Aunt Bee the villain? Frances Bavier really wanted to play a bad person

Can you picture that?

CBS Television Distribution

Lots of actors deal with the negative repercussions of their public perception. Success can be difficult for anyone, especially for those in the limelight. We all have our preconceived notions about the folks we see on TV. When they play the same roles for years, we attach a lot of meaning to that role and associate the actor with the character they play. 

While some actors break the cycle by playing "against type," that's just not possible for others. There are people on TV that we invite into our homes. They become almost family members as we follow their lives for multiple seasons. We don't want our Aunt to be suddenly a nefarious type.

But just because we might not want that change, that doesn't mean the actors are comfortable just treading water for the rest of their careers. Frances Bavier, Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show, struggled to buck expectations after playing such an iconic, memorable character.

“Once in a while, I get a hankering to play a really bad woman," Bavier told The Charlotte News.

"Once a few years ago I was really vicious in a Lone Ranger episode, but so many people wrote in outrage at what I was doing, I guess it was a mistake."

The episode Bavier refers to, "Sawtelle Saga," aired in 1955, before The Andy Griffith Show even premiered. However, audiences were already so acclimated to seeing Frances Bavier in a particular way that the episode caused some controversy. There was a vocal crowd who felt uncomfortable seeing her as a baddie.

Luckily, despite the disappointments of not having a huge breadth of archetypes to embody, Bavier was able to make peace with her lot in life and what audiences were willing to accept of her. 

"Sometimes it gets me down to think I’ve lost my own identity and my identity as an actress. But other times I get a lift when I realize that I’m really doing quite well.”

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14 Comments

ElizabethBoop 14 days ago
Bavier was in a first-season episode of 77 Sunset Strip as a little old lady who took to shoplifting to make her life more interesting. Technically this made her a criminal although nobody pressed charges because her family owned the stores she stole from, and the show's regulars only got involved because a bunch of actual crooks kidnapped her to lead their gang, mistaking her for an actual boss.

(The episode originally aired the weekend I was born and my mother said she didn't want to go to the hospital and miss her favorite show, which is the main reason I'm familiar with it.)
Was that the episode where Kookie refers to used cars as "tired iron"?
tootsieg 15 days ago
The Lone Ranger episode was a good episode. Her character fooled everyone.
Muleskinner 16 days ago
She was really evil in that Lone Ranger episode. She trapped the Ranger and Tonto in a barn and then set fire to it. Aunt Bee would never do that.
nerstrand 17 days ago
Love that Lone Ranger episode 😂. By the way, the sheriff's name is sheriff Taylor in that episode!!
Coldnorth 17 days ago
I can picture Aunt Bee as the owner of a brothel in the old westerns
Tresix Coldnorth 15 days ago
Like in that “SNL” skit when Ron Howard hosted.
sagafrat69 17 days ago
That's what I call being an actor. Not wanting to stay in your comfort zone and actually wanting to act. Francis Bavier did not get on so well with Griffith during filming but eventually made peace with their differences. She reminds us that the characters you see on the screen are not necessarily the people they are off screen. Unfortunately viewers forget that point and that's why actors get typecast. Not good.
Runeshaper 17 days ago
Big Bag Aunt Bee! LOL Can't blame her for wanting to switch things up a bit.
Bapa1 17 days ago
I remember that Lone Ranger episode, she tried to burn The Lone Ranger and Tonto alive.
Rick Bapa1 17 days ago
That sounds amazing!
Bob Bapa1 17 days ago
Well, at least she didn't try to pickle them.
Coldnorth Bob 17 days ago
She used the pickles as the fire starter for a bonfire and for grilling on a Webber grill
Bapa1 15 days ago
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