We'd all be lucky to have a father like Andy Griffith, so it's only natural for some avid viewers of The Andy Griffith Show to want to turn that dream into a reality. In an interview with The Charlotte Observer, Andy Griffith addressed the longstanding rumor that the character of Sheriff Andy Taylor was actually based on a very real man named Carl Lee Griffith, Andy Griffith's father.

The theory certainly seems at first to hold water. In many interviews, Griffith mentioned that much of Mayberry is based on his own experience growing up in the rural south of North Carolina.

However, in the interview Griffith revealed that he was more involved in the rewriting process of television shows rather than the initial creation.

"I'm a rewrite person," he said. "I don't have the skill to come up with an original story. I wish I did. But it's a screw that was left out of my mind. But I am a good rewrite person. I know when it's good, and I know when it's bad. I don't always necessarily know how to fix it, but I always work on it."

See More

The Andy Griffith ShowDon Knotts

Even as Don Knotts was leaving The Andy Griffith Show, he was talking about starring in a new series with Andy Griffith

Griffith's contributions during the rewriting process on The Andy Griffith Show helped Mayberry feel like a real Southern town. However, Griffith maintained that despite his personal touch on the series, the character of Andy Taylor was not solely modeled after his father.

"I used my father all the time," he said. "I still do. Because I was so fond of him, found him so attractive. Any actor who plays a part will take from anybody that he knows. Of course, I've used my father. But I didn't pattern Andy Taylor after anybody."

Watch The Andy Griffith Show on MeTV!

Weeknights at 8 & 8:30, Sundays at 12 & 6 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

 Add to Favorites  Remind Me