17 Things Producers of ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ Hid from Fans

4. The real life Aunt Bee and Andy did not get along

On the show the character of Aunt Bee was sweet as pie, but behind the scenes was a different matter. The actress Frances Bavier who played Aunt Bee did not get along with Andy and even refused a visit from him years after the show ended. Later it is reported that she did express her regret over the situation…

5. Producers Wanted Barney to be the Straight Man

The initial plan was for Sheriff Andy Taylor to be the comical one and Deputy Barney Fife to be the straight man. However, it didn’t take long to realize that the reverse was better for the show and the particular talents of the actors. With a face like that, Don Knotts was born to be the comic relief.

6. It’s Not True that Jim Nabors Married Rock Hudson

Back in the 1960s, fans probably wouldn’t have been accepting that the bumbling gas station attendant of Gomer Pyle was played by a homosexual actor. It wasn’t something Jim Nabors actively hid, it just wasn’t something that was openly acknowledged at the time. However, a few years after the show plus its spin-off Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C ended, rumors started flying that Nabors and Rock Hudson were a couple. In fact, the rumor mill had it that the two actors actually married (albeit not legally) and that Hudson was changing his name to Rock Pyle, in homage to Jim’s character. Well, this was all a bad joke gone wrong. The two had been friends, but a romantic relationship and marriage never happened. This lore took on a life of its own and the two actors never spoke again. In January 2013, at the age of 82, Jim Nabors married his partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader.

7. Andy and Barney knew each other before the show

The chemistry between Andy Griffith and Don Knotts was not brand new to the show. The two had actually worked together before. Both of them starred in the Broadway show No Time For Sergeants, which is a production that won Andy a Tony nomination for his role as Will Stockdale.