I finally succeeded in 1986 while learning what the star was really like.Īt one point, a line producer was needed and Andy entered my office, closing my door and announcing, 'Go get a guy, but make sure he's not a Jew.'Īndy knew I was Jewish, he had made the same 'secret' directive to Fred Silverman, his 'Matlock' partner, that was his point. WMA also packaged 'Return to Mayberry,' and I invested seven years attempting to sell this reunion movie with all necessary elements attached. The present North Carolina-based actor and star of the WMA packaged 'Matlock' (1986-1995) has always made industry 'evil lists' for enthusiastically serving as captain of mean spirit, hostility and vitriol. It's a very over-the-top performance by a motivated, if very green, actor. In 'Face,' Griffith's character evolves from dissolute jailbird to the heights of show business idolatry and politics until he's ultimately revealed for what he is. In a more recent interview he stated that Mayberry was invented by Artie Stander, one of the show's writers and not based on any specific place. While fans say it was based on Mount Airy, Andy had been quoted saying he used to visit Mayberry, Virginia, as a child - 22 miles north of Mount Airy.

(Author's note: Several commenters have reacted to my calling Lumberton the 'real life Mayberry.' I should have said 'Mayberry-like.' But I do know the origins of Mayberry. Many years later in the real life Mayberry called Lumberton, North Carolina, Michael Jordan's daddy would be shot in cold blood, targeted by two young boys from Sheriff Andy's fishing hole, primarily because he was a black man driving a new Lexus. His character, portrayed by former-Southern-standup-comic-turned-actor Andy Griffith, was a treasure of small-town Americana where all the Anglo-Saxon citizens were protected by the good ol' boy 'sheriff without a gun' (the pilot's actual title). We, the children of television, grew up believing in the human warmth and genuine kindness of 'Sheriff Andy Taylor' of Mayberry, N.C.

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