RIP Andy

I felt sad this morning when I read that Andy Griffith had died. He always struck me as such a gentle person, and the show created an incredible world that probably never existed but we wanted it to.

I can't say I stop to watch for that long when I'm flipping around and come upon the show on some odd cable channel, but when I do I am always struck with how very sweet Opie is. He was a child, not some miniature, wise-cracking adult. I mean, look at that face. And the frosting on the cake is that he grew up to be such a fine director.

Today Ron Howard wrote a tribute to Andy in the LA Times and here's how it starts:

Early in the second season of "The Andy Griffith Show," I ventured a suggestion for a line change to make it sound more "like the way a kid would say it."

I was just 7 years old. But my idea was accepted and I remember standing frozen, thrilled at what this moment represented to me.


Andy asked me, "What you grinnin' at, youngin'?" I said it was the first idea of mine they'd ever said yes to. Without a pause, Andy responded for all to hear: "It was the first idea that was any damn good. Now let's do the scene."