DEATHS ; Notable Passings; The Thread to Pay Last Respects

[LizzieMaine]

Griffith was a superb actor, and rarely gets credit for that: watch him in "A Face In The Crowd" and see the dark, dangerous side of his whole "folksy" persona.

"The Andy Griffith Show" was brilliant on many levels -- it was one of the very few television series to ever really capture the honest texture of Golden Era small town life. I say Golden Era because even though the show was a product of the sixties, the mindsets behind it were far more influenced by the 1940s -- several of its writers were the same men who made Summerfield seems like a real place on radio's "The Great Gildersleeve." The series managed to capture the mix of oddball characters, comfortable settings, and unstrained humor that really characterized small town life for many of us who had the good fortune to grow up in such a place, and they did it without being the least bit smarmy or condescending. That's the show's -- and Griffith's -- greatest legacy.

For some strange reason, though, his most indelible personal impression on me comes from a series of commericals he did in the '70s for Ritz crackers. He'd take an enthusiastic bite out of one, make a face of pure delight, and murmur "Mmmmm-mmmm! Gooooooooood cracker!" To this day, when something especially pleases me, I'll say "Mmmmmm-mmmm, goood cracker!"

 

[AtomicEraTom]

It's a sad day for those who love Mayberry. I grew up with 'The Andy Griffith Show.' Mom has been a fan since she was a kid and got me hooked on it when I was 3 or 4. When Dad got hurt and she went to work, Dad started his business out of our barn and had a TV in the shop, so we could watch it together. I just think of all the times in my life, up to this very day, that Andy has been on the screen, it's almost like he's an old friend. Funny how some actor on a TV program can make you feel that way.

Andy was always such a good guy, he cared about his son, about his family, about his friends, and about everyone in Mayberry. I think that was definitely part of the real Andy and not just an act. That kindness always came across as genuine and was my favorite thing about him.

 

[Undertow]

Oh my, just saw this in the news (CNN is usually behind about 4 hours because they're busy reporting that one of their own reporters is gay - huge news to CNN).

My childhood seems to be dying around me. Bradbury and now Griffith.

 

[ButteMT61]

My dad told me years ago (he's 77) that the worst part of growing older was seeing your idols die off, then your friends, then you wait for your turn. I'm 51, and can see what he meant. For some reason, this one really affected me this morning. That part of my childhood and the fantasy it still holds in my mind is all but a memory now. Sure, life is great, but I'm stuck in a Midnight In Paris rut of wishing I was back 55 years in time...
RIP Andy. You're in good company though.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Indeed, Mr. Griffith was a great Tar Heel. To paraphrase something he might say…he made our state right proud!

In the eighties and nineties, he spent much of his time at his home in Dare County, North Carolina. My first job as a prosecutor was in that county. I remember seeing Mr. Griffith around Manteo. Manteo is a very small town and everyone there knows everything about each other. Mr. Griffith would always be dressed in old jeans or khaki Dickies and would always be barefoot, no matter what the weather. I think it is fair to say that he was more than a bit eccentric by that time. But no matter. The people of Manteo never treated him like anything other than one of their own.

AF

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

[video=youtube;sg4pu7o5k38]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg4pu7o5k38[/video]

 

[LizzieMaine]

Andy Griffith, the Father of Rap.

 

[dhermann1]

Let's not forget the vehicle that catapulted him to fame, both the stage play, and later the movie, "No Time for Sergeants".
"Last name first, first name, middle name, last".
"Stockdale, Will, Will, Stockdale, Stockdale".

 

[gtdean48]

What It Was Was Football is still so funny.....

 

[hatophile]

Thanks for bringing up the Ritz commercials, I had almost forgotten those!

 

[Tomasso]

What It Was Was Football is still so funny.....

Sure is!



[video=youtube;oNxLxTZHKM8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNxLxTZHKM8[/video]

 

[DanielJones]

And speaking of football stories... Moustache wearing Ben Davidson, from Oakland Raider & Conan the Barbarian fame, has recently passed away at the age of 72.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/ben-davidson-dies-prostate-cancer-oakland-raiders-star-070312

Cheers.

Dan

 

[rue]

Andy Griffith passed away this morning, he was 86.

1926-2012

 

[HadleyH]

Andy Griffith passed away this morning, he was 86.

1926-2012

Andy Griffith RIP

 

[scotrace]

Andy Griffith, the Father of Rap.

Now that was a goooood cracker.

 

[lolly_loisides]

The wonderful Eric Sykes passed away on July 4.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2012/jul/04/eric-sykes

 

[plain old dave]

The world is a little darker place than it was Monday night; we have lost the single greatest TV personality of the first 50 years of the medium, bar NONE. I heard a sound bite of an interview the other day where he allowed what they tried to do with Mayberry was make people laugh WITH the townsfolk, not AT them. They succeeded. Watch an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies or Petticoat Junction, then watch an Andy Griffith Show episode. Easy to understand characters, well-written shows; you can learn all you need to know about any mayberry resident from one episode. Never before in TV was a show so well-done, and none since have been. Whether the classic B&W episodes or the later color ones with Goober and Howard Sprague, you KNEW that whatever problem the good people of Mayberry got into they would do the right thing and everything would work out all right. I couldn't even whistle "The Fishin' Hole" all day Tuesday. We are ALL diminished a little today; Barney and Goober have been joined on the other side of The Fishin' Hole by their Sheriff Without A Gun, Andy Taylor.

The wife and I watched "The Loaded Goat" on DVD earlier and had fun. I think Andy would have approved.

 

[Old Rogue]

The wife and I watched "The Loaded Goat" on DVD earlier and had fun. I think Andy would have approved.

I started to say that was my favorite episode, but then I realized that almost every episode is my favorite in one way or another.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

That is a good one. It'd be hard to pick a favorite. I always get a kick out of the one where Barney gets scammed on the used car, though.

 

[plain old dave]

The "little old lady" in that episode was none other than Ellen Corby. You may remember her as Esther (Grandma) Walton. Interesting Golden Age connection.