The Saturday Six

 

Some of you may not know that I am actually a huge fan of The Andy Griffith Show. For those of you who may not have ever watched it, it aired from 1960-1968, and you can still catch reruns somewhere almost every day, I'm sure. It's an American classic, and I love it. My sister can still win trivia against me, but I can hold my own pretty well. My love for the show has inspired this week's post! You'll see why in #1!

One.

I read this week that Maggie Peterson, who played Charlene Darling on the show, passed away. The Darlings were recurring-role family on the show. They lived back in the woods but would venture out to town now and then. They were an awkward family: a dad and a bunch of grown sons who didn't like to talk, and then there was pretty Charlene. The article about her death said that her health had declined after her husband passed away in December. What sweet love! 

Two.

In recent years, I have become fascinated by watching extras in movies and TV shows. It's fun to see what's happening behind the main scene. This post is about a recurring extra in The Andy Griffith Show, and it intrigued me, because I've noticed that a number of the townspeople are the same from episode to episode, even if you never know their names or stories. But this extra (a woman, no less) was also the stand-in for Barney Fife when they planned their scenes! An interesting resume item, right?

Three.

The show has a very recognizable theme song - even if you aren't a regular viewer. It's all whistling! But did you know there are actual lyrics to the whistled song? There are! And you can hear Andy Griffith himself sing them right here! 

Four.

Andy Griffith's character, Andy Taylor, had several love interests throughout the show, and the very first one was my favorite. Eleanor Donahue played Ellie Walker, and I thought this was the BEST pairing for Andy ever. But I had never heard this story of how Andy helped her conquer her nerves to sing a duet with him on the show! (I remember this episode and that duet! And now I will hear it in a whole new way!)

Five.

If you don't "speak southern" - here's a handy guide to understanding some of the phrases from the show. (I could hear some of these in their voices as I read them!)

Six.

Andy Griffith based this show on his real hometown of Mt. Airy, North Carolina, and that very town honors him and the legacy of the show so very well. Ryan and I stopped there on our way home from our 5th anniversary trip, and it was one of the few times in our traveling history when we most certainly had not allowed ENOUGH time to explore a place. We did get to see some of the highlights - and we were there in a gorgeous snowfall, which made it so much prettier! But this is one of the few places we intend to return to at some point, because we want to spend more time exploring!