Andy Griffith has served as an inspiration for many actors who came after him. Ron Howard, who got his beginnings as an actor on The Andy Griffith Show as Opie Taylor, had previously stated that he learned how to carry himself on set from Griffith. Not yet the famed director that we know today, Howard got a behind-the-scenes look at how a television show functioned and credited Griffith with giving him that experience.

Griffith, known for his easygoing nature and Southern drawl, also provided a character inspiration for many actors who idolized Griffith's performance in entertainment like No Time For Sergeants. One of these fans was none other than Max Baer Jr. Baer is best known for his role as the kindly but dimwitted Cousin Jethro of The Beverly Hillbillies. During an interview with the Oakland Tribune, Baer revealed that to prepare for the rural role, he looked to men like Griffith for an idea of how to speak.

"Y'know, I obtained records made by Andy Griffith and Jonathan Winters, both of whom simulated characters such as mine, and I played them over and over for weeks," Baer said. "And for those weeks I deliberately abandoned my normal mode of speech and talked to everyone as Big Jethro speaks. Now it's automatic."

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Baer was delighted by his character and the potential that the Hillbillies had. "I'm real enthused about my part and the series," he said. "We worked hard and long, but it has been worth it. Big Jethro? Well, he's a fellow who can lift a ton but can't spell ton. It isn't that he's stupid, merely mixed up. And naive. A sort of male Gracie Allen, if you get my meaning. A bumbling but likable fellow. Hope you'll be watching."

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