The actors were simple men — and it made them famous.
Many of television’s younger viewers have dismissed The Andy Griffith Show as “boring,” not understanding that the true power of the series lies in its simplicity. Not every television show has to be action-packed, jammed with affairs and violence as far as the eye can see. Many fans confuse excitement with entertainment and never stop to realize that these slower series have merit all by themselves.
The beauty of The Andy Griffith Show was a brief glimpse into small-town life. In Mayberry, the people were kind and the troubles were few. It was the kind of show that made a viewer appreciate the small things, and stop to smell the flowers.
In an interview with The Record, Andy Griffith spoke about the very simplicity of The Andy Griffith Show that fans had grown to love. Griffith spoke to The Record in 1961, just a short year after the beginning of the series, which meant that the purity of the series seemed to be on his mind from day one.
Even early on in the series, the article makes a point to highlight the chemistry between Don Knotts and Andy Griffith as Barney Fife and Sheriff Taylor, calling it a “pleasant combination.”
But with all of their comedic talents, Griffith argued that there was something that he and Knotts did together that was unmatched in terms of entertainment — nothing at all.
Griffith stated, “We can just do a little bit of that — not too much.” He continued, “Sometimes we find little goodies and we stop the story to do it. I think these little bits put us over as a success. The storylines really did it, but the character by-play was a big help.”
The actor was aware that the little details in Mayberry were the sort of thing that fans really resonated with, and that all of those little moments combined to make an enormous impact on those tuning into the series.
