Younger viewers are more likely aware with “The Andy Griffith Show” because to reruns on channels like TVLand, while older viewers may recall that the show’s original run on CBS from 1960 to 1968. The series established itself as a well-liked and enduring part of American popular culture both during its run on the network and for many years after. In actuality, according to Classic TV Hits, the programme finished first in each of its final two seasons and never dropped below seventh place in year-to-year Nielsen ratings.
Griffith played Andy Taylor, the Sheriff of the made-up town of Mayberry, North Carolina, in the television series. Griffith attributed the show’s endurance to the wonderful emotions it emitted in an interview with the New York Times in 1965. I believe it is because we all have a strong feeling of community and are kind to one another, he remarked. “Kindness comes through on the programme as the fundamental value by which we live.”
The performers that starred in the series have virtually all gone to the great green room in the sky, as would be anticipated for a show of that era, but many of the kids and one noteworthy adult are still alive. Legendary actors Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Frances Bavier, Jim Nabors, and George Lindsey are among those who have passed away, but which members of the cast of “The Andy Griffith Show” are still alive?
Clint Howard (Leon)
Clint Howard, Ron Howard’s brother, made his television debut as Boy at Church Social in Season 2, Episode 17 of “The Andy Griffith Show” when he was barely 2 years old (“The Jinx”). He didn’t receive any Emmys for his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it performance, but he did get the character name Leon for his subsequent four TV appearances. The child emerges in each brief scene coated in peanut butter and jelly from a sandwich he holds in his dirty tiny hands but doesn’t say a word.
At the age of 4, Clint Howard received his first significant role in the brief sitcom “The Baileys of Balboa” from 1964, as well as his breakthrough performance as Mark Wedloe in “Gentle Ben” from 1967.
His career as a character actor continued for a very long time and steadily, earning him an astounding 253 acting credits.
He has starred in several classic series, including Austin Powers, Star Trek, and Solo: A Star Wars Story (all three films).
The Howard brothers collaborated on a number of film and television productions, including two “Happy Days” episodes, and even co-wrote “The Boys,” a biography about their youth. Clint revealed to Entertainment Weekly in 2021 that his loving family had a significant influence on his achievement. In fact, he attributed his parents’ “unique way of operating” to his and his brother’s jobs.
Clint also tried to put an end to any family envy speculations by adding, “The fact that I am their son and that Ron is my younger brother fills me with such immense gratitude. Being Ron Howard’s brother is such a lovely, fantastic place to be. Contrary to popular belief, there isn’t any conflict or envy.”
Dennis Rush (Howie Pruitt)
Howie Pruitt, another one of Opie’s friends, was portrayed by Dennis Rush in eight episodes from Seasons 3 through 5. His appearances on “The Andy Griffith Show” came toward the close of a ten-year acting career that included included guest roles on “Perry Mason,” “The Lucy Show,” and “My Favorite Martian” and cameos on “Wagon Train.” Rush remembers life on the set of “The Andy Griffith Show” with the same level of nostalgia as Richard Keith.
He told the Mt. Airy News, the local newspaper of Andy Griffith, “There was hard labour to be done, but son of a pistol, everyone simply liked their time there, enjoyed working with one another.” It was “simply a truly delightful circumstance” because Ron Howard and [Richard Keith] were “two of the nicest guys you could possibly imagine” and “the two legends of young acting.”
Rush’s acting career came to a stop at the age of 14, yet he has no regrets about his decision to leave Hollywood at that time. Rush added, “There are times you just have to say goodbye to the industry.” “That chapter of my life just ended so cleanly and so directly after I graduated from high school and joined the Marines three months later.” Rush recently retired after 36 years as the Director of Operations at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club in San Diego, California, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Elinor Donahue (Ellie Walker)
Ellie Walker, a Mayberry pharmacist, was portrayed by Elinor Donahue and was Andy’s first of many enduring love interests. Before requesting to be released from her three-year contract, she made an appearance in 11 episodes of Season 1. She later admitted to Closer Weekly that it was a little strange transitioning from a youthful character in “Father Knows Best” to an adult one in “The Andy Griffith Show.” She remarked, “I felt like a bird out of a nest. “I didn’t feel ready and like I still lacked some of my feathers. I simply wasn’t pleased, therefore there was no use in my trying to keep on.”
Writer Sabienna Bowman of This Was Television observed in 2012 that Donahue’s progressive character might not have been a good fit for the made-up picturesque community. She said that the character “was a continual reminder of the volatile changing world beyond Mayberry, which defied The Andy Griffith Show’s mission statement to offer viewers a respite from the chaotic political and social milieu of the moment.”
