Donahue - "Andy Griffith & Friends" (Part 3, 1986)

Here's Part 3 of an installment of Donahue that aired on WBBM Channel 2, hosted by Phil Donahue, with Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Jim Nabors and George Lindsey reminiscing about their days on The Andy Griffith Show and promoting their upcoming reunion TV-movie, Return to Mayberry, which would air on the NBC Network on April 13th 1986; this was also a few months before Griffith began a nine-year run on TV as crafty defense lawyer Ben Matlock. (By this time, Donahue had moved its base of operations to New York City, where the show aired on WNBC Channel 4 from 1971 to 1972 and, more successfully, from 1977 to 1995.) Includes:

Donahue bumper with street scene looking southwest from the southeast corner of 7th Avenue and West 34th Street in midtown Manhattan, with an entrance of Madison Square Garden / Penn Station peering out (look for a branch of the now-defunct Bowery Savings Bank, on the northwest corner of 7th Avenue and West 33rd Street; a branch of the Bank of America now stands at that location)

An audience member asks if Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) would be part of the reunion TV-movie, and Andy responds that she wouldn't, due to what he cites as ill health (she died in 1989, but was increasingly reclusive in her last years - she was also the only major cast member not to be in the reunion film). Another in the audience asks about the first showbiz jobs of each of the principals, and Phil brings up Andy's 1953 routine "What It Was, Was Football" (which, he asserts, is "older than Opie"); all except Don and Andy were unknowns at the point The Andy Griffith Show started, and Andy brings up the two plays ("No Time for Sergeants" and "Destry Rides Again") and three movies ("A Face in the Crowd," the film adaptation of "No Time for Sergeants," and "Onionhead") he was in before his show.

Another lady in the audience asks about when the writing of the show's scripts was tailored to the actors' personalities, rather than being written for the characters; Don speaks of the evolution between writers and actors in the creative process as a show's run progresses. Andy then goes into more of the history of his show, which had been spun off from a 1960 episode of The Danny Thomas Show ("Danny Meets Andy Griffith"), which had him, the Aunt Bee character and Opie, and originally his accent was more pronounced and he told funny stories; as it was being developed, Don took an interest in being part of the show, and from the moment of the episode "The Manhunt" (the second show of the series, originally aired October 10th 1960), it was decided Andy would be straight man to Barney's antics, and from there other comic characters were added over time (such as Gomer and Goober, Floyd the barber, and others).

A lady who looks almost like a younger version of Ms. Bavier mentions having a teenaged daughter whose favorite program is The Cosby Show and heralds a trend towards "more wholesome family entertainment," and wonders if Return to Mayberry will be a potential pilot for a new series; Jim brings up a pilot Andy worked on called "Diary of a Perfect Murder" that aired on March 3rd 1986 and led to the 1986-95 series Matlock, and then brings up his own pilot for a sitcom for NBC; George chips in that "it's a pilot for me."

Another lady compliments how the show didn't rely on fads or sex or violence, but rather what goes on in everyday life; Phil interjects how today's prime time schedule is "a reflection on our culture," and points to schedules from 1957 and 1967 to make his point before asking George if it was really about recapturing lost innocence; the onetime Goober responds by noting that "our wardrobe isn't out of date."

Another female audience member asks the quartet if any of them intended to become actors when they were young. Don says he planned it "from the very beginning." The discussion then turns to Barney's role in the reunion film, explaining how he was returning to Mayberry after serving in the big city (in this case, Raleigh); this is followed by yet another clip from "The Return of Barney Fife" in which Andy, Opie and Aunt Bee treat Barney to a little hospitality at Andy's bedroom.

A lady who grew up in a small West Virginia town comments how she identified with the Southern lifestyle as portrayed on the show and found it true to life; Phil then goes to another lady who asks about what Don is doing now, to which he brings up a commercial he'll be doing in Miami the next day.

The first male audience member to pose a question in this show (up to this point) brings up the "storybook life" depicted in Mayberry, and asks it's "really a place or just a state of mind," to which Andy says it's the latter and ventures that "there must be a town called Mayberry somewhere - but not in North Carolina"; he goes on to say that the show's backbone was love, and that was the key to its success.

A lady whose father came from Winston-Salem and grew up watching the show asks what period it was on, claiming she forgot; Phil reminds her it ran from 1960 to 1968. Jim is sure she's not from that city, and Phil assures him she is, adding, "She used to work at the U.N."

Another lady says she was young at the time the Griffith show was on, but loved Three's Company, in which Knotts played landlord Jack Furley, which was her favorite character; she asks how he found playing that role, to which he notes he enjoyed the role "very much," but not as much as Barney.

Another audience member notes she has family in a small South Carolina town, and remembers watching the Griffith show spin-off Mayberry R.F.D. on the porch while living in Minnesota as a child. Phil then brings up the "Citizen's Arrest" episode (originally aired on December 16th 1963) in which Gomer arrested Barney; Jim cites that episode as a favorite.

Another lady asks whether Ron Howard (a.k.a. "Opie"), who by this point had made a name as a director of Hollywood films, had any directorial input with Return to Mayberry; Andy notes that Ron didn't even attempt to exert such input, instead deferring to its director, Bob Sweeney, who was the show's director for its first three seasons. With that, Phil signals for another commercial break.

Donahue "More to Come" bumper

This aired on local Chicago TV on Friday, March 28th 1986 during the 9am to 10am timeframe.

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