Characters / The Andy Griffith Show

Sheriff Andy Taylor

Sheriff Andrew Jackson "Andy" Taylor (Andy Griffith)

• Beware the Nice Ones: Seriously, do not get into a fight with this guy.
• By-the-Book Cop: Serves as this particular "voice of reason" for Barney.
• Characterization Marches On: He and Barney are cousins in the first two episodes, something that isn't brought up again; also, for much of the first season, Griffith played Andy as more of a country bumpkin than the straight man role he played in later episodes.
• The Confidant: Several characters often entrust Andy to keep secrets for them.
• Does Not Like Guns: While he's very handy with them and will use them if absolutely necessary, Andy dislikes guns and doesn't carry one regularly, preferring to reason with people and get them to listen to him out of respect and through reason rather than intimidation.
• The Face: If you're in trouble and need someone to help you find the words to get out of it, Andy's the guy you want doing the talking.
• Flanderization: Andy being the Only Sane Man in Mayberry becomes more and more obvious, especially in the last three seasons, almost to the point where it seems he harbors some contempt for the Eccentric Townsfolk around him.
• Happily Married: Andy gets married to Helen in the pilot of Mayberry R.F.D.
• Hidden Badass: Andy isn't one to pick a fight over a meaningless argument, but he will put you down if absolutely necessary.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Andy is a very skill sharpshooter. He was able to blow a tire off a moving car with just a pistol and was able to shoot every target of a shooting gallery with a bent rifle.
• The Matchmaker: There are numerous episodes where he plays this role, mostly for Barney or a one-time character searching for love.
• Meaningful Name: The apostle Andrew is the patron saint of fishermen, which makes the opening sequence so much better.
• Morality Chain: For Barney and Opie.
• Named After Somebody Famous: President Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States.
  • Oddly enough, the "Jackson" part of his name is in question, as his newborn son in Mayberry R.F.D. is named Andrew Samuel Taylor, Jr.
• Nice Guy: He's a kind, compassionate and caring man who makes an effort to treat everyone around him with respect and dignity.
• Official Couple: According to Mayberry R.F.D., he and Helen Crump have gotten married, which is carried over to the 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry.
• Only Sane Man: He acts as one to the whole town, being a stabilizing influence for all their eccentricity.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He's a cop and a fair one. He always tries to reason with people rather than resort to brute force right away but also makes clear he isn't to be underestimated or trifled with.
• Smoking Is Cool: On a few notable occasions he'll smoke a cigar.
• Technical Pacifist: Hates carrying guns unless the situation calls for as such and he needs to borrow Barney's (one-bullet) gun, preferring instead to outwit criminals rather than rough them up.
• Token Good Cop: He's a diligent and intelligent peacekeeper and crime-solver, while Barney Fife is very far from the brightest bulb, and the various townspeople who are occasionally deputized for emergencies (Otis, Floyd, Gomer, Goober, Howard, etc.) have more enthusiasm than skill.
• Vocal Evolution: Early episodes had Andy speaking with a southern simpleton like voice before it evolved into a more normal authoritive southern voice.

Opie Taylor

Opie Taylor (Ron Howard)

• Cheerful Child: He's quite the playful and curious little boy who lives up to the old saying of kids being kids, usually venturing around town with his friends as they come across mysterious sights.
• Green-Eyed Monster: He becomes this way when Andy starts a relationship with Peggy, to the point of purposefully ruining their relationship to try and keep Andy all to himself.
• Imaginary Friend: "Mr. McBeevee." Or maybe not.
• The Prankster: At times, but usually it's because one of his friends turns out to be a bad influence.
• Precocious Crush: On Thelma Lou in one episode. On his teacher Helen Crump in another. Even more ridiculous that they are Barney's and Andy's girlfriends, respectively.

Deputy Barney Fife

Deputy Bernard Milton "Barney" Fife (Don Knotts)

