Andy Samuel Griffith was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy-friendly personality, as well as his gruff but friendly voice, Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's film A Face in the Crowd (1957) and No Time for Sergeants (1958) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968) and Ben Matlock in the legal drama Matlock (1986–1995).
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
Ira Marvin Levin was an American novelist, playwright, and songwriter. His works include the novels A Kiss Before Dying (1953), Rosemary's Baby (1967), The Stepford Wives (1972), This Perfect Day (1970), The Boys from Brazil (1976), and Sliver (1991). Levin also wrote the play Deathtrap (1978). Many of his novels and plays have been adapted into films. He received the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award and several Edgar Awards.
Jesse Donald Knotts was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He also played Ralph Furley on the sitcom Three's Company from 1979 to 1984. He starred in multiple comedic films, including leading roles in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966). In 2004, TV Guide ranked him number 27 on its "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" list.
The Danny Thomas Show is an American sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1957 on ABC and from 1957 to 1964 on CBS. Starring Danny Thomas as a successful night club entertainer, the show focused on his relationship with his family, yet went through a number of significant changes in cast and characters during the course of its run. Episodes regularly featured music by Thomas, guest stars and occasionally other cast members as part of the plot.
Edward Bryan Andrews Jr. was an American stage, film and television actor. Andrews was one of the most recognizable character actors on television and in films from the 1950s through the 1980s. His stark white hair, imposing build and horn-rimmed glasses influenced the roles he received, as he was often cast as an ornery boss, a cagey businessman or other officious types.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