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Authenticity is Everything
Actors and Actresses That Appeared on The Andy Griffith Show
One fascinating thing about the show is that some characters are so strong you think they were in scores of episodes, yet, in reality, they were in very few. Ernest T. Bass comes to mind. This character portrayed by Howard Morris was only on five episodes, although Morris appeared on one other as a television repairman. His voice was on two different episodes. The character was so strong people assumed he was on many more.
Of the 249 episodes (250 if you count the Pilot, which I do) filmed, only Andy himself appeared in all of them. Surprisingly, Ron Howard came in second with 202 (plus 41 credits only, plus the Pilot) appearances. Frances Bavier ("Aunt Bee") appeared on 175 (including the Pilot plus 13 credits only), while Don Knotts was on 142 (plus 21 credits only). Surprisingly, no other character reached the 100-show mark. George Lindsey, Howard McNear, and Aneta Corsaut were the only ones to appear in at least 50 episodes. Jack Dodson, Hope Summers, and Hal Smith made over 30 appearances. Betty Lynn made 26 and Jim Nabors 23 episodes. All others were fewer than 20 episodes, including "Emmett Clark," "Ellie Walker" and "Warren Ferguson." Even "Ernest T. Bass" and "The Darlings" made fewer than ten episodes. The writing, casting, and directing were so flawless that it makes you think they were on most of the episodes.
It all started as an episode of Make Room for Daddy with Danny Thomas in an episode entitled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith," which aired on February 15, 1960. This show introduced the world to Mayberry, North Carolina, widower Sheriff Andy Taylor, and his son Opie. Francis Bavier also appeared in this episode but not as "Aunt Bee." She was "Henrietta Perkins." Others later appearing on The Andy Griffith Show include Will Wright, Frank Cady, and Rance Howard. This pilot episode was the true beginning of the show.
During the shows run, many actors and actresses that went on to star in movies and television shows appeared, including Barbara Eden, Buddy Ebsen, Edgar Buchanan, Don Rickles, Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jr., Frank Cady, Alvy Moore, Sid Melton, Mary Grace Canfield, Hank Patterson, Howard Hesseman (credited as Don Sturdy), James Best, William Christopher, Jamie Farr, Gavin MacLeod, Julie Adams, Dabbs Greer, Rob Reiner, Denver Pyle, Bo Hopkins, Lee Van Cleef, Helen Kleeb, Mary Jackson, Dub Taylor, Richard Bull, Karl Swenson, Ellen Corby, Arte Johnson, Dick Haynes, Terri Garr, Elinor Donahue, Kent McCord, Ronnie Schell, George Nader and Casey Adams (aka Max Showalter). Even Jack Nicholson made two appearances on the show! Actors Howard Morris "Ernest T. Bass" and Richard Crenna directed eight TAGS episodes.
Barbara Griffith, Andy Griffith's first wife, appeared in one episode. Andy's father, Carl Lee Griffith, appears as "The man with the brown paper package" in the episode "The Farmer Takes a Wife." Ron Howard's father, Rance, and brother, Clint, appeared in some episodes.
My list only includes the announcer Colin Male for his appearance onscreen as a forest ranger on the show. Colin Male was the announcer for over 90 of the early episodes. I consider the announcer similar to a crew member, director, etc., but not a cast member. That is just my personal view, and others no doubt will disagree.
Over 600 actors appeared on the show, not counting "Dolly the Horse" or "Old Sam the Fish." Close to 500 had "credited" roles. Scores of "extras" would likely push the list up much higher. Many unknown extras are shown in various group scenes during the show, such as Barney returning and the class reunion show. There are also extras seen walking across the street in background shots or sitting on benches. Most of those people are unknown and difficult to identify because of the distance. They are important because they bring an air of authenticity to Mayberry being a real town not a set even though it was.
The names below with ** after them have exemplars shown herein. The following is a list of cast members on at least five episodes, excluding Colin Male. I thought about Thomas Jacobs and Joe Crehan since they were primarily extras, but I have left them on the list. Jacobs is listed with 72 episodes but credited in only two of those. Crehan was in at least 13 episodes, but like Jacobs credited only in two.
The number of episodes below are on screen only. For example, Don Knotts is credited with 162 episodes but was only seen in 141 of those. He was named in the credits of 21 episodes that he did not appear in. I have only used the 141 that he was actually seen. Ron Howard is more complicated since technically in the opening credits he and Andy appear in all the episodes. He is credited in 243 episodes but only appears on screen in 202. He is credits only in 41 episodes.