• And Starring: "Also Starring Don Knotts."
• Berserk Button: Whenever people don't take him seriously and fix whatever mistakes he insists they have made, which often leads to Disproportionate Retribution.
  • And don't let him catch you chasing after his girl Thelma Lou, neither.
• Bound and Gagged: In a few episodes where a scheme to catch a nesting criminal goes awry; he is the one that always gets captured.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: In spite of his mistakes, clumsiness, and accidental gunfire, he manages to come through as Sheriff Taylor's deputy, sticking to his gut feelings when giving the governor's car a parking ticket which results in a citation for faithfully doing his duty, and catching the crooks by taking them and their trailer with the hostage inside to the Mayberry jail.
• Character Catchphrase:
  • "Nip it in the bud!"
  • "Heartaches! Nothing but heartaches!"
  • "What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a man (performed action) before?"
• Characterization Marches On: In the first two episodes, he and Andy were cousins, not referred to again later on.
• Cloudcuckoolander: At times, whenever he thinks there is an overblown explanation for the situation at hand.
• Clueless Deputy: Probably the most prominent example, which paves the way for a lot of the show's biggest laughs.
• The Comically Serious: Whenever he's trying to be intimidating to someone and treat the situation like official police business, they'll automatically assume he's leading them on.
• Foil:
  • Big Guy, Little Guy: The Little to Andy's Big.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Andy's Blue.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensitive Guy to Andy's Manly Man.
  • Straight Man and Wise Guy: The Wise Guy to Andy's Straight Man.
• The Ghost: His waitress girlfriend, Juanita, who never appeared on the show but talked to him over the phone.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Several episodes dealt with Barney hoping to join the town or church choir, only to sing horribly off-key and the characters trying to find some way to dismiss him with grace. (Averted in real life; Don Knotts was a reasonably talented singer and had a fine baritone voice.)
• Idiot Ball: Carries this a lot, usually to misinterpreting a situation that seems to be a hard-core federal crime, but later turns out to be something much less than that.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Opie.
• The Klutz: Why he had to keep his single rationed bullet in his pocket instead of his gun.
• Moment Killer: There are whole episodes built around his tendency to interrupt Andy's dates with Helen.
• Non-Action Guy: In WWII, at least, in contrast to Andy. Barney was never allowed to leave his post in office as a file clerk, while Andy was stationed in France.
• Official Couple: With Thelma Lou at first, but the two call it quits when he leaves Mayberry. In Season 6's "The Return of Barney Fife", Barney discovers Thelma Lou has married Gerald Whitfield. But, in 1986's TV movie Return to Mayberry, the couple end up getting officially married.
• Put on a Bus: At the end of Season 5 so that Knotts could work on a movie career, although he returns for an episode or two each season until the show's end.
• Reckless Sidekick: Regardless of the situation and no matter how dangerous it may be, Barney is always ready to nip the problem in the bud.
• Sitcom Character Archetypes: The Goofball.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Ignoring all that happens under his nose, Barney considers himself an expert lawman, as well as a specialist on women, singing, history, etc. Andy regularly lets Barney carry on as he pleases, although he only allows him a single bullet in his gun for prime safety reasons.
• Suddenly Shouting: Happens when he expresses discomfort, anger, or surprise.

Aunt Bee

Beatrice "Aunt Bee" Taylor (Frances Bavier)

• All Women Want Bad Boys: In the early seasons, Aunt Bee has romances with several men that turn out to be complete jerks. Averted in the color era, when she finds happiness with respectable gentlemen such as a professor and a congressman.
• Best Friend: With Clara Edwards Johnson.
• The Bus Came Back: In-universe, when Aunt Bee returns to Mayberry in the show's first episode after living in West Virginia for 5 years.
• Lethal Chef: She's a good cook in general, but don't let her make pickles, whatever you do.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Though she is the aunt of Andy, everybody in Mayberry calls her "Aunt Bee."
• Parental Substitute: For Opie's mother. In the first episode, Opie was originally not too happy with accepting another mother figure into the household, but he warmed up to Aunt Bee by the end of the episode and they became instant friends.
• Sitcom Character Archetypes: The Sage.
• Supreme Chef: Is an excellent cook in pretty much all regards except for when it comes to pickles, which somehow manage to taste like kerosene.

Gomer Pyle

Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors)

• The Cast Showoff: Like Griffith, Nabors was able to showcase his singing talents in some episodes, although these were more reserved for the spin-off, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C..
• Character Catchphrase: "Well, golll-leeee!" and "Shazam!" And later, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!"
• Cloudcuckoolander
• Clueless Deputy: Whenever the situation called for it, Andy and Barney would usually get someone inept like Gomer to become one of their sworn-in deputies.
• Country Mouse: In Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C..
• The Ditz
  • Genius Ditz: His astounding singing talents, something that amazes Andy and Barney's choir in one episode.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Averted, as first seen in "The Song Festers." Anyone who previously thought that, given Gomer's goofball voice, he'd be comically off-key as a singer would soon realize otherwise.
• Put on a Bus: For his own spin-off show, the aforementioned Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C..
• Sitcom Character Archetypes: The Goofball.

Goober Pyle

Goober Pyle (George Lindsey)

• Ascended Extra: He becomes one after Gomer joins the Marines and Barney takes a police job in Raleigh.
• Clueless Deputy: Like Gomer, Goober was often made a temporary deputy, whether it be for better or for worse.
• Genius Ditz: He can take apart a police car, reassemble it, and take it apart all over again, as evidenced in one episode.
• Sitcom Character Archetypes: The Goofball.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For his cousin, Gomer.

