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Ron Howard on The Andy Griffith Show's improvised moments
Howard reveals the candid nature of some of our favorite scenes.
Who knows what you might come up with in the spur of the moment? While preparation doubtlessly yields great results, on-the-spot decision-making can often reveal more emotional depth. The truth comes out in our impulses, and that's why improvisation can be so funny. Sometimes, those off-the-cuff remarks beat anything we might've labored over.
The Andy Griffith Show had some of the best writing in television history. Performers on the show like Don Knotts and Jim Nabors deserve a ton of credit for what they brought to the screen. As hilarious as they were, they were made even funnier by the scripts that bolstered each episode. The screenwriting made Mayberry feel real, but, in a recent interview with Conan O'Brien, Ron Howard pointed towards something else that brought the characters to life.
O'Brien prompted Howard by noting the quiet moments often shared by Andy and Barney. The talk show/podcast host pointed out how The Andy Griffith Show differed from the rest of television in allowing these small, character-driven scenes— usually on a porch or in the squad car. These moments may not have moved any story forward, but they made Andy and Barney seem more like real people.
Howard revealed that Andy Griffith and Don Knotts typically improvised these moments.
"Those bits were usually when the shows were short," the actor-turned-director told Conan.
"We would shoot Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, single camera. Read on Thursdays and rehearse on Fridays. Several times, these scenes, the kinds that you're citing— usually between Don and Andy— I remember vividly, Aaron Ruben our showrunner coming down and talking to Andy. And Andy— he always called Don 'Jesse'— he'd say, 'Jesse, we're short! Come on!'"
While Griffith and Knotts surely could've turned to their masterful screenwriters to craft a scene, their confidence as performers allowed them to huddle up before improvising an entire conversation, in-character.
"And the very last thing at the end of the Wednesday night shoot would be the two of them, and they'd talk about it a little bit, and they'd end up doing one of these scenes," said Howard.
The next time you watch an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, see if you can spot what was made up on the spot!
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But WHY did Andy call Don "Jesse?'"
