Andy Griffith quiz

Answer key

1. Mayberry. Mayberry is fictional, which lets the series build a close-knit town around its courthouse, barbershop, and Taylor household rather than a real municipal government.
2. North Carolina. Mayberry is placed in North Carolina. Mount Airy, Andy Griffith’s real hometown in the same state, is separate from the fictional television setting.
3. Sheriff. Andy is Mayberry’s sheriff, often solving problems with patience rather than force.
4. Opie. Opie is Andy Taylor’s son, played by Ron Howard. Father-and-son stories are a recurring counterpart to the courthouse comedy with Barney.
5. Ron Howard. Ron Howard played Opie years before his later work as a film director.
6. Don Knotts. Don Knotts plays Barney Fife, the eager deputy whose anxious enthusiasm contrasts with Sheriff Andy Taylor’s calm approach.
7. Frances Bavier. Frances Bavier plays Aunt Bee. Her arrival as the new housekeeper is the starting point of the first regular episode.
8. Aneta Corsaut. Aneta Corsaut plays Helen, the teacher who becomes Andy’s steady girlfriend.
9. Betty Lynn. Betty Lynn plays Thelma Lou, who is associated with Barney. Helen Crump, played by Aneta Corsaut, is Andy’s girlfriend.
10. Jim Nabors. Jim Nabors originated Gomer on the series before starring in the Marine Corps spinoff.
11. George Lindsey. George Lindsey plays Goober, Gomer’s cousin. Jim Nabors plays Gomer, so the two Pyles are different characters played by different actors.
12. Howard McNear. Howard McNear is the actor most associated with Floyd. Walter Baldwin played the barber in his first appearance, before McNear took over the role.
13. Hal Smith. Hal Smith plays Otis, whose recurring visits to the jail are a comic element of the series. The actor’s surname is Smith; Campbell is the character’s.
14. Jack Dodson. Jack Dodson plays Howard, the county clerk. That office role distinguishes him from the town’s shopkeepers, such as Floyd and Emmett.
15. Paul Hartman. Paul Hartman plays Emmett, the repair-shop proprietor. The character becomes part of the later Mayberry ensemble rather than the original household trio.
16. Howard Morris. Howard Morris plays Ernest T. Bass, remembered for rock throwing and disruptive visits to town. He is distinct from Howard Sprague, the county clerk.
17. Denver Pyle. Denver Pyle plays Briscoe, head of the musical Darling family. Pyle is the actor’s surname here, not the character’s family name.
18. Maggie Peterson. Maggie Peterson plays Charlene, the Darling daughter. The four sons are played by members of the bluegrass group the Dillards.
19. The Dillards. The Dillards supply both the Darling sons and the family’s bluegrass playing.
20. Elinor Donahue. Elinor Donahue plays Ellie Walker, the first-season pharmacist. She is a different character from Helen Crump, the schoolteacher.
21. Jack Burns. Jack Burns portrays Warren in the sixth season after Barney’s regular departure.
22. She is his aunt. Aunt Bee is Andy’s aunt and Opie’s great-aunt.
23. They are cousins. Goober and Gomer are cousins, although the same surname sometimes causes confusion.
24. Teacher. Helen is a schoolteacher, which connects her introduction to Opie’s school life. She later becomes Andy’s steady girlfriend.
25. Floyd Lawson. Floyd’s barbershop provides a regular setting for conversation and town gossip.
26. Howard Sprague. Howard Sprague works in county administration as clerk. The county courthouse setting also houses Andy and Barney’s law-enforcement work.
27. A fix-it shop. Emmett’s fix-it shop repairs household items. It provides a workplace setting distinct from Floyd’s barbershop and the courthouse.
28. Ernest T. Bass. Ernest T. Bass is known for throwing rocks. His unruly behavior sets him apart from the more orderly everyday routines of Mayberry.
29. In his shirt pocket. Barney usually keeps the single bullet in his shirt pocket until he thinks he needs it.
30. Fishing poles. The opening shows father and son heading toward the fishing spot with their poles.
31. Whistling. Whistling carries the opening melody while Andy and Opie walk with fishing poles. The tune is commonly called The Fishin’ Hole.
32. Earle Hagen. Earle Hagen co-wrote the theme and supplied the whistle. Andy Griffith’s guitar playing on screen is a different musical element of the show.
33. 1960. The regular series premiered on CBS on October 3, 1960.
34. 1968. The original series ended in 1968 after eight seasons. Mayberry R.F.D. continued the setting afterward, but is a separate series.
35. 8. Eight seasons make up the original run: five in black and white, followed by three in color. The later Mayberry series is not included in that count.
36. CBS. CBS aired the original run from 1960 to 1968. A streaming service carrying the series today is a distributor, not its original broadcast network.
37. Season 6. The first five seasons are black and white; the last three are in color.
38. The New Housekeeper. The New Housekeeper is the first regular episode. Aunt Bee joins the Taylor household, beginning the family arrangement familiar from the series.
39. She is getting married. Rose’s marriage creates the opening for Aunt Bee to join the household.
40. Aunt Bee’s. Aunt Bee makes the troublesome pickles. The comedy comes from Andy and Barney trying to spare her feelings rather than telling her plainly how they taste.
41. Store-bought pickles. Their attempt to swap in store-bought pickles complicates Aunt Bee’s plans for a contest.
42. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. follows Jim Nabors’s character into the Marines. Mayberry R.F.D. instead remains in the small-town setting.
43. Mayberry R.F.D.. Mayberry R.F.D. continued the setting with a new central family and familiar residents.
44. Return to Mayberry. Return to Mayberry is the 1986 television reunion movie. It revisits the characters after the original eight-season series had ended.
45. The Danny Thomas Show. Andy appeared in Danny Meets Andy Griffith, an episode of The Danny Thomas Show, before the regular series launched.
46. Mount Pilot. Mount Pilot is the nearby town mentioned in the fictional setting. It should not be confused with Mount Airy, Andy Griffith’s real hometown.
47. Mount Airy. Mount Airy is Griffith’s hometown in North Carolina. Mayberry is fictional, even though the real town celebrates the show and its star.
48. Guitar. Andy plays guitar in several musical scenes. The whistled theme heard over the opening credits was performed by composer Earle Hagen.
49. 5. Knotts won five Emmys for the role, including wins after he had left the regular cast and returned as a guest.
50. Andy Taylor. The actor Andy Griffith plays Sheriff Andy Taylor; the character does not share his surname.