Remembering Andy Griffith

The man who created one of the iconic characters in the history of American television has passed away. Andy Griffith died today at the age of 86 years old.

I have always had a personal connection to Andy Griffith. I can remember seeing him first, when I was younger, watching reruns of The Andy Griffith Show growing up and being completely immersed into the story, characters and culture. It has been a belief of mine, that I was named after him. My mother told me that she was a fan of the show, and Sheriff Andy Taylor when she was younger. When it came time to name me, she decided to go with the name Andrew. Sure, there are many explanations as to why she settled on that name, but I have always believed that it was due to the connection with the character. Years later, when I asked her about this, she couldn't deny that it may have played a part.

Andy Griffith was a highly versatile performer. His earliest work, a stark difference to what he would later become known for, is evidence of this. One of his earliest roles was the character of Lonesome Rhodes in the Ella Kazan film A Face in the Crowd. In this role, Griffith plays a nobody who is plucked out of oblivion into the television spotlight as the host of a comedy show that takes off nationally. Overnight, he becomes a major success, and lets the fame and fortune go to his head. 

He takes advantage of those around him, and those who care about him, and mocks his fans as worthless sheep clinging onto his every word. When his is exposed publicly, he climbs to the top of a large building in New York City and denounces the world for what he believes is its own ineptitude. It is a powerful moment in film.

In contrast to Sheriff Andy Taylor, Griffith could play villains as well as good guys. One of my favorite television films stars Griffith as a rich landowner in Georgia named John Wallace, who frames one of his sharecroppers for breaking out of jail after stealing one of his cows. He, and his friends, chase this sharecropper over the county line and murder him. They take him back to their own county, and burn the body, so as to not leave any evidence. 

The Sheriff of the other county, Coweta, is Lamar Potts (played by Johnny Cash) who has as much drive and tenacity as Wallace and who, through sheer determination and a bit of luck, finds the evidence needed to convict Wallace and send him to the electric chair. It is an interesting film, and seeing both Griffith and Cash playing roles that one wouldn't normally see them in is what makes it so compelling.

Naturally, I am, still to this day, a fan of Griffith’s iconic role, Sheriff Andy Taylor. Andy Taylor is a role model for any man in this world as to what it takes to be a real man in society. He isn’t perfect (far from it in fact) but his heart, his understanding of human nature, his compassion, and his drive to always look for the good in others in spite of their personal shortcomings is what makes him that role model.

Griffith designed the show early on to make him the center of attention and humor, and the first few episodes reflect this, but quickly he realized that the show would work better if he reacted to those around him instead of the other way. He had the wisdom, and, I believe, lack of major ego to realize this, and the show was better off for it. How many others working today could or would make the same decision?

Two episodes of the show stand out to me today as examples as to why it transcends so much. The first, Opie the Birdman, finds Sheriff Taylor’s youngest son Opie (Ron Howard) firing a slingshot and kills a mother bird. Sheriff Taylor realizes this when he discovers the dead bird later. His punishment for Opie isn’t a spanking or extra chores. Rather, he opens his son’s window and tells him that he needs to listen to the cries of the baby birds that no longer have a mother. This makes a profound impact on Opie and he decides to care for the birds himself. Eventually, they grow, but cannot be cared for anymore, and Taylor convinces Opie to let them fly. It’s a classic moment in television.

The second, and by far my favorite episode of the series was called, Man in a Hurry. In this, we find a businessman traveling through Mayberry on a Sunday, when everything is shut down, and gets car trouble. He is exasperated as he can’t get anyone to fix it on a Sunday. He finally gets Gomer and Goober to do so, but it will take all day, and he is forced to wait at Sheriff Taylors home while the repairs are made. While waiting, he observes the laid back, and slow routine of a Sunday in Mayberry and it has a profound impact on him. At the end of the day, when his car is ready, he decides to stick around and relax a bit.

It’s a lesson that all of us should take to heart. A fast paced lifestyle is nice, and these days almost necessary, but every once in a while we need to take time, slow down, and appreciate small things in life.

Andy Griffith was, and is my favorite performer. He was an actor, comedian, and singer, who made a profound impact on those who had the pleasure to take in his work. He was one of the all-time greats, and one that will be missed.