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

14. Andy was a huge practical joker

It sounds like Andy Griffith kept the life on set pretty upbeat and interesting, even when they weren’t shooting. He was known to be a huge practical joker and liked to tease in general. Andy supposedly teased Don all the time by calling him “Jess,” which was short for his real first name of Jesse. He knew he hated it.

15. Crump Was Supposed to be a One-off

In the third season, there was an episode involving Opie’s teacher who was played by actress Aneta Corsaut. It was supposed to be a one-shot role, but chemistry sparked and the producers decided to develop the character into Andy’s girlfriend. It ended up being 66 episode gig. Perhaps if they had anticipated that course they would have given her a better name than Helen Crump.

16. Ron Howard was highly influenced by Andy

Successful actor and director Ron Howard, who played Opie, has spoken out about what an impact Andy had on his life. “He treated me really well, but he made it a learning experience, not in a stern, taskmaster kind of a way, but I was really allowed a real insight into creativity and how things work and why some scenes were funny and others weren’t. That insight has served me really well over the years. Andy was really kind to me, always playful and fun, but, by the same token, he wanted to get the work done.”