How does a small-town boy spend his homecomings after becoming a Hollywood star? If you’re Andy Griffith, some fans might assume you’d grab your pole for the fishing hole. But those who know Mount Airy — and its pride for its most famous son — know that an Andy Griffith homecoming is a production all its own.
After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill, performing in seven seasons of The Lost Colony, and teaching music and drama at Goldsboro High School, Griffith made his first return to Mount Airy in 1957. After all, he couldn’t miss Andy Griffith Day, an event held on his 31st birthday to celebrate his first starring movie role.
Andy Griffith acted in The Lost Colony from 1947 to 1953, starring as Sir Walter Raleigh for five seasons. photograph by hugh morton photographs and films #p0081, North Carolina Collection, wilson library, unc Chapel Hill
The only child of furniture factory worker Carl Lee Griffith and his wife, Geneva, the young actor got his first big break after a recording of his comedic monologue, “What It Was, Was Football,” became a nationwide hit. His film debut followed four years later: A Face in the Crowd premiered at The Earle Theatre just a few days before the celebration in Griffith’s honor.
By the next time Griffith came home, in 1966, he had shot to superstardom. His role as Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show had put him on the map, along with the little North Carolina town called Mayberry — everyone’s favorite place to escape when they turned on the television. This time, Griffith had come to move his parents from his childhood home closer to his California residence so he could take care of them — but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see how the town’s young talent was faring. A group of starstruck students was rehearsing when Griffith walked through the aisles of Mount Airy High School’s auditorium.
After eight seasons of his namesake show, another TV hit called Matlock, and many more TV and movie roles, Griffith returned to Mount Airy in 2002, when a section of U.S. Highway 52 was renamed in his honor. When he arrived, Griffith’s childhood friend Emmett Forrest — the inspiration for Emmett Clark, Mayberry’s go-to handyman — took him on a tour, making stops at Snappy Lunch; the Andy Griffith Museum; and the Andy Griffith Playhouse, formerly the Rockford Street School auditorium. When Griffith was in third grade, he sang two verses of “Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet” on that stage, and received his first big laugh. Forrest watched as his friend, by then a 76-year-old Grammy Award winner, put his hands behind his back and sang the tune once more.
In 1954, he performed his hit comedic monologue, “What It Was, Was Football,” at UNC’s Kenan Stadium before the season opener. photograph by hugh morton photographs and films #p0081, North Carolina Collection, wilson library, unc Chapel Hill
At the Andy Griffith Parkway dedication, Griffith stood at a podium as his wife, Cindi — also a former Lost Colony cast member — looked on, and addressed the crowd: “People started saying that Mayberry was based on Mount Airy.” He paused. “It sure sounds like it, doesn’t it?”
Before he died in 2012, Griffith made one final trip back to Mount Airy, when Forrest’s wife, Barbara, died in 2004. Her funeral was held at Grace Moravian Church, where a young Griffith had learned to play trombone and tuba. During the service, the Griffiths sat in the family section as familiar hymns filled the room. Griffith sat by Forrest, singing along, because in a small town where everybody knows everybody and friendships last a lifetime, that’s just what you do.
Andy Griffith Museum
218 Rockford Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
(336) 786-1604
surryarts.org/agmuseum
Fans of The Andy Griffith Show can visit the eponymous actor’s childhood home in Mount Airy. photograph by Hobart Jones
On a hill on East Haymore Street sits a little yellow house with a sign that says, “Andy Griffith’s Home Place.” Griffith’s father purchased the three-room home in 1935 for $800. During Griffith’s childhood, the toilet was on the back porch, and a small fireplace was responsible for heating the entire home. In a speech he gave in 2002, he shared his fondness for his simple upbringing: “I remember standing in front of that fireplace as long as I could, getting as warm as I could, and running and getting into that bed under 10 quilts. Boy, it was a good life.” His parents lived in the house until 1966, when Andy moved them to California to be near him.
Today, fans can stay in his childhood home. They can enjoy a meal in the kitchen, where the young thespian slept on a straw mattress by the stove to keep warm. And they can sit on the deck — all utilities are safely inside now — and take a moment to enjoy the simple life.
Andy Griffith Home Place
711 East Haymore Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
(336) 783-6282
andygriffithhome.com
A bronze statue of Andy and Opie in Mount Airy. photograph by Jon Eckard
In 1990, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the premiere of The Andy Griffith Show, the Surry Arts Council put on the first Mayberry Day, a festival where fans of the show could indulge in the delights of their favorite small town. But it wasn’t until the event’s 15th year that the star himself attended. Griffith and his wife, Cindi, came back to Mount Airy for the unveiling of a new Andy and Opie statue. The Griffith family, future Mount Airy resident Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou to most people at the event), and thousands of fans watched as Griffith presented a bronze version of Sheriff Taylor and Opie walking their poles to the fishing hole. Today, attendees never know who they might see. Griffith’s daughter, Dixie, often comes dressed as one of the Fun Girls from Mount Pilot. Floyd the Barber — portrayed by tribute artist Allan Newsome — hasn’t missed a Mayberry Days in 30 years. And Rodney Dillard, one of the show’s Darlings, performs each year. Between the parade, whistling contest, and backstage playhouse tours, most visitors stop by the statue for a picture and to thank the Justice of the Peace.
For more information about Mayberry Days, visit surryarts.org/mayberrydays.
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