Twenty years after the Andy Griffith Show when Andy did Matlock, he hired me for four episodes. I told him I wanted to develop an Aunt Bea type role for Matlock, but he was against it. I did appear on other popular TV shows, like Family Affair, My Three Sons, Barnaby Jones and Little House on the Prairie.

Betty Lynn

Categorized in : Son Years Aunt

They were all wonderful [on Andy Griffith Show], but I enjoyed Andy and Don and Ron the most. Ron played little Opie so well. He really took acting seriously and worked hard to deliver his lines well. Andy was always fun and liked to tease. Don was nothing like Barney. Don was very quiet, which shows what a good actor he was.

actors acting fun

One reason [of Andy Griffith Show popularity] is because of the formula. It had comedy, but it also had tender moments. The other reason is because it was therapeutic. It helped people relax and unwind.

relax comedy people

Once when I was cooking I burned my arm with scalding water. I went to the Emergency Room of the Hospital. When the doctor came in he looked at me and looked at my chart, and looked at me and looked at my chart, then looked at me again and said, "I loved your show!" He told me that when he was doing his internship he would come home every night stressed out, but he would watch a late night rerun of the Andy Griffith Show and relax and fall asleep. He said, "I wouldn't be a doctor, if it wasn't for the Andy Griffith Show".

home night fall

On the third Friday of each month, I go to the Andy Griffith Museum. I get to meet hundreds of fans who stand in long lines for hours to meet me. Some months I don't feel too good and I think maybe I won't go, but then when I go and get to be there with so many wonderful people it always lifts my spirits and makes me feel better. I wouldn't stand in line for hours to meet me, but I'm so glad my fans do.

friday feel-better thinking

I love to meet people for lunch at my favorite restaurant, the Loaded Goat. It is named after the Andy Griffith Show episode where a goat ate a bunch of dynamite.

goats lunch people

Andy [Griffith] and I spoke on the phone not too long before he died. I told him I loved him and he told me he loved me. He was a wonderful man.

phones men long

Don Knotts won five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor or Actress in a Series [in Andy Griffith Show] in 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966 and 1967.

awards roles actors

I think the show has so many wonderful memories connected to it for lots of people. When fans come to see me at the Andy Griffith Museum they get so emotional. Some of them cry, lots of them hug me and some want a kiss on the cheek.

kissing emotional memories

George Lindsay who played Goober thought Andy Griffith Show limit... by Betty Lynn

George Lindsay who played Goober thought Andy Griffith Show limited his career.

andy-griffith-show careers shows

I love Mayberry! The people here are wonderful! When I'm at the grocery store people come up and hug me. Friends pick me up and take me for rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway and I always love that.

pick-me-up blue people

I'd been visiting Mount Airy every year for Mayberry Days. Twice when I was doing personal appearances, one in Alabama and once for Mayberry Days, my house in Los Angeles was robbed. I decided I didn't want to live there anymore, so I moved to Mount Airy, and I am so glad I did!

alabama house years

In 1986, when they made the TV movie, Return to Mayberry, Barney... by Betty Lynn

In 1986, when they made the TV movie, Return to Mayberry, Barney and Thelma Lou did get married!

married return tvs

[I and Don Knotts never have a romantic relationship off screen].We were just good friends, and would go out to dinner sometimes when we both lived in Los Angeles. People always asked me if we were involved, but I always said, "No! He's a married man!".

good-friend men people

I was under contract with Walt Disney at the time. I was co-starring in my second season of a show called, Texas John Slaughter. The Andy Griffith Show hired me to play Thelma Lou. I only worked when they called me. I would do an episode in two days and I got paid $500. After all the federal, state and local taxes were taken out and then my agent's commission I only got $200 some dollars per episode.

texas taken play

I still stay in touch with Elinor Donahue. I've known Elinor sinc... by Betty Lynn

I still stay in touch with Elinor Donahue. I've known Elinor since she was 14-years-old.

known stills years

We actually grew closer as friends years later when we started doing personal appearances together. I stayed in touch with Andy [Griffith] and Don [Knotts] until they passed away.

passed-away together years

Don Knotts left [Andy Griffith Show] to pursue a movie career, so... by Betty Lynn

Don Knotts left [Andy Griffith Show] to pursue a movie career, so once he was gone I left too.

andy-griffith-show careers gone

We didn't have reruns back then, so when the show ended we thought it was over. I'm overwhelmed by how long the show has been popular and by how many people still love it today. I still watch the reruns and just laugh! Here in Mount Airy they show the Andy Griffith Show at 3:30 in the afternoons and they call it "Andy After School", but the show wasn't just for kids, it was for everyone.

laughing kids school