Notably, Donahue said that Andy Griffith later admitted that he was partially to blame for her abrupt departure from the programme. Donahue stated, “He claimed they just didn’t know how to write for me.” “That might have been a component of it. There didn’t seem to be any real chemistry, in my opinion.” She would eventually go on to participate in illustrious TV shows including “The Odd Couple,” “Fantasy Island,” and “The Love Boat.” She even had a guest appearance in an episode of the final season of “Happy Days,” but this was after Ron Howard had departed the programme.
Richard Keith (Johnny Paul Jason)
Actor Richard Keith played Opie Taylor’s friend Johnny Paul Jason on “The Andy Griffith Show” between Seasons 3 and 6. He made 13 appearances during that time. It doesn’t matter who you were or what you did on that programme, you’re a part of Mayberry forever, he said in 2015 when speaking to the Archive of American Television.
Notably, Keith’s name might sound familiar to you because he had appeared on several legendary sitcoms in addition to “The Andy Griffith Show” when he was younger. In “I Love Lucy,” which starred Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, he played Little Ricky Ricardo, the couple’s youngster. Arnaz is said to have given Keith his stage name because he found his true name, Keith Thibodeaux, to be difficult to pronounce. After “I Love Lucy” left the airwaves, he later returned in “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,” which ran for three years. Keith is the only notable cast member of “I Love Lucy” who is still alive as of 2022.
Keith has had nothing but positive things to say about his time working with Andy Griffith and his co-stars in the years since the series came to an end. He remarked, “[They were] very much like their roles. “It was a pleasure to work with them. We sang songs, played guitars, and played checkers with the makeup artist back there. Ron and I also played catch and shared hamburgers at the commissary.”
It’s interesting to note that Keith only has two acting roles to his name as an adult, in the 2009 flop “C Me Dance” and the 0% Tomatometer-rated TV movie “A Shadow in the Streets,” which received a 21% audience rating.
Keith played drums for David and the Giants, a secular rock band that became Christian after leaving the acting industry. He currently resides in Jackson, Mississippi with his wife Kathy, where the two of them operate Ballet Magnificat!, a travelling Christian dance ensemble that received significant screen time in the film “C Me Dance.”
Ron Howard (Opie Taylor)
Ron Howard, who portrayed Andy’s son Opie, is without a doubt the show’s brightest and most well-known surviving performer. In 1954, Howard was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, into a family of actors. At the age of 18 months, he made his cinematic debut in “Frontier Woman.” As Opie developed from a freckle-faced young boy of six into a teenager—he was a month past his 14th birthday when the series finale aired—American TV viewers absorbed life lessons through his eyes.
Later, Howard would play Steve in the 1973 film “American Graffiti.” Of course, he’s as well recognised for his portrayal of the sincere Milwaukeean Richie Cunningham in the 1974–1984 television sitcom “Happy Days.” Since then, Howard has primarily distinguished himself in Hollywood as a director and producer. He is one of the highest-grossing directors of all time thanks to the $3 billion domestic total of the 33 films he has directed.
Howard’s career as a director includes comedies like “Splash,” “Arrested Development,” action flicks like “Backdraft,” “Rush,” dramas like “Parenthood,” and “Far and Away,” as well as science fiction flicks like “Cocoon” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and docudramas like “Apollo 13” and “Frost/Nixon.” He won the Best Director and Best Picture Oscars in 2001 for “A Beautiful Mind,” and he also holds two Emmys: the 2003 Best Comedy Series trophy for “Arrested Development” and the 1998 “Outstanding Miniseries” medal for “From the Earth to the Moon.”
With 21 active production or directing projects, he is still very busy at the age of 68. Howard revealed to The Guardian in 2020 that being raised in an acting family “Because I’m an introverted, risk-averse person on my own, I search for projects that expose me to life experiences I otherwise wouldn’t have had. However, when there is a tale to be told, it forces me to leave the house, engage in conversation, and gain knowledge.”
Sheldon Collins (Arnold Bailey)
On the show, Arnold Bailey (Sheldon Collins), who appeared in nine episodes, was Opie’s closest friend. He appeared in two episodes of the follow-up series “Mayberry R.F.D.” as Arnold, and was credited in four of those as Sheldon Golomb. Collins began acting at the age of 7 on “Naked City,” and by the time he was 17 in 1972, he had appeared in guest roles on such illustrious programmes as “Star Trek,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” and “I Dream of Jeannie.”
Collins, like Dennis Rush, fell victim to the same trap that many child actors fall into as they grow into adult actors. He commented, “You go through this time where you’re too old for kid parts but you’re not mature enough for adult parts… in college, I started getting into science and I really liked it.” in a 1998 appearance at the Mayberry Squad Car Rendezvous. The former child actor’s curiosity finally prompted him to pursue a career in dentistry, where he currently works.
