"Don called me after he saw the pilot and said, 'Don't you need a deputy?'" I realized Don should be funny and I should play straight man for him. "I was supposed to tell funny stories about people in Mayberry," Griffith recalled. The combination was a stroke of comic genius. Griffith was paired with the bumbling but lovable Deputy Barney Fife, played by Don Knotts.
People could look in on this little town." "It was about a little town and the people who lived there," Griffith said. The folksy comedy was set in the fictional village of Mayberry, which was based on Griffith's real hometown of Mount Airy, N.C. His film debut came in the critically acclaimed "A Face in the Crowd" in 1957, and a year later he made a film version of "No Time for Sergeants."īut his breakthrough was "The Andy Griffith Show," which began in 1960 and ran for eight years on CBS. The monologues led to an appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the leading role in the Broadway production of "No Time for Sergeants." His first success came with humorous monologues "What it Was, Was Football" and "Romeo and Juliet," which were told in a hayseed persona. During one audition the man in charge stopped him during the first chorus of "Dancing in the Dark," called him aside and told him: "You'll never find a place in theater _ especially not as a singer."
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He dreamed of a professional singing career.īut he had trouble finding work. He performed there in the 1950s and as recently as 1999 with bluegrass great Earl Scruggs, but mainly as a comedian rather than a singer.Īs a young man, he was a music major in college and taught music at a North Carolina high school. EST on cable's Country Music Television, isn't Griffith's first at the Opry. "Here at the back of my life, I'm singing and it is very rewarding," Griffith said. He will perform Saturday at the Grand Ole Opry, sharing the stage with songwriter Marty Stuart for a mix of story and song. He recorded two gospel albums in the 1990s_ one of which, "I Love to Tell the Story," won a Grammy in 1997 _ and he is recording a Christmas album for release later this year. Now, at 76, Griffith is receiving recognition for his singing.
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The way Andy Griffith sees it, his career has come full circle.Īfter a failed attempt as a professional singer, he went on to create two of television's most memorable characters in Sheriff Andy Taylor and lawyer Ben Matlock.
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