Best TV Dads · Episode 4
Andy Taylor
The Andy Griffith Show (1960–68). A widowed sheriff raising Opie with patience, questions and stories, from Mr. McBeevee to Opie and the Bully.
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Shannon A front porch in a little North Carolina town, after supper. A father in a sheriff's uniform, his boots up on the rail. And his little boy sits down next to him, with a question he's been working up the nerve to ask.
Gordon And the father puts everything down, and just listens.
Shannon That's Andy Taylor. The sheriff of Mayberry, and Opie's pa.
Gordon I'll be honest. I'd seen the whistling and the fishing poles, the famous opening. But I'd never sat down and watched a whole episode. And now I can't stop.
Shannon Welcome to Best TV Dads. Each episode, we sit down with one of television's great fathers. And this time, we're going home to Mayberry.
Gordon Episode four. Andy Taylor.
Gordon So, start me at the beginning. What's Andy's situation?
Shannon Andy Taylor is a widower. Opie's mother died when Opie was very small, and we never see her. It's just Andy and his boy. Then his Aunt Bee comes to live with them and help raise Opie.
Gordon And he's the sheriff, too.
Shannon He is. Which means he's in charge of keeping the peace in the whole town. But the show makes it clear, his most important job is at home.
Gordon I get the feeling there's a lot more to Mayberry than just Andy.
Shannon There is. If you'd like a lot more about Andy Griffith, Barney, Aunt Bee and the whole town, we gave it a whole season on Classic TV Rewind, another show here on the VoiceFrequency Network. Today, it's just about Andy as a father.
Gordon So what kind of father is he?
Shannon A patient one. Andy almost never raises his voice with Opie. When Opie does something wrong, Andy asks him questions. He lets Opie think it through. And then he lets Opie make it right himself.
Gordon He doesn't just hand him the answer.
Shannon Never. He'd rather Opie figure it out. Because then it sticks.
Gordon And he tells stories.
Shannon He does. Andy's always got a story about when he was a boy. And somewhere in the story, there's the lesson Opie needs.
Gordon And Opie was played by Ron Howard, who grew up to be a famous director.
Shannon That's him. He was about six when the show started, and he played Opie for eight years. His real father, Rance Howard, was an actor too, and he was on the set a lot, helping his son and keeping him a regular kid.
Gordon So he had two good dads.
Shannon In a way, he did. Ron Howard has talked about how much he learned from Andy Griffith, on the set and off. And you can see the trust between them on the screen.
Gordon Okay. There's one episode I watched that I can't stop thinking about.
Shannon Let me guess. Mr. McBeevee.
Gordon Yes! Tell people about it.
Shannon Opie comes home with a story about a new friend he met in the woods. A man named Mr. McBeevee, who walks in the treetops, wears a shiny silver hat, and jingles when he walks.
Gordon And nobody believes him.
Shannon Not Barney, and at first, not even Andy. It sounds like a made-up friend. So Andy tells Opie he has to admit it's not true, or he'll be punished.
Gordon And Opie won't.
Shannon Not for a second. He looks his father in the eye and says it's true. And Andy has to decide. Does he believe the evidence, or does he believe his son?
Gordon And he believes his son.
Shannon He does. He tells Barney that he doesn't believe in Mr. McBeevee, but he believes in Opie. And then, of course, it turns out Mr. McBeevee is real. He's a telephone lineman, up in the trees, with a hard hat and a tool belt that jingles.
Gordon That one got me.
Shannon It gets everybody.
Gordon And there's another one about a bully, isn't there?
Shannon Opie and the Bully. Another boy has been taking Opie's milk money every day, and Opie's too scared to do anything about it.
Gordon So what does Andy do?
Shannon He doesn't march down to the school, or call the other boy's parents. Instead, he takes Opie fishing and tells him a story about a bully from when he was a boy, and how he stood his ground anyway.
Gordon And Opie does it.
Shannon Opie does it. He comes home with a black eye and a big grin, and he's proud of himself. It's about a father giving his son courage, instead of fighting his battles for him.
Gordon So why does Andy Taylor belong on this list?
Shannon Because he's steady. He's warm, he's funny, he's fair. He doesn't need to carry a gun to keep the peace, and he doesn't need to shout to raise a good son.
Gordon And he always has time.
Shannon That's the thing. However busy the town gets, when Opie needs him, Andy stops. And that's what a lot of us remember most about him.
Gordon So, what's your pick?
Shannon Mine is Opie and the Bully. A father giving his son courage, and a story that still works for any kid today.
Gordon And mine is Mr. McBeevee. When everyone else doubts him, his dad chooses to believe him. I'd watch that one again tomorrow.
Shannon And our rating, out of five neckties.
Gordon Five neckties. Though I'm not sure Andy ever wore one.
Shannon Five from me too. He'd wear it to church on Sunday, and loosen it right after.
Gordon That's Andy Taylor. A sheriff, a widower, a storyteller, and a father who always made time to listen.
Shannon Next time, a father with not one son, but three. Steve Douglas, of My Three Sons.
Gordon That's next time, on Best TV Dads.