Andy and Opie Immortalized in Statue

AJC ^ | 10/28/03 | AP

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)--Andy and Opie are on a permanent fishing trip--immortalized in a bronze statue unveiled Tuesday by Andy Griffith, whose portrayal of a genial Southern sheriff has become a television staple.

The sculpture depicts the scene in the opening credits of ``The Andy Griffith Show'' in which Sheriff Andy Taylor walks to a fishing hole with his son, Opie, to the tune of the jaunty, whistled theme song.

``That beats anything. I kind of wish I looked like that now,'' the white-haired, 77-year-old Griffith told hundreds of fans who gathered next to a pond in Raleigh's Pullen Park for the morning ceremony.

The cable network TV Land agreed to build and maintain the statue at no cost to the city, similar to deals over the past two years that placed a Mary Tyler Moore statue in Minneapolis and a statue of Jackie Gleason's ``Honeymooners'' character, Ralph Kramden, in New York City.

Griffith, who's from Mount Airy, now lives on the North Carolina coast in Manteo. Some in Mount Airy--considered a model for Mayberry--have grumbled that their town is a better spot for the statue.

The actor said the Raleigh park was a great location, but added ``I hope they'll do something for Mount Airy in the future.''

[GraniteStateConservative]

[GraniteStateConservative]

Damn fine statue. Too bad Andy's a Dem.

[paulklenk]

I'd love to see a picture of the Andy and Opie statue. Here's a pic for you:

[paulklenk]

Great photo -- thanks!

[BigBobber]

Andy's looking good at 77. And he has a lot more hair than Ron Howard!

[truthkeeper]

Oh, how nice. Easily one of the best television shows of ALL time. Remember the one where Aunt Bee made the 8 quarts of really bad pickles, and the boys had to eat them all? And my favorite, when Opie shoots the mother bird and, because of Andy's lecture and insistence on personal responsibilty, raises and later releases its babies back into the wild.

Boo-hoo...pass the Kleenex for that one!

[mykdsmom]

They've been hyping this here for the past week. I'm kind of suprised that they decided to put this in Raleigh instead of Mt. Airy. Guess it will get more exposure in a larger city. I'll ping the NC list.

MKM

[mykdsmom]

NC Ping!

[Charles Henrickson]

The Andy Griffith Show is my favorite TV show of all time.

(Of course, I'm talking about "The Barney Years." It's like Curly with the Three Stooges.)

[Cobra64]

Give it a week, and the ACLU or some liberal will scream to have it removed.

[truthkeeper]

I believe Don Knotts won several Emmy awards for the role of Barney Fife. (And he deserved every one of them.)

[StormEye]

What a terrific depiction in bronze. I like it.
I've always like that show. Now, will Barney Fife
also want a statue?

[Constitution Day]

Give it a week, and the ACLU or some liberal will scream to have it removed.

Hah! Just let 'em try.

Gomer will come down on 'em with a "Citizen's Arre-yust! Citizen's Arre-yust!"

[Gorjus]

The Andy Griffith Show is my favorite TV show of all time.

I always liked it, too, but someone posted - here at Freerepublic, I think - some interesting points.

The only person who has a gun in the show is a doofus who isn't allowed to keep it loaded. When Andy needed to arrest someone, he'd get a shotgun from the (locked) cabinet. Guns were dangerous and needed to be kept locked up, and certainly ordinary citizens didn't need access to them.

The primary 'family' in the show was not a husband and wife with children. It was made clear that you didn't need to have normal role models to raise good kids.

The only repeat 'criminal' in the show, the only one who ended up in jail, was a silly old drunk who wouldn't really hurt any one and needed understanding more than punishment. He also could get out of jail whenever he felt he had been in there long enough.

I guess I never thought much about it before, but in fact that story was leftist propoganda in several ways. One can understand why Andy Griffith would do the show. Just something to think about.

[Duckdog]

That was from a time when you could sit down and watch TV and not be sickened by what on it.

[billbears]

Thanks for trying to ruin one of the greatest television shows of all time

The only person who has a gun in the show is a doofus who isn't allowed to keep it loaded. When Andy needed to arrest someone, he'd get a shotgun from the (locked) cabinet. Guns were dangerous and needed to be kept locked up, and certainly ordinary citizens didn't need access to them.

Citizens had guns and several of them took a shot from now and then at Andy even. Andy never took the guns away from them to my recollection. To me, the fact that Andy never had to carry a gun represented there wasn't any crime. I know to some that live in big cities, this was an impossibility, but to those in small towns it was a reminder of the friendliness of people, especially Southerners. Today in NC, I believe Andy would carry a gun. Heck with the influx of foreigners (north and from Mexico), who wouldn't?

[oh8eleven]

Give it a week, and the ACLU or some liberal will scream to have it removed.
My first thought too. Like the firefighters' statue at Ground Zero - where's the minority representative?

[oh8eleven]

I guess I never thought much about it before, but in fact that story was leftist propoganda in several ways.

And I suggest you stop thinking about it now.
Leftest propaganda? Sheesh ...

[Liberty Valance]

I've STILL got a case of Aunt Bee's pickles and can't give 'em away...curious :o)