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, appeared in only five episodes. Morris also appeared in another episode as a television repairman. His voice was on two different episodes. The Bass character was so electric that people assumed he was on many more.
Of the 249 episodes (250 if you count the Pilot, which I do), Andy Griffith was the only actor to appear 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 Mayberry character reached the 100-show mark. George Lindsey, Howard McNear, and Aneta Corsaut were the only ones to appear in at least 50 episodes. Hope Summers, Jack Dodson, and Hal Smith each made over 30 appearances. Betty Lynn appeared in 26 episodes, and Jim Nabors in 23. All others had fewer than 20 episodes, including "Emmett Clark," "Ellie Walker," and "Warren Ferguson," as well as "The Darlings," all of which 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 entitled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith," which aired on February 15, 1960. This show introduced the world to Mayberry, North Carolina, and the widower Sheriff Andy Taylor, as well as his son Opie. Francis Bavier also appeared in this episode, but not as "Aunt Bee." She was "Henrietta Perkins." Others in that episode that would later appear 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, Hayden Rork, 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! Richard Crenna, although never appearing on camera, directed eight episodes of TAGS.
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 multiple episodes of the show.
My list only includes the announcer, Colin Male, for his one appearance on-screen 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, or other similar roles, but not a cast member. The announcer was not integral to any storyline.
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. Several unknown extras are featured in various group scenes throughout the show, including Barney's return and the class reunion episode. 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 valuable because they bring an air of authenticity to Mayberry, being a real town, not a set, even though it was.
The names below, marked with **, have exemplars shown herein. The following is a list of cast members who appear in 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 appeared in at least 13 episodes, but was credited only in two, like Jacobs.
The number of episodes listed below refers to on-screen appearances 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 in which he did not appear. I have only used the 141 that he was seen on-screen. Ron Howard is more complicated, since, technically, he and Andy appear in all the episodes in the opening credits. Howard is credited with 243 episodes but only appears on screen in 202. He is credited only in 41 episodes,
The ones in bold face are those that exemplars are requested.
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.
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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MIKE STEEN (1928-1983) was a actor and apparently stuntman who did most smaller roles. His biggest credited roles were Crack in the World, Sweet Bird of Youth and This Property Condemned. He is credited with three episodes of TAGS as State Police officer in all three. The episodes were among my favorites "The Manhunt," "Andy and the Gentleman Crook" and "Barney Gets His Man." Steen appeared on other TV shows such as Wagon Train, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Make Room for Daddy. Sky King, Sea Hunt and others. He had smaller roles in the movies Cleopatra and 55 Days at Peking. His acting career was less than ten years and he died relatively young. He used his real name Malcolm Steen for a couple years in the beginning. His autograph is elusive.
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MIKE STEEN as a NC State Trooper on The Andy Griffith Show. Steen on far right with Robert McQuain and Barney Phillips as the prisoner. From the episode "Barney Gets His Man."
Mike Steen credits in "Andy and the Gentleman Crook."
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Mike Steen played "Steele" in the Sci-Fi thriller Crack in the World (1965) starring Dana Andrews. He was the deputy in The Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) and Max in This Property Condemned (1966). He was on three early episodes of The Andy Griffith Show playing a police officer in one and a sergeant in two others. He was in the second episode of TAGS "The Manhunt" one of my all-time favorite episodes. Steen died at 55 and his autograph is scarce.
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Permalink Reply by Tim Henderson on
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Here is my Charles P Thompson old Asa from the bank!! I'm still looking for the bank manager. Hope you enjoy
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image.jpeg, 3 MB
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Thank you Tim that is a great autograph to have and yours is a very nice example. He also played Dr. Roberts twice in later episodes. Thompson was one of the older supporting actors on the show that lasted until almost the end.
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Since some old links to photographs do not show unless you click on them. I am adding it here so it shows.. This is a great album page from Tim Henderson's impressive collection.
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Another rare one Dan Tobin!!
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image.jpeg, 2.7 MB
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Thanks Sam! I obtained that through a trade with a mayberry friend of mine. Been looking a long time for him and finally had something that was a decent trade for both of us.
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DAN TOBIN (1910-1982) was adept at playing villains and good guys. He appeared on television in The Munsters, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Odd Couple, Bewitched, The Twilight Zone, Wagon Train, Batman, Perry Mason, The Wild Wild West, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and many more. In movies, he appeared in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, The Last Angry Man, and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer. To make it a bit easier to view following is Tim Henderson's autograph from the above link:
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GLADYS HURLBUT (1898-1988) is best known playing Clarabelle Morrison along with Charity Grace (1884-1965) playing Jennifer Morrison the moonshine making sisters in the TAGS episode "Alcohol and Old Lace." This was one of the most popular of the TAGS episodes. Hurlbut and Grace both started in television and movies rather late. Hurlbut appeared in the Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz movie The Long, Long Trailer, Charlton Heston's The President's Lady, and A Man Called Peter. She appeared in several television shows such as I Love Lucy, The Ann Southern Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Adventures of Jim Bowie and many more. Her autograph although not as rare as Charity Grace is still scarce. The following is from the mid-1980s.
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GLADYS HURLBUT on right and Charity Grace on left. In the episode "Alcohol and Old Lace."
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GEORGE DUNN (1914-1982) was a character actor in movies such as Away All Boats, The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm and Operation Petticoat. He appeared on scores of television shows like Starsky and Hutch, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bonanza, Wagon Train, The Virginian and many others. He appeared on three episodes of TAGS "Stranger in Town","Andy Saves Barney's Morale" and "Mayberry on Record." This is from a 1970 card in blue ballpoint:
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