Andy Griffith 1926-2012

So sorry to hear of the passing of Andy Griffith. I never worked with him, only met him once. It was at a memorial service for one of his writers.  Just the fact that would attend says a lot.

Andy was an amazing performer. He could be scary evil as in FACE IN THE CROWD, or your cuddly uncle. His likability quotient was off the charts. And as Sheriff Andy Taylor he represented the best of what America once was -- trustworthy, kind, homespun, humble, and (here's a blast from the past) used common sense.

Oh, and his show was funny.

I find it interesting that in this day and age of edgy comedy, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW still airs like 18 times a day and gets good ratings. There still is a place for warm gentle humor set in small town America with characters who had a genuine affection for each other -- a place free of cynicism and vagina jokes.

Ironic that this comes a day after my Cosby post.  Like Bill Cosby, Andy Griffith involved himself in all the show's scripts.  But unlike Cosby, he treated his writers with great respect and they stayed with him for years.

Younger readers might just know Andy as the old country lawyer, MATLOCK. The hair was white but the humanity, and savvy was still there. I hear all those über smart Aaron Sorkin characters talk and think, I bet Matlock could outsmart 'em.

Much older readers remember Andy from his bumpkin Air Force private in NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS. If you haven't seen it, rent it. Imagine Woody Boyd from CHEERS only ten times funnier.  (And the film features a cameo by a young struggling actor named Don Knotts.)

I wonder if anyone remembers his stand-up act. That's right, Andy Griffith was originally a comedian (and also a musician). His routine of describing a football game although he had no idea what was going on remains as hilarious today as it did fifty years ago. I was a weird kid and wanted to see top flight comedians. Andy was one I made a point of seeing. And it wasn't because I was just a sucker for North Carolina humor.  I just marveled at his timing.

And if none of this sounds familiar, they mimicked his voice for Huckleberry Hound. 

For years Andy lived in Toluca Lake in the San Fernando Valley in a nondescript house on a corner. Just one of the neighbors. A friend who lives in Toluca Lake said one Christmas Eve he heard carolers and wandered outside to see. There they were on a flatbed truck going through the neighborhood.. Led by Andy Griffith. Would you expect any less?

If there was a Mayberry they would surely have a 4th of July parade today. Even as everyone fought back tears. Because a celebration of America is a celebration of Andy, and that's worth a parade, a picnic, and fireworks... as long as Barney isn't lighting them.