I still feel a betrayal when it comes to Opie Taylor.
He learned at the feet of Andy Taylor. Andy Griffith was well-known as a screaming leftist and quite the ass in his native state of NC. “Mayberry” is beloved, but many if not most of the actors playing major characters are not. The late Aunt Bea, Frances Bavier, is the only one other than Andy Griffith to demonstrate any actual affection for the place, she retired here but was a tad strange in her later years. Early in her retirement she was very accessible and pleasant, appeared in small town parades and such as guest of honor, loved every minute of it.