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Edwynn -> RE: Another icon had passed away (7/4/2012 9:07:55 AM)
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Thank goodness the Hollywood bling-wearers of the day were sentient enough the let Andy Griffith and Don Knotts have direct influence and actual script writing input to that show early on; it was certainly both more funny and more thoughtful than the pure derogatory farce the original intention otherwise would have had it. (If you see Sheriff Taylor's first appearance/ character introduction on The Danny Thomas Show, you'll see what the producers originally had in mind; the Andy Griffith Show would have died the first year had they stayed on that same dead-end track with such a lame and vacuous premise).
The bling-wearers soon found another vehicle for what they were so fervently seeking with The Beverly Hillbillies, a couple of years later. "Do what thou will'st, if ye have Ellie May be in the show." Ellie May and possum-eating and the cee-ment pond did the trick and made the producers happy. The Andy Griffith Show has made at least 100 times the money due to likewise viewership over the years.
Griffith will be remembered in some circles for his lifelong support for regional theater in NC, by way of still playing an actual stage role here and there (at less than 'market value'), even after hitting the big time; for his ongoing financial support; for lending his name, gratis, to many local/regional productions, etc., around the state.
He did not depend on Hollywood alone for his seeking of fulfillment.
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