A Behind the Scenes Look at

The Andy Griffith Show

And The REAL Mayberry

By Jake Easton
R A D O K   N E W S

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Mayberry's Fishing Hole

Myers Lake, as it was affectionately called, is shown during the opening 'fishing hole' credits and used in several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.  The lake used on the show is actually Franklin Canyon Lake (originally Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir), located at 2600 Franklin Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills, California.

William Mulholland began construction of the reservoirs of Franklin Canyon in 1916, where there is currently 605 acres of parkland, the three acre lake, a small duck pond, and an oak woodlands forest that remains one of the last available wilderness areas in Los Angeles.

This location has been heavily used by the television and movie industry over the past fifty years.  In addition to The Andy Griffith Show,  Combat, Bonanza, Star Trek, How the West Was Won, and the movie, On Golden Pond, with Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda were filmed here.  The lake and park area is now managed by the National Park Service, and is open to the public.

Myers Lake was named after Frank E. Myers, the production manager for The Andy Griffith Show.  His name was also used in episode 39, where Andy is forced to evict Frank Myers from his home only to find that Myers had kept an old Mayberry bond that is first believed to be worth over $300,000.

Colin Male was the uncredited, yet distinctive announcer for the show's opening when Andy and Opie walk to Myers Lake.  Male also acted in one episode, playing the game warden that caught Andy and Helen without a fishing license (episode 140, Andy and Helen Have Their Day).

Stars Made in Mayberry

Other than The Andy Griffith Show's (TAGS) starring roles, few television viewers were familiar with the show's supporting cast.  That, however, soon changed.   In addition to Jim Nabor's phenomenal success with Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., many famous stars today were originally noticed in the small town of "Mayberry, North Carolina."

Among the actors making guest appearances on The Andy Griffith Show in the 1960's were:  Buddy Ebsen (Barnaby Jones), Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie), Jack Nicholson (2 TAGS episodes), Bill Bixby (My Favorite Martian), Denver Pyle (Dukes of Hazzard), Edgar Buchanan (Petticoat Junction), Frank Sutton (Gomer Pyle, USMC), Jamie Farr (MASH), Larry Hovis (Hogan's Heros), Ronnie Schell (Gomer Pyle, USMC - 2 TAGS episodes), Teri Garr, George Kennedy, Gavin MacLeod (Love Boat), Bob Denver (Gilligan's Island), Rob Reiner (All in The Family), Arte Johnson (Laugh-In), Don Rickles, Jerry Van Dyke (Coach), Morgan Brittany (Dallas), Joyce Van Patten, Sue Ane Langdon, Jesse White (The Maytag Repairman), Ruta Lee, John Dehner, Bernard Fox (Bewitched), Alan Hale (Gilligan's Island), Jack Albertson (Chico and the Man), and WKRP's Howard Hesseman (2 TAGS episodes).

TV Guide Also Makes a Guest Appearance

There were a total of eight TV Guide covers for The Andy Griffith Show that were published between January 28, 1961 and July 13, 1968.  Andy had 2 additional covers for Matlock, Don Knotts had one more in 1970, and Jim Nabors had 4 covers for Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C between 1965 and 1969.

As shown above, the TV Guide issues for The Andy Griffith Show included:  January 28, 1961 (Andy and Ron Howard), May 12, 1962 (Don Knotts), May 11, 1963 (Andy, Don Knotts, and Ron Howard), March 21, 1964 (Andy, Don Knotts, and Jim Nabers), April 24, 1965 (Andy Griffith), June 4, 1966 (Andy Griffith with guitar), May 20, 1967 (Andy with Anita "Helen" Corsaut), and the last TV Guide was an illustration depicting Andy on the shoulders of Don Knotts and Jim Nabers for the July 13, 1968 issue.

In one episode of The Andy Griffith Show, one of their own TV Guide covers even made it on the show!  On January 19, 1961, in episode #24 called "The New Doctor," filming began at the Desilu's Cahuenga studios.  During production, a then-current copy of TV Guide (Jan 28-Feb 3, 1961 featuring Andy and Opie on the cover), can clearly be seen in the magazine rack at Walkers drugstore as Barney reaches up to repair Ellie Walkers' doorbell.

Like most TAGS episodes, there was considerable delay between filming and actual airing.  While shooting wrapped on the set of "The New Doctor" episode on January 25th - it didn't air until March 27, 1961 - more than 8 weeks after filming was completed.

Shazaaaam!  Gomer Becomes a Marine!

America's favorite gas station attendant, quickly became America's favorite befuddled Marine, as Jim Nabors' career change moved him less than 10 yards from the set of Wally's Service Station, to the set of the Camp Pendleton Marine Base - all on the Forty Acres backlot.

Jim Nabors' character, Gomer Pyle, first appeared in Mayberry during the show's third season on January 14, 1963 (#79 Man in a Hurry), then continued for one and a half seasons when Andy helped him move on to his own hit CBS series on May 18, 1964 (#127 Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.).  Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., which ran through 1969, was also a ratings hit during its six-year run.

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Did You Know?  Sheldon Leonard, executive producer for TAGS, had previously been an actor, having played the bartender in the 1946 epic, It's a Wonderful Life, with Jimmy Stewart.

Did You Know?  Filming of The Andy Griffith Show was filmed between two locations, Desilu Cahuenga studios, and Desilu Culver's Forty Acres backlot.

The only exception to this was later for the movie, Return to Mayberry that was filmed in Los Olivous, California in 1986.

Did You Know?  Jack Albertson of Chico and the Man played Bradford J. Taylor, the phony business mogul in episode 232, Aunt Bee's Cousin.

What you may not know, is Jack's real-life sister is actress Mabel Albertson - who played Howard Sprague's mother.

Did You Know?  Andy's then-wife, Barbara Edwards Griffith played 'Sharon' in one TAGS episode. (#116, The Song Festers).

Did You Know?  Frances Bavier (Aunt Bee) liked the real-life town of Siler City, NC so much, she retired there after TAGS.

Did You Know?  Harvey Bullock wrote the most episodes for The Andy Griffith Show (31 scripts), while James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum tied for second with 29 episodes each.