Andy Griffith Show, The

Andy Griffith Show, The

▪ American television program
      American television comedy series that aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System (now CBS Corporation) from 1960 to 1968. During its entire run, the show rated no worse than seventh in the seasonal Nielsen ratings and held the number one spot when it ended.

      The Andy Griffith Show takes place in the fictitious Mayberry, N.C., a sleepy rural town. Named after its star, the show centres on Sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith), whose prudent and common-sense approach to life and law enforcement never fails to thwart the petty criminals who make mischief in his jurisdiction. Much of the sheriff's energy is spent protecting the townsfolk from becoming victims of their own follies. The show plays upon popular stereotypes of rural and small-town life; Mayberry is almost entirely populated by simple (sometimes simple-minded) “country” people immortalized by the likes of gas station attendant Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) and the town drunk, Otis (Hal Smith), who locks himself in jail after his weekly bender and lets himself out upon sobering up. Taylor's hapless sidekick is his excitable cousin, Deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts), whose overly earnest and misguided tactics typically exacerbate the duo's problems. Knotts excelled at the role, picking up four Emmy Awards before quitting the show in 1965 and being replaced by Jack Burns. Other frequent story lines concerned Taylor's parenting of his fishing-enthusiast son, Opie (Ron Howard), and worrying about the misadventures of his unmarried aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier).

      The Andy Griffith Show was part of a larger trend in 1960s television programming that focused on comedic and lighthearted country themes and characters. The series gave rise to two separate spin-offs, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964–69) and Mayberry, R.F.D. (1968–71). Griffith, a one-time comic monologuist who had appeared in motion pictures such as A Face in the Crowd (1957) and No Time for Sergeants (1958), later had another long stay on television as a lawyer in the title role of Matlock (1986–92, 1993–95). Among the others in the cast who had later success were Knotts, who starred in a raft of motion-picture comedies; Nabors, a singer, who headlined the Gomer Pyle spin-off and hosted a television variety show; and Howard, the star of television's Happy Days (1974–80) before directing motion pictures such as Cocoon (1985) and A Beautiful Mind (2001).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Andy Griffith Show — Infobox Television show name = The Andy Griffith Show caption = rating = TV G format = Sitcom picture format = Black and white 1960 1965, Color 1965 1968 Full screen runtime = 25 26 minutes per episode without ads location = Culver City,… …   Wikipedia

  • Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show) — Infobox character name = Andy Taylor caption = Andy Griffith first = Danny Meets Andy Griffith last = Return to Mayberry (to date) cause = gender = Male age = approx. 33 in 1960 when the series begins born = 1927? (Andy graduated Mayberry Union… …   Wikipedia

  • The Pickle Story (The Andy Griffith Show episode) — Infobox Television episode Title =The Pickle Story Series =The Andy Griffith Show Caption =Ron Howard as Opie Taylor. Season =2 Episode =11 Airdate =Monday, December 18, 1961 Production =43 Writer =Harvey Bullock Director =Bob Sweeney Guests… …   Wikipedia

  • The Christmas Story (The Andy Griffith Show) — For other uses, see The Christmas Story (disambiguation). The Christmas Story The Andy Griffith Show episode Christmas Eve in the jail …   Wikipedia

  • The New Andy Griffith Show — infobox television show name = The New Andy Griffith Show caption = format = Sitcom runtime = 30 minutes per episode creator = Aaron Ruben starring = Andy Griffith Lee Meriwether Ann Morgan Guilbert Lori Rutherford Marty McCall country = USA… …   Wikipedia

  • The Andy Griffith Show — Seriendaten Deutscher Titel: Andy Griffith Show Originaltitel: The Andy Griffith Show Produktionsland: USA Produktionsjahr(e): 1960–1968 Episodenlänge: etwa 25–26 Minuten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Andy Griffith Show — Seriendaten Deutscher Titel Andy Griffith Show Originaltitel The Andy Griffith Show …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of The Andy Griffith Show episodes — This is list of episodes from the CBS television comedy The Andy Griffith Show . The first episode aired on October 3, 1960 and the final episode aired on April 1, 1968. There were 249 episodes in all, 159 in black and white (seasons 1 5) and 90… …   Wikipedia

  • Christmas Story (1960 The Andy Griffith Show episode) — For other uses, see Christmas Story (disambiguation). Infobox Television episode Title =Christmas Story Series =The Andy Griffith Show Caption =Christmas Eve in the jail. Season =1 Episode =11 Airdate =December 19, 1960 Production =11 Writer… …   Wikipedia

  • List of The Andy Griffith Show guest stars — This is a list of guest stars on The Andy Griffith Show .Movies* Jack Nicholson played the baby s father in Opie Finds a Baby and played the defendant in Aunt Bee the Juror . * George Kennedy was a police officer in The Big House . Among his… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”