Mayberry R.F.D.
Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAY : Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D., (a postal abbreviation for Rural Free Delivery) was a spinoff, or perhaps more accurately a direct continuation of The Andy Griffith Show under a new title. When Andy Griffith decided to leave his show, most of the supporting characters continued on the new show. It first aired on the CBS network in 1968 and lasted until 1971.
CBS wished to profit from the sensational popularity of The Andy Griffith Show, which ended its eight-season run in the #1 spot in 1968. The new premise kept the familiar characters of Goober, Clara, Emmett, Howard and Aunt Bee (alas, no Otis). Aunt Bee Taylor (played by Frances Bavier) remained in the small town of Mayberry, serving yet another widower, Sam Jones, whose character was introduced during the 1967-68 season of The Andy Griffith Show easing the transition. Sam, played by Ken Berry, was elected Town Council chief by beating fix-it/ handyman Emmett Clark in a 1968 AGS election. After Griffith's character Andy Taylor married schoolteacher Helen Crump, Aunt Bee became housekeeper to farmer Sam and son Mike (Buddy Foster), who lived in the outskirts of Mayberry. Actress Arlene Golonka played Sam's love interest, bakery clerk Millie Swanson. A recurring black character named Ralph lived with a son next to the Jones farm. Griffith appears as Andy Taylor in several first-season episodes (his wedding, sponsoring parolees as Sam's farmhands; his second-born's christening, and a youth-day episode), after which it is established that he has left Mayberry.
In October 1970, the end of an era seemed near when Sam's cousin Alice Cooper (Alice Ghostley) took Aunt Bee's place- while the warm-hearted matriarch (who logged more Mayberry years than any other character) left the picturesque town. (Horror-rocker Alice Cooper said in 1973 that he took the Ghostley character's name as a sort-of inside joke). The series was enormously popular, having reached the top four in its first two years. Despite the loss of Aunt Bee, a producer, and some top writers (Danny Bonaduce's dad Joseph, was a Griffith/RFD writer), Mayberry RFD ranked an honorable 15th (out of 47) in its last season. The series was still strong enough for renewal. In 1971, CBS wished to project a hip/progressive image, and subsequently cancelled all of its rural-themed programming, including Mayberry R.F.D., Green Acres, and The Beverly Hillbillies.
CBS had earlier cancelled Hee Haw that January, which went on to an additional 22 1/2 years in first-run syndication. On Hee Haw, George Lindsay played Goober in one minute Vaudville-like skits for nearly 20 years (possibly the only character to span three series. Lindsay remains in Tennessee, where Hee Haw was taped). Ken Berry later went on to a seven-year run as Vint, the dim-witted son on Mama's Family.
In 1989, Frances Bavier, the New York actress who played Aunt Bee, died in a quiet North Carolina community which she had adopted as home. In 1997, Lucas "Buddy" Foster (Mike Jones) wrote a biography of his kid sister Jodie, which was critically accepted - though Jodie condemned it and Buddy on such places as CNN's "Larry King Live".
Andy Griffith, mostly retired, lives in North Carolina's Mt. Airy, the supposed model for the fictional southern town. It is also the site of an "Andy & Opie at the fishin' hole" statue, presented by TV Land in 2004.
See also
External link
- [Behind the Scenes of the Real Mayberry] A behind the scenes look at The Andy Griffith Show and the real Mayberry. Includes filming locations, the stars made on the show, and Mayberry trivia.
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