Andy Griffith "Andy Taylor" 249 episodes**(plus the Pilot)
Ron Howard "Opie Taylor" 202 **(plus the Pilot)
Frances Bavier "Aunt Bee Taylor" 175** (plus the Pilot)
Don Knotts "Barney Fife" 141**
George Lindsey "Goober Pyle" 86**
Howard McNear "Floyd Lawson" 80**
Tom Jacobs "Councilman" and "Mayberry Citizen" (72)**
Aneta Corsaut "Helen Crump" 66**
Jack Dodson "Howard Sprague" 38**
Hope Summers "Clara Edwards" 32**
Hal Smith "Otis Campbell" 32**
Betty Lynn "Thelma Lou" 26**
Jim Nabors "Gomer Pyle" 23**
Paul Hartman "Emmett Clark) 16**
Mary Lansing "Martha Clark" 15
Burt Mustin "Jud Fletcher & others" 14**
Robert McQuain "Joe Waters & others" 14
Richard Keith "Johnny Paul Jason" 13**
Joseph Crehan "Mayberry Citizen" 13**
Elinor Donahue "Ellie Walker" 12**
Jack Burns "Warren Ferguson" 11**
Dick Elliott "Mayor Pike" 11**
Joseph H. Hamilton "Mayberry Citizen" 11**
Sheldon Collins "Arnold Bailey" 9**
Roy Engel "Mayberry Citizen" 8**
Allan Melvin "Various Parts" 8**
Dennis Rush "Howie Pruitt" 8 **
Howard Morris "Ernest T. Bass" 8**
Rhonda Jeter "Karen Burgess & others" 8
Parley Baer "Mayor Stoner" 7**
Charles P. Thompson "Old Asa" later "Doc Roberts" 7**
William Keene "Rev. Tucker" 6 **
Jack Prince "Rafe Hollister" 6**
Janet Stewart (Bernice and others) 6
Forrest Lewis (Cy Hudgins; Mayberry Citizen) 6**
Joy Ellison (Effie Muggins and others) 6
Cheerio Meredith "Emma Brand" 6**
Norman Leavitt ("Wally" and others) 6**
Maggie Peterson Mancuso "Charlene Darling" 6**
Denver Pyle "Briscoe Darling" 6**
Doug Dillard (Darling brother) 6**
Rodney Dillard (Darling brother) 6**
Mitch Jayne (Darling brother) 6**
Dean Webb (Darling brother) 6**
Olan Soule (Choirmaster John Masters/hotel clerk) 5**
Jason Johnson (Mr. Weaver & others) 5
Frank Ferguson (Mr. Foley, Sam Lindsey, Wilbur Pine) 5**
Amzie Strickland (Myra Tucker & others) 5**
Sherwood Keith (Sam) 5 **
Warren Parker (County Fair Judge) 5
George Cisar [NOT the baseball player with the same name] (Cyrus Tankersley) 5
Frank Warren (Art Crowley the grocer) 5
Ruth Thom (Ella Carson) 5
Maudie Prickett (Aunt Nora and Mrs. Larch) 5**
Clint Howard (Leon) 5**
Sam Edwards (Tom Bedlow & others) 5**
These figures change as I find other episodes. To make these autographs a bit easier for people to see, I will make a list of the autographs in the reply section below. That way, if you are looking for a particular individual, you can scroll down to find them in this discussion. The autographs below are people who were on at least two episodes of the show. There is another discussion for those that appeared on only one show and another for "extras."1. Jack Dodson "Howard Sprague"
2. Hope Summers "Clara"
3. Sheldon Collins "Arnold"
4. Allan Melvin. Many roles.
5. James Best. "Jim Lindsey"
6. Joseph H. Hamilton. "Jase," "Choney," and "Chester Jones"
7. Mary Treen. "Rose" and "Clara Lindsey."
8. Jonathan Hole "Orville Monroe" in three episodes.
9. Richard Keith (aka Keith Thibodeaux)
10. Margaret Kerry
11. Ron Howard
12. Sam Edwards
13. Burt Mustin
14. Byron Foulger
15. Arthur Malet
16. Denver Pyle
17. Doug Dillard
18. Rodney Dillard
19. Mitch Jayne
20. Dean Webb
21. Maggie Peterson
22. Doodles Weaver (aka Red Marshall)
23. Joe Crehan
24. Parley Baer
25. Rance Howard
26. Emory Parnell
27. Joyce Jameson
28. Amzie Strickland
29. Jack Burns
30. Ken Lynch
31. Thomas "Tom" Jacobs
32. Chubby Johnson
33. Arthur Hunnicutt
34. Richard Poston
35. Jon Lormer
36. James McCallion
37. Richard Collier
38. Paul Hartman
39. Dennis Rush
40. Sherwood Keith
41. Tod Andrews (AKA Michael Ames)
42. Robert Emhardt
43. Sylvia Lewis
44. Howard McNear
45. Dick Elliott
46. Charles P. Thompson
47. Aneta Corsaut
48. William Keene
49. George Lindsey
50. Arlene Golonka
51. A. Paul Smith
Tags: Andy, Bavier, Don, Frances, Griffith, Howard, Jack, Ken, Knotts, Lynch, More…
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on
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Oh yes Fritz Weaver he was great in that! Another of my favorites is the diner episode "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up" with Jack Elam and Barney Phillips. That scared the heck out of me when I was little.
