 2024, 11:42AM
Frances Bavier was ''adopted'' by her Andy Griffith Show family Bavier's chosen family loved her just as much as they loved Aunt Bee. February 15, 2024, 3:40PM
The first movie Ron Howard directed featured an impressive record Howard impressed everyone with his feature directorial debut. February 15, 2024, 12:42PM
About that time Don Knotts was ''Man of the Year'' at a college fraternity We already knew Don Knotts was the man, but his former frat gave him the title of "Man of the Year." February 14, 2024, 3:05PM
Andy Griffith performed on stage for the first time because he was the victim of a practical joke It was the actor's first taste of fame — even if it was only in front of his classmates. February 14, 2024, 9:20AM
Andy Griffith coached his cast to speak with a North Carolina accent Some of the actors were quicker to pick up on the drawl than others. February 14, 2024, 9:09AM
Don Knotts admitted that he preferred ''The Andy Griffith Show'' to ''Three's Company'' Knotts would take Barney Fife over anyone, any day. February 13, 2024, 3:38PM
Andy Griffith went home to brush up on his accent whenever he had the chance Griffith had to go down home to brush up on his accent. February 12, 2024, 1:23PM
Andy Griffith took the blame for the failure of his series ''Headmaster'' Audiences, and Griffith himself, weren't ready for the radical departure. February 9, 2024, 1:00PM
Ron Howard on ''The Andy Griffith Show'': ''For Andy, the show was never the same after Don left'' Griffith was losing a friend and a partner in comedy. February 6, 2024, 9:21AM
Andy Griffith was never dissatisfied with his role as the ''straight man'' of ''The Andy Griffith Show'' The actor loved his place in The Andy Griffith Show. February 5, 2024, 3:50PM
Ron Howard faced kidnapping threats for his children The FBI had to get involved during the security threat. February 5, 2024, 3:16PM
Andy Griffith used to hate it when people laughed at him Though people used to poke fun, Griffith was able to get the last laugh. February 5, 2024, 2:39PM
Don Knotts asked Tina Louise of ''Gilligan's Island'' out once a week for an entire year The Andy Griffith Show/Gilligan's Island crossover we never knew we needed. January 29, 2024, 3:39PM
Bernard Fox wanted Malcolm Merriweather to replace Barney Fife The actor who played Andy's English valet once shared his dream of what happened after Malcolm left Mayberry. January 29, 2024, 2:35PM
Ken Berry reveals what it was like to replace Andy Griffith Being the big cheese in Mayberry was a tall order. January 29, 2024, 9:26AM
10 Andy Griffith Show facts to liven up a party You'll be a smash with these 10 fascinating facts! January 26, 2024, 2:03PM
How did child star Ron Howard turn out so... normal? Opie grew up to be... fairly balanced! January 25, 2024, 11:50AM
Ron Howard moved out of LA after someone gave a script to his preschooler There are a lot of ways to network, but maybe don't pitch your script to a director's four-year-old. January 23, 2024, 1:50PM
Being on The Andy Griffith Show inspired Aneta Corsaut to go back to school Playing a teacher made Corsaut fall in love with education. January 22, 2024, 1:04PM
George Lindsey said he was Hollywood's favorite second choice Lindsey lost out on a role to Nabors, but still made it to Mayberry anyway. January 19, 2024, 3:13PM
Betty Lynn was told Thelma Lou was replaceable Don Knotts said that they wouldn't have let her go, but Betty Lynn wasn't so sure. January 17, 2024, 11:16AM
Ron Howard explained why he decided to become a director Howard was always interested in the production end of filmmaking, even during his time as Opie Taylor. January 16, 2024, 9:54AM
Howard Sprague came to Mayberry the hard way Jack Dodson went through a lot for the gig. January 10, 2024, 10:32AM
Don Knotts once embarrassed his daughter at college by driving to campus in a Mayberry squad car Imagine: A cop crashes your college party, but that cop is Barney Fife. January 8, 2024, 2:23PM
A 2006 tribute to Don Knotts ended in controversy A statue built to commemorate Barney Fife resulted in a PR disaster. January 5, 2024, 10:40AM
Betty Lynn remembered her first time playing Thelma Lou with Don Knotts Knotts would read Lynn his poetry. January 3, 2024, 4:18PM
According to Andy Griffith, he was not like Andy Taylor "Don't pay any attention to that, that is a persona," said Griffith. January 3, 2024, 3:57PM
Don Knotts would make Andy Griffith laugh so hard he'd punch walls Knotts had Griffith in stitches. January 3, 2024, 2:36PM
Don Knotts would write poetry in his time away from The Andy Griffith Show Knotts was a silly comedian who wrote some serious poetry after his time in Mayberry. January 2, 2024, 3:14PM
Andy Griffith liked his characters Southern The North Carolina native had a reputation for playing characters from The South. December 29, 2023, 3:48PM
This 1975 TV movie was a Howard family affair A Mark Twain adaptation saw the whole family together. December 28, 2023, 3:20PM
Here’s what made The Andy Griffith Show so appealing – from the residents of Mayberry themselves The actors who played the town’s residents became as attached to the series as the viewers. December 28, 2023, 2:46PM
Andy Griffith was a proud country boy who defended his roots You can call Andy Griffith many things: a genius, a great actor or Mayberry's finest. Just don't call him a "hillbilly." December 27, 2023, 3:11PM
