The Andy Griffith Show
| The Andy Griffith Show | |
|---|---|
 Griffith and Howard |
|
| Format | Sitcom |
| Created by | Sheldon Leonard |
| Starring | Andy Griffith Ronny Howard Don Knotts Frances Bavier |
| Theme music composer | Earle Hagen |
| Opening theme | "The Fishin' Hole" |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 249 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25-26 minutes per episode without ads |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Picture format | Black and white 1960-1965, Color 1965-1968 Full screen |
| Original run | October 3, 1960 – April 1, 1968 |
| Age rating | Template:TV-G |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Mayberry R.F.D. |
| Related shows | The Danny Thomas Show Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. |
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom television series. Andy Griffith stars as Sheriff Andy Taylor, Don Knotts as Deputy Barney Fife, Ron Howard as Andy's son Opie, and Frances Bavier as Andy's aunt and houskeeper Aunt Bee. In the show's first year Elinor Donahue was listed in the opening credits. She played Andy's girlfriend and drug store owner Ellie Walker. The show won no awards, but it was very popular in its day. It was #1 in its final year on the air.
There were many other characters in the series. Jim Nabors played garage mechanic Gomer Pyle, Howard McNear played town barber Floyd Lawson, Aneta Corsaut played Andy's girlfriend and Opie's schoolte4acher Helen Crump, Betty Lynn played Barney's girlfriend Thelma Lou, Hope Summers played Bee's friend Clara Edwards, Jack Dodson played county clerk Howard Sprague, and George Lindsey played Gomer's cousin Goober Pyle.
The show aired on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Griffith, Howard, and Bavier were introduced in an episode of The Danny Thomas Show. TAGS was about a sheriff in fictional Mayberry, North Carolina, a sleepy town of goofs and eccentrics. Don Knotts and Frances Bavier won a combined total of six Emmy Awards. Knotts left the show at the end of its fifth black and white season. The show transitioned to color with the sixth season. The broad, cornball comedy was toned-down and the show was allowed to touch on serious themes. The series had two spin-offs: Mayberry, RFD, a sitcom series starring Ken Berry as farmer Sam Jones, and Return to Mayberry, a made-for-TV reunion movie. Sheriff Andy and Hellen married in the first episode of Mayberry RFD and left town. Jim Nabors received his own series Gomer Pyle, USMC abd left The Andy Griffith Show.
