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

11. There’s a reason why Sheriff Taylor never carried a gun

The absence of a gun in Sheriff Taylor’s scenes was not an oversight. It was written as a character trait. Sheriff Taylor wanted the people of the town to respect him, not to fear him.

12. There were ten different squad cars

Over the course of shooting there were actually ten different squad cars used. Basically as soon as Ford released a new model of the Galaxie, they had one shipped over and seamlessly inserted it into the show. They stayed relevant without anyone really noticing.

13. Many of the characters weren’t expected to last

When many of the actors joined the show to be part of the ensemble cast there was no guarantee that they would be sticking around longer than an episode. This was even true for Otis Campbell, the town drunk, although that changed after the first day of shooting. After wrapping the day, the producer Aaron Ruben took actor Hal Smith aside and said “Hal, this might develop into quite a part for you.”