Andy Griffith: He Gave Barney The Chair

Andy Taylor and Barney Fife were close friends in the fictional world of Mayberry. It turns out that the actors who portrayed them were close friends as well.

According to Don Knotts, “Andy was a good boss and one of the reasons the show had such good rapport. Andy was simply a good guy.”

Knotts attended the weekly script meetings at the insistence of Griffith.  Andy reserved a chair next to him for Don and would tell any would-be interloper, “You have to get up. That’s Don’s chair.” Even after he left the show Don’s chair was never used again.

Later, Griffith had the chair bronzed and sent to Knotts as a gift.  Don said of the gift, “It was so heavy you could hardly pick the thing up.”

The mutual respect and good rapport among the cast and crew established by Andy Griffith was often mentioned as the foundation that made it possible to maintain the quality of the show throughout its run.