- The Andy Griffith Show took place in rural North Carolina, but was actually filmed at Desilu Studios in Burbank California. As most nostalgic TV aficionados know, Desilu was the brainchild of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz who co-starred on the hit show I Love Lucy
2. The Andy Griffith Show was not an altogether original concept. It was in fact a spinoff of The Danny Thomas Show
3. Andy Griffith and Don Knotts were best friends in life outside the TV Show. Andy was with Don during his finally moments before passing away on February 24th, 2006
4. The Andy Griffith Show did not wane in popularity and get canceled like many sitcoms did. They went out at the top of their game and because of this, reruns have never become stale and/or unpopular
5. The fictional town of Mayberry was based on Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina. To this day, many traveler’s visit Mount Airy’s quaint bed and breakfast spots to take in some of that wonderful nostalgia
6. The character of Barney Fife was created as an incidental figure and was not suppose to last out the first season. The producers were so impressed with the acting of Don Knotts that they wrote him in as a permanent fixture. The rest is history
7. The original theme song for the show had lyrics and was sung by Everett Sloane. The producers later decided that the whistling was more “hometown”
8. Of the show’s 250 episodes, 160 were in black and white, while 90 were in color
9. Producers originally wanted Andy’s character to resemble the slow-witted character Will Stockdale, who Griffith portrayed in the movie “No Time For Sergeants” but quickly realized that wouldn’t work. The Andy Griffith Show needed a more composed figure in order to balance out the other nutty cast members
10. Not only did Andy Griffith continue acting in many fabulous roles, his co-stars Don Knotts and Ron Howard didn’t do so bad as well. Who can forget Don as the wacky Mr Furley on the hit sitcom Three’s Company and of course Ron Howard went on to star as Richie Cunningham in the hit show Happy Days and also scooped up an Oscar for his movie “A Beautiful Mind“
