Andy Griffith

[TonyB]

Heard a statement yesterday given by Andy Griffith....he said his caracter of Andy Taylor didn't carry gun..not because he is anti-gun,but because he didn't like the way it felt on his hip....not sure when or why he said it,just thought it was interesting...anyone know more about it?

 

[DigMe]

He was probably just scared that he'd just go out of control one day and put Barney out of his misery.

brad cook

 

[eab]

Anybody who has seen the show knows that Taylor was not anti gun, in many episodes he gets out a shotgun or rifle or puts on a pistol belt. He just didn't see a need for it everyday in Mayberry.

 

[NavajoNPaleFace]

I also think that Andy's image of not wearing a side arm also lent to the image of a kind and gentle yet no-nonsense Sheriff who was able to settle disputes in a small town with diplomacy.

It was, afterall, a comdy, and a depiction of an easier and simpler time.

 

[Mal H]

Not sure about Andy Griffith, but Andy Taylor wasn't an anti. One of my favorite episodes was when Andy tried to teach the fine art of shotgunning to a female national champion skeet shooter; got his butt whupped and learned a few points about assuming. The cool thing about it was that the part of the lady shotgunner was played by Gail Davis who, in real life, is an expert shot. She played Annie Oakley in the TV series.

 

[Gunpacker]

Andy didn't need a gun

He had Barney ready to defend everyone at all times, and make arrests as needed.

 

[foghornl]

I think Dig Me has the right answer...


That's probably why Andy didn't just haul off and blast Dep. Fife . . . never had his gun handy when needed

 

[halvey]

I remember an episode where Andy and Barney went on a stakeout at a mechanics garage I think. The bad guys came in, and Andy and Barney ducked under cover. Andy says to Barney "I think it's time to put that bullet in the gun."

 

[Azrael256]

You guys ever see that Simpsons where Charles Bronson plays Andy? He's sitting there cleaning his massive .44 when Barney walks in...

"Where's Otis? He's not in his cell!"
"I shot him."
"WHAAAT?!?"
"Now I'm off to Emitt's fix-it shop to... fix... Emitt..."

 

[xdoctor]

Yeah, that happened a lot. Barney wasn't allowed to have his gun loaded because he'd always shoot himself in the foot. He was allowed to carry one bullet in his pocket.

 

[Majic]

Small towns seldom had any crimal activity much less violence and a lot of sheriffs didn't wear sidearms. If you look around today you can still see the same thing.

 

[DragonFire]

It was Andy Griffith who didn't like the feel of the holstered gun on his hip, not the character Andy Taylor.

The character started as a bit on the old Danny Thomas show, where Danny gets pulled over for speeding in Mayberry. Andy Griffith played the sherriff, and the skit satired the layed-back country attitude vs. Danny's "big city", always in a hurry attitude.

When the idea to create a full-blown show was being knocked around, Andy suggested his character now wear a gun. Though they talked about it several times during the shows run, and justified it several ways, it came out in an interview with Andy and Don Knotts that Andy Griffith didn't like the weight of the gun on his hip that was his only real motivation for the suggestion.

Even Don Knotts seemed genuinely surprised by that fact.

Andy Taylor, the character, carried a gun several times in various episodes, both rifles and shotguns as well as a side arm.

 

[bigbadge]

Responding to what Majic said, I would guess that 3/4 of the sheriff's in Oklahoma never carry a gun daily.

 

[Old Fuff]

It may come as a shock, but the legendary western peace officer, Wyatt Earp frequently didn't bother to carry a sidearm. He believe he didn't need to, and usually didn't. But on a couple of occasions something came up and he had to borrow a gun. Maybe Tombstone was really as peaceful as Andy's hometown.

 

[MoeMentum]

I always thought the message they were sending, was that in small town America, you didn't have a lot of crime, and you could talk you way out of a situation. Besides, Barney had a bullet to back Andy up.

 

[Rabid Rabbit]

There was one episode where a gourp of con men were pretending to film a documentary about Andy "Sheriff without a gun" when Andy confronted the BGs in the bank they reminded Andy of the title. He responded "you're right I don't have a gun.....but they do" looking at a half dozen people with shotguns.

 

[MikeIsaj]

A little off track but, I think the track has been covered. Anyone know the name of the theme song to the show? I'll give bonus points if you can give me the words to the first two lines.

 

[joab]

"The Fishin Hole "

Well, now, take down your fishin' pole and meet me at The Fishin' Hole,
We may not get a bite all day, but don't you rush away.
What a great place to rest your bones and mighty fine for skippin' stones,
You'll feel fresh as a lemonade, a-settin' in the shade.

Whether it's hot, whether it's cool, oh what a spot for whistlin' like a fool.

What a fine day to take a stroll and wander by The Fishin' Hole,
I can't think of a better way to pass the time o' day.

We'll have no need to call the roll when we get to The Fishin' Hole,
There'll be you, me, and Old Dog Trey, to doodle time away.

If we don't hook a perch or bass, we'll cool our toes in dewy grass,
Or else pull up a weed to chaw, and maybe set and jaw.

Hangin' around, takin' our ease, watchin' that hound a-scratchin' at his fleas.

Come on, take down your fishin' pole and meet me at The Fishin' Hole,
I can't think of a better way to pass the time o' day.

 

[taliv]

so what condition is it when you carry your bullet in your shirt pocket?

 

[Trebor]

so what condition is it when you carry your bullet in your shirt pocket?

Condition -1 (Negative 1, not minus 1)

 

[ZeroX]

Andy Taylor: When a man carries a gun all the time, the respect he thinks he's getting might really be fear. So I don't carry a gun because I don't want the people of Mayberry to fear a gun. I'd rather they respect me.

Not a bad point for a small-town sheriff. The rest are for fun:

Andy Taylor: What are you doing?
Barney Fife: Gun-drawing practice, ten minutes every day. If I ever have to use this baby, I want to teach it to come to papa in a hurry.

Barney Fife: Well, I guess to sum it up, you could say, there's three reasons why there's so little crime in Mayberry. There's Andy, and there's me, and
[patting gun]
Barney Fife: baby makes three.

 

[MikeIsaj]

"The Fishin Hole "

Well, now, take down your fishin' pole and meet me at The Fishin' Hole,
We may not get a bite all day, but don't you rush away.

We have a winner. The rest was just showing off. I honestly thought I was the only person in the world who knew that.

 

[Onmilo]

Andy Griffith always was pro-gun as far as I ever knew.
I guess the anti-everything crowd has been pushing him to front for the anti-gun scene since he is so wholesome and such.

The man played the character of a small town southern sheriff from the era when the biggest problem for those areas was public drunkeness and fistfighting, no wonder his character didn't bother carrying a gun.
My how times have changed!

His best character, in my opinion, was the bad guy in the screenplay adaption of the book Deathwatch by Robb White.
It is a movie worth searching for and the book is even better.

 

[JohnBT]

I looked this one up because I couldn't remember what Opie was trying to win.

#158 Opie and the Carnival 04-26-65

"The carnival comes to town and takes Opie for a ride. Opie blows the money he saved for Andy's birthday present trying to win an electric razor in the carnival's sharpshooting game. The game is rigged, however. Andy finds uot and sets out to do some fixing of his own. Andy cleans the shelves of prizes and then flashes his badge. He advises the pair of hucksters that when Opie comes to try again, he better walk away with a razor. Opie does win the razor on his own."

 

[mtnbkr]

You guys are going to force me into buying a box set and watching them all.

By the time I'm done, my NC accent will be back.

Chris