Andy Griffith RIP

                Another part of our cultural heritage is gone forever. Andy Griffith, comedian, singer, and television icon, has died at the age of 86.

                  The Andy Griffith Show was and remains one of my all-time favorites. It has a gloriously good nature to it, as simple and unaffected as any small country town. Small town sheriff Andy Taylor (Griffith) was the calm eye in the center of a hurricane of crazies, ranging from his incompetent deputy and best friend Barney Fife (Don Knotts) to slack-jawed gas-station attendant Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors). Every week Andy would have to try to solve some local problem, usually brought on or exacerbated by Barney, while bringing up his young son, Opie (Ronny Howard) with the slightly dubious help of his bustling, naïve Aunt Bea (Frances Bavier).

                  The joys of the show were manifold, so much that it would take pages and pages to give it its due. There’s the beautiful father-son relationship between Andy and Opie, with Andy doing his best to bring up his son right and Opie alternatively getting into trouble and learning life lessons. There’s the painfully funny antics of Barney, who takes his job extremely seriously, despite his almost complete ineptitude at it (Andy only lets him carry one bullet…which he’s forbidden from keeping in his gun). There’s the easy-going charm and quirks of small-town life, where everyone knows everyone (a particularly funny episode has Gomer placing Barney under ‘citizen’s arrest,’ to the cheers of the assembled crowd).

                  But at its heart was Andy Griffith’s firm, friendly, and level-headed Sheriff Taylor. He was a character who was thoroughly admirable without being idealized; a true man, a loving-though-firm father, a loyal friend, and, through it all, a delightfully funny and engaging character.

                  Griffith’s Sheriff Taylor was a television icon, and had he done nothing else his place in American history would have been assured. But that wasn’t all he did. He starred in numerous other works, including the spinoff, Mayberry RFD, and created another iconic television character in the form of the deceptively-genial southern lawyer Matlock.

                  Griffith was a giant of the television art form and The Andy Griffith Show is one of the finest examples of the medium’s first golden age. It has a strong claim to be America’s all-time favorite comedy series. Through it and through his many other works Griffith brought laughter, joy, and inspiration to millions. We shall not look upon his like again. 

 

   Requiescat in Pace.