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RICHARD POSTON (1920-1986), the older brother of Tom Poston, was also an actor. Dick Poston, by his own account, began his career in over 20 movies for MGM, Paramount, and Warner Brothers. These were probably "extra" roles, and all were uncredited. He also acted on the stage, and his first Broadway play was "The Insect Comedy" in May of 1948. He performed in other Broadway plays, including "The Mikado" in 1949, "Stalag 17" in 1951, and "The Chase" in 1952. In the mid-1950s, he started to appear on television. He was in such shows as The Munsters, Burke's Law, Big Valley, The Green Hornet, and Mission Impossible. Poston was on the big screen in THE CANDIDATE and LADY SINGS THE BLUES, both in 1972. He was in the Al Adamson film MEAN MOTHER and wrote the screenplay of Adamson's film BLOOD OF GHASTLY HORROR. He did two episodes of TAGS, and one of Mayberry R. F. D. Poston died on April 8, 1986, in California. His autograph is rare.
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This is Poston in the TAGS episode, "The Mayberry Chef" trying to push Aunt Bee back in front of the camera.
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JON LORMER (1906-1986) was a prolific character actor who appeared in THE GAZEBO, WHERE THE BOYS ARE, and THE SAND PEBBLES. His performances on the small screen were in multiple episodes of The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, Star Trek, Lassie, Perry Mason. and many others. He was in three episodes of TAGS. This is a signed index card courtesy of DSWMcGraths.
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Permalink Reply by Tim Henderson on
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Hi Scott,
I’ve never seen an example of Jon lormer that looks like the photo you posted. The one I’ve seen looks like this, way different. This was from the John Brennan Collection, he was a longtime in person autograph chaser in Hollywood! Let me know your thoughts.
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RICHARD COLLIER (1919-2000) is an example of where you know the face but not the name. His bald head and somewhat bird-like appearance made him a popular choice to play a desk clerk in the Elvis Presley movie Girls, Girls, Girls. A Bostonian by birth, he retained a bit of that accent in his career as an actor. He was in movies like Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, Blazing Saddles, Hello Dolly, and the Stephen King horror movie Christine. Collier appeared in such television shows as Here's Lucy, Hawaii Five-O, Batman, Petticoat Junction, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gomer Pyle: USMC, Dennis the Menace, Mr. Ed, and many more. Collier played "Mr. Simmons" on two episodes of TAGS and Mr. Giddings on another. He also did two episodes of Mayberry RFD and one of The New Andy Griffith Show. His full name was Sumner Richard Collier, and this WWII draft registration he signed as S. Richard Collier.
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RICHARD COLLIER from the season 8 episode "Andy's Investment."
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JAMES MCCALLION (1918-1991) was a Scottish born carachter actor who appeared in lots of movies and television shows. He was in The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, The Outer Limits, The Untouchables, Death Valley Days, Maverick, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Night Gallery, and many more.
In movies, he was in movies such as The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming, A Strange and Deadly Occurrence, Who Is The Black Dahlia? and many others. He had a credited role in the western comedy The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County with an all-star cast headed up by Dan Blocker and Jim Backus. No less than six TAGS alumni were in that movie.McCallion did two episodes of TAGS as Dr. Lou Bailey in the episode "Opie Finds a Baby," and as Harry in "Goober the Executive." He also did one episode of Mayberry R. F. D.
This is a TTM index card that he signed the year before he died. His daughter wrote a handwritten note that her father had been ill. The original collector typed up cards so the individuals knew where to sign, and he included a place for the date.
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PAUL HARTMAN (1904-1973) with his wife Grace were a dance team and Tony Award winners. After Howard McNear I suspect another older character was needed on the show. Hartman was actually a year older than McNear. The trio of Howard, Goober and Emmett were often utilized in the last two seasons of the show. Hartman was working on both The Andy Griffith Show and Petticoat Junction where he had the recurring role of "Bert Smedley" the barber. Emmett became an important character in Mayberry R. F. D. To help boost The New Andy Griffith Show in the first episode Emmett and Goober surprise Andy. Paul Hartman died at the age of 69. His last acting credit was in the made for tv movie Getting Away From it All in 1972. Hartman's autograph is somewhat scarce. This is from a 1949 TLS.
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Permalink Reply by CJCollector on
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This is a little off the rails, Scott, but check out this Buck Taylor I just got it in the mail yesterday.
He inscribed "To Chris Shoot Straight."
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That is such a coincidence because I just got five Buck Taylor signed photographs in the mail on Thursday, I think. I got the Gunsmoke ones. I always liked his Newly character. His father Dub Taylor was on four episodes of TAGS. In fact Dub played Emmett's brother-in-law in his last appearance!
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The great Dub Taylor. Loved him in Bonnie and Clyde.
Buck was so nice when we exchanged emails.
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