Otis Campbell

Otis Campbell (Hal Smith)

• The Alcoholic: He's notorious as the town drunk, to the point where he lets himself into the jail to sleep off his latest binge.
• Clueless Deputy: Whenever Andy or Barney enlisted him as one of their deputies, Otis would be entirely off the case.
• Drop-In Character: To the jail; every week, he drunkenly lets himself in using the keys that hang on the wall and spends the night in one of the cells.
• The Teetotaler: By Return to Mayberry, he's become this, giving up drinking and driving an ice cream truck.

Floyd Lawson

Floyd Lawson (Walter Baldwin, Howard McNear)

• The Other Darrin: Walter Baldwin portrayed Floyd in his debut appearance, with Howard McNear taking over the role from then on.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: McNear died less than a year after the final episode of Season 7, so that he was not able to return for Season 8.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Emmett Clark, a fix-it man, was added to fill in the character's absence. In-universe, Floyd was announced as having retired because he had earned enough money.
• Written-In Infirmity: After McNear suffered a major stroke during Season 3 which left him unable to walk, Floyd was always shown either seated or leaning against a stand.

Thelma Lou

Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn)

• Official Couple: After Barney leaves Mayberry, she ends up marrying Gerald Whitfield, and the episode "The Return of Barney Fife" in Season 6 serves as her last appearance on the show. However, she does return for the 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry, where she and Barney end up getting married.
• You're Just Jealous: In the episode where Andy and Barney help a friend of theirs find a bride and he selects Thelma Lou as the girl he wants to marry, Thelma Lou claims this is the reason Barney is so jealous, although she never wanted to marry anyone else in the first place, and she and Barney get back together at the end of the episode.

Helen Crump

Helen Crump (Aneta Corsaut)

• Little Boy Seeks Big Girl: Opie had a crush on Helen in the opening episode of Season 5.
• Official Couple: In the pilot episode of Mayberry R.F.D., she and Andy officially get married.

Ernest T. Bass

Ernest T. Bass (Howard Morris)

• Escape Artist: In "Ernest T. Joins the Army", it becomes apparent that Ernest T. can escape from jail at will. As a result, in all of his subsequent appearances, Andy has to compromise with Ernest T. or trick him, as locking him up is not an option.
• Exact Words: In "Malcom at the Crossroads", Ernest T. who is working as a crossing guard, is told by Andy not to throw rocks at cars. Ernest T. promptly switches to throwing bricks at cars.
• Good-Looking Privates: Ernest T. tries to invoke this in "Ernest T. Joins the Army", enlisting in the Army with the intention to leave upon receiving his uniform. After the Army rejects Ernest T., Andy ends up giving him Barney's uniform to put an end to his Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
• Never Learned to Read: As of "The Education of Ernest T. Bass", he can only read a few words off of signs, such as "Beware of Dog" and "No Hunting". Oddly enough, in his earlier appearances in "Mountain Wedding" and "Ernest T. Bass Joins the Army", Ernest T. attached notes to rocks that he throws through windows.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: His mother taught him to hate Englishmen.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Upon discovering that Andy advised the Army to reject him, Ernest T. vows to break every window in Mayberry.
• Running Gag: He likes throwing rocks and bricks through windows to get people's attention.
• Stalker with a Crush:
  • To Charlene Darling in "Mountain Wedding", to the point of refusing to recognize her actual marriage as official because the ceremony wasn't performed by a preacher. The fact that Charlene is already an Abhorrent Admirer to Andy (though when Ernest was courting her, she was already married and loyal to Dud) should tell you how unsavory he is.
  • Also to Helen when she became his teacher in "The Education of Ernest T. Bass", which Helen finds very annoying to the point of "graduating" him simply to get him away from her.

Deputy Warren Ferguson

Warren Ferguson (Jack Burns)

• Character Catchphrase: Not catch phrase, per se, but he did have a habit of asking "Huh?" after a long succession of questions.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He disappeared without a trace after eleven appearances in Season 6. In the 1986 TV movie Return to Mayberry, it is mentioned that he became Sheriff of Mayberry after Andy left, and remained at that post until his death.
• Clueless Deputy: Like Barney, but not to the same hilarious effect.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Barney.

Howard Sprague

Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson)

The county clerk who officially debuts in Season 6's "The County Clerk" episode.

• 15 Minutes of Fame: He bowls a perfect 300 game at the bowling alley, only to be overlooked by his teammates who are more upset about Andy calling off the bet.
• Mama's Boy: He has a close relationship with his mother.
• My Beloved Smother: His domineering mother, who objects to Howard joining the local lodge for fear that he might become a gambler, when the "card games" that take place are just gin rummy and cribbage-type games instead of the "big games" such as poker and blackjack.