By Lee Pfeiffer
Fox News has reported that Andy Griffith, an icon of American comedy and television, has passed away at age 86. Griffith gained fame in the 1950s with hit comedy albums based on naive hillbilly characters. Before long, he was a Broadway and TV star. In 1960, he spun off a character introduced on a Danny Thomas TV episode and starred in The Andy Griffith Show. Griffith played Sheriff Andy Taylor of the small town of Mayberry. He was surrounded by a lovable group of eccentric country characters including his bumbling deputy Barney Fife, played by Griffith's old friend Don Knotts (who won five Emmys for his performance in the role). Griffith also produced successful TV series, notably Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C, a major hit starring Jim Nabors in the role he created on The Andy Griffith Show. Griffith's series was a ratings-topper for eight years on CBS before he left the show to pursue other ventures. It was spun off as the successful series Mayberry R.F.D. Griffith tried to emulate Knotts' success in family-oriented feature films, but found the landscape had changed radically. By the time he did his first post-TV series movie, Angel in My Pocket in 1969, audiences were gravitating to the likes of Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider and The Wild Bunch. Still, Griffith worked consistently. He returned to TV periodically but didn't find a successful series until the 1980s when Matlock proved to be a smash hit that ran for many years. Griffith played a shrewd country lawyer who hid his detective skills behind a disarming and genial personality. Don Knotts occasionally guest starred on the series. Griffith also periodically reminded audiences that he could be a powerful dramatic actor. He received an Emmy nomination for the mini-series Fatal Vision, and lived to see his 1958 feature film A Face in the Crowd re-evaluated as a classic. At the time of its release, the film flopped despite being written by Budd Schulberg and directed by Elia Kazan. Griffith gave one of the most dynamic performances by a leading man during that era, playing a country singer who gains fame and fortune at the expense of his soul.
For this writer, Griffith's loss is personal. I had authored The Official Andy Griffith Show Scrapbook back in the early 1990s. My publisher said there would be no audience for the book but I convinced him he was thinking like a Madison Avenue snob. He eventually published the book and it was a major success, despite the fact that I had personally loathed it because of design problems on the finished version. (I haven't opened it again since the book came out in 1993). In researching the book, I interviewed everyone associated with the show from Don Knotts to Jim Nabors and Ron Howard, who evolved from a child actor to an Oscar-winning film director. I was told by Viacom that Griffith approved the book, but wouldn't give me an interview. One day the phone rang, and an instantly recognizable voice said, "This is Andy Griffith. I changed my mind". I had a delightful conversation with his legendary story-teller. He said he was very proud of his show's legacy, but attributed all the success to his writers and co-stars. He pointed out that people still want to know how they can visit the fictitious town of Mayberry. He said the town's mythical status in America was a tribute to the skills of a bunch of Jewish writers who barely ever left Beverly Hills! Don Knotts pointed out to me that, early in the series, Griffith felt that Knotts was funnier than he was, so he voluntarily morphed his own character into that of a straight man and allowed Knotts to get most of the laughs. Knotts said he had never witnessed such generosity from another actor.
Griffith saw the TV series that bears his name increase in popularity over the decades. Even today, there are still licensed products produced for the show and its characters are immortal. (Just this weekend I saw couple wearing T shirts bearing the likeness of Mayberry's Floyd the Barber). The iconic show's main theme song by Earl Hagen can still be heard all over in pop culture and even on the street, as fans continue to emulate the famous whistling accompaniment to the tune.
Perhaps the most significant tribute to Andy Griffith came when we was invited to the White House in 2007 to be awarded the Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. I can't get into the President's mind, but it's known that the first President Bush is a major Griffith fan and I have to think some of that rubbed off on his son. Griffith was true icon of American television and pop culture. We won't see his like again.
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