The Mayberry gang had close ties on and off screen
The Andy Griffith Show ran from 1960 to 1968 on CBS and has never been off the screen in sixty-five years. This is a testament to how many people enjoy Mayberry life. Local affiliates, Retro channels, and streaming networks carry the programs that fans continue to enjoy so you can watch them anytime. So many long-time fans say they enjoy their favorite episodes repeatedly, even though they have seen them hundreds of times. If you believe you know everything there is to know about Mayberry trivia, there is always something more. Barney Fife (Don Knotts) was the Deputy to Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), and the two were good friends. He was always giving wisdom to Opie Taylor (Ron Howard)and the other boys even when his words did not work out. MeTV recently announced an unknown revelation about the beloved series and two of the stars.
Opie and Barney were cousins
Howard, who portrayed Opie, the son of Sheriff Andy Taylor, said he recently found out that he and Don Knotts, who played Deputy Barney Fife, were distant cousins. He seemed surprised and pleased at this revelation. He also said the camaraderie fans saw onscreen was just as real off-screen, and they all loved each other. Not only were Knotts and Howard related, but their Andy Griffith characters were cousins as well. Ron Howard did not say whether Don Knotts was related to him on his mother’s or father’s side of the family. Nor did he state they were second, third, or fourth cousins which brings the onscreen connection to mind.
Cousin Andy and Cousin Virgil
The pilot for The Andy Griffith Show premiered on the Danny Thomas Show, in 1960 but Knotts was not on it. He did appear in the first official episode, where he referred to Taylor as “Cousin Andy.” At least once during the early part of season one, Barney mentioned that he and Andy were cousins. Neither of them said how they were related, but Barney had at least one more cousin to appear in an episode of the show titled Cousin Virgil. (Michael Pollard), who starred in Bonnie and Clyde with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunnaway, portrayed Virgil. It was not mentioned that he was also Andy’s cousin, so he must have been on the other side of the family tree.
The Mayberry dynamic
In later years, Andy and Barney were portrayed as great friends and their kinship was not mentioned again. Jim Neighbors (Gomer Pyle) would often refer to his “Cousin Goober Pyle (George Lindsey) The only drama reported from the show was that Francis Bavier did not like her character Aunt Bee Taylor because the actress was trained in the theater. Reportedly, Bavier and Griffith also would but heads but you only saw love on the screen. Knotts and Griffith got along so well that the two worked togetherin later years on Matlock.
A family affair
Longtime fans of The Andy Griffith Show know that the Howard family was prominent on and off screen. Ron Howard’s father, actor Rance Howard, worked behind the scenes on the show. He coached his son in learning his lines because at six years old young Ronnie could not read. His brother Clint Howard portrayed Leon. This was the kid wearing the cowboy hat who offered Barny his peanut butter and jelly sandwich after he shut the jail cell door and locked him in. Leon offered Barny his sandwich when Fife was undercover as a mannequin in Weaver’s department store. In later years, Clint appeared in many of his brother’s films including Splash and Ap-polo 13. He also starred as Mark in the television series Gentle Ben. Last year, had a role on the CBS soap The Young and the Restless. Rance Howard appeared in China Town, The Long Hot Summer, A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man among other credits. Fans of The Andy Griffith Show enjoy learning something news about Mayberry and consider Barney, Opie, Andy, the Howard family and the other cast members near and dear to their hearts.