Andy Griffith grew free trees for Boy Scouts on a 50-acre Christmas tree farm In the Seventies, Griffith became a Santa of sorts to kids without Christmas trees. December 22, 2023, 1:29PM
The real-life Mayberry shared some great Andy Griffith memories Mount Airy, NC, has great stories about the young actor-to-be. December 11, 2023, 9:40AM
Jim Nabors got booed his first time on a professional stage Luckily, the rest of the crowd stood up for him. December 6, 2023, 11:52AM
Don Knotts said TV was ''like being in a big tomb'' Being deputy of Mayberry was no easy feat! December 6, 2023, 11:18AM
Ring in the holidays with the Andy Griffith Christmas album! Ange wishes us all a Merry Christmas with several holiday classics. December 4, 2023, 3:59PM
In real life, Otis Campbell was more of a social drinker The Mayberry town drunk speaks on his drinking habits! December 4, 2023, 2:37PM
Goober, Andy and Howard's wild night out The men of Mayberry liked a good time. November 30, 2023, 12:45PM
George Lindsey: Andy Griffith ''literally controlled every aspect of the show'' Griffith was in charge and did not intend to have his authority questioned. November 30, 2023, 12:06PM
Andy Griffith said God led him away from the ministry The Andy Griffith Show might've been part of some grander plan! November 29, 2023, 2:30PM
Andy Griffith ''became somebody'' when playing the trombone One day, a slide trombone changed it all. November 29, 2023, 11:49AM
Ron Howard had this unusual way of getting feedback when making ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' Ron Howard wanted input from everyone — even the accountants. November 28, 2023, 12:05PM
Andy Griffith had this to say about continuing The Andy Griffith Show without Don Knotts It's hard to picture The Andy Griffith Show without Barney Fife. November 20, 2023, 11:40AM
Here's how Don Knotts dealt with critics NBC executives wanted to ruin The Don Knotts Show. November 17, 2023, 3:23PM
Andy Griffith thought Matlock might be too similar to Perry Mason At first, Griffith had his reservations. November 16, 2023, 3:16PM
Ron Howard on directing Hollywood legend Bette Davis Ms. Davis was not very nice! November 10, 2023, 11:48AM
Ron Howard: Fueled by Risk He got some great advice from Henry Fonda. November 10, 2023, 10:52AM
Andy Griffith worked hard to make Mayberry feel like a real Southern town Griffith wanted Mayberry to feel true. November 9, 2023, 10:39AM
Don Knotts always thought of Barney as a kid "You can always look into the faces of kids and see what they're thinking." November 8, 2023, 4:14PM
Frances Bavier became more like Aunt Bee as she got older Even after she left television, Bavier remained famous. November 7, 2023, 10:07AM
Inside Buddy Ebsen and Ron Howard's professional relationship The pair met during The Andy Griffith Show and never looked back. October 30, 2023, 4:25PM
Ron Howard's wife had never seen The Andy Griffith Show when they started going out Cheryl met Ron Howard in high school but had never had the pleasure of meeting Opie Taylor. October 27, 2023, 11:51AM
Here's what Ron Howard learned on the set of ''Andy Griffith Show'' Andy Griffith's motto was "I don't want the public to laugh at us; I want them to laugh with us." October 27, 2023, 9:56AM
Ron Howard takes child actors seriously Howard does what he can to level with kids on his sets. October 26, 2023, 3:54PM
Here's what critics wrote about the Andy Griffith Show's first episode Audiences loved it, but what about the experts? October 25, 2023, 10:46AM
After Don Knotts left ''The Andy Griffith Show,'' Betty Lynn was offered another storyline — but she wouldn't take it After Knotts left the show, Lynn decided it was time to leave Mayberry. October 24, 2023, 3:34PM
Do you remember when Don Knotts guest-starred on Matlock? From Mayberry to Matlock, Knotts could do it all. October 23, 2023, 2:51PM
Don Knotts understood what made The Andy Griffith Show special Mayberry just wasn't like other TV towns. October 23, 2023, 11:20AM
The story of the Don Knotts Film Festival Which Knotts movies would you pick to show? October 23, 2023, 10:50AM
Frances Bavier's belongings were auctioned off for TV charity after her death Aunt Bee had a lot of cat stuff that went to a good cause! October 19, 2023, 2:51PM
Andy Griffith preferred to develop his shows piece by piece Andy Griffith took his projects step by step. October 19, 2023, 12:07PM
Do you remember Ron Howard's directorial debut? Opie directed a script he co-wrote with his father. October 16, 2023, 11:18AM
Don Knotts didn't want anyone thinking Barney Fife was ''nervous'' Barney Fife was no "nervous man." October 16, 2023, 10:15AM
The final day of filming on The Andy Griffith Show The last episode filmed was not the last episode that aired! October 12, 2023, 2:16PM
Andy Griffith once said that Andy Taylor was the best parts of him Andy Taylor was made of good stuff. October 11, 2023, 9:03AM
Andy Griffith had trouble living up to the high standards of Andy Taylor Griffith himself on his shortcomings as a husband. October 4, 2023, 11:18AM
Jim Nabors' comedy chops made him the envy of his co-stars Gomer was so funny that Andy and Don were secretly jealous October 4, 2023, 11:11AM