RIP - Andy Griffith

[Brazoo]

It's weird, as iconic as he is to me I don't think I've ever watched an entire episode of one of his shows.

He's fantastic in Elia Kazan's "A Face In The Crowd" (1957)

Ebert just posted this on his blog - charming as hell, and the illustrations are great:

"Andy Griffith's breakthrough 1953 recording. I memorized this in grade school and would recite it at the least provocation. The illustrations are by George Woodbridge, a Mad Magazine artist."

[Thor]

I just heard. It's odd I was thinking of Andy a few weeks ago. RIP.

[GalacticaABC]

RIP Andy

[kingdom warrior]

Icon r.i.p

[Meule]

I only knew him from Matlock, loved that show;
RIP Andy

[thunderbolt]

Thanks for all the good times, RIP Andy.

[Toyman_Chris]

Sad to know he's gone. He was a tremendous talent!

[cactus725]

Very sad and a great loss...kinda funny, as much as they were in my living room as a child and as an adult kinda seems like I lost a family member. Mayberry and it's crazy citizens was and will continue to be a place I will go to get away from the hectic day to day. Best show on TV ever! Ole Andy will be missed!!

[HardyGirl]

*sniff* RIP Andy. Thanks for being a part of my childhood. Say hey to Goober, Barney, and the rest of the Mayberry bunch who have gone to the Great Beyond. You will be missed.

[Goblin19]

This is a sad one. I even love Matlock.

[MegoMark71]

Living here in North Carolina it seems like the entire state has it's heads hanging low today. He was one of the greatest North Carolinians ever and was a huge advocate for North Carolina. R.I.P Andy.

[phil]

Rest In Peace. Andy Griffith is outstanding in the film "A Face In The Crowd". If you are a fan of his it is highly reccomeded. His comedy monologues are still hilarious.
Thank You for all the entertainment Andy!

[warlock664]

Very saddened to hear this; The Andy Griffith Show is easily my favorite television show of all time. It was brilliant, never relying on one-liners to get cheap laughs like so many shows these days. They told stories in a humorous way with a cast of characters that will never be surpassed. I often credit the show for getting me through college: I could always count on that half-hour in Mayberry every evening on TBS to take me away from the pressures of a rigorous school schedule, even for just a little while.
Some of my favorite episodes:

-The Loaded Goat
"Somewhere wandering loose around Mayberry is ... a loaded goat." Barney's harmonica playing leads a dynamite-filled billy goat out of Mayberry!

-The Merchant of Mayberry
Sterling Holloway guests as door-to-door salesman Bert Miller, and Andy and Barney have some fun with local merchant Ben Weaver.

-The Cow Thief
One part in particular always puts a lump in my throat, and perfectly sums up the close friendship between Andy and Barney

-Convicts At Large
Barney and Floyd are taken captive by three escaped female convicts; Floyd is hilarious as he exhibits "Stockholm Syndrome" regarding his captive status.

-Aunt Bee, The Warden
Otis has to serve out his sentence at Andy's house ("The Rock"!) when the jail house is full.

-The Pickle Story
Andy and Barney try to save Aunt Bee's feelings by replacing her "Kerosene Cucumbers" with store-bought pickles, then have to scramble when she decides to enter them in a contest.

[YoungOnce]

Those are all great picks Warlock. I have to say that TAGS was my all-time favorite show. The writers were brilliant in their ability to get a sincere laugh and then in a short while, they could bring a tear to your eye. Stellar cast that brought those characters to life.

A few years ago, we finally figured out why that show's comedy was so different from other sit-coms. In most sit-coms, the humor it seems like is all about one character getting a laugh over on another and then that character retorting with something smart right back, and this goes on and on. Trading insults and barbs and clever inuendos and getting something over on the next person. For a lack of a better term, it's a little "mean-spirited". But on TAGS, the humor was almost always derived from a plot where the main character... Andy... was always trying to protect somebody's feelings. (Otis, Floyd, Aunt Bee, Goober, Gomer, Howard, Opie... and especially Barney) It was hilarious as a sit-com, but its sense of humor is based somewhere completely different than lmost all others. I think that's why it has endured.

The characters were very real and likable and you felt like they really did live together in that little town. Think of Andy trying to make Otis look good (let him pretend to be a deputy) when his brother came to visit. Or when Floyd pretended to be a rich man in a big house and Andy pretended to be his son to help Floyd save face. Or Aunt Bee falling for a con artist, or Barney and the cave rescue... all about preserving the feelings of the people in his life.

My favorite episode is "Man in a Hurry". It has to be the quintessential Mayberry episode. Check it out. Also the Opie-centric bird episode... wow... I'll quit before I get going. I can think of quite a few more now.

RIP Andy... you made us all want to live in Mayberry.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Don't forget the classic episode about the man who jingled and walked in the trees!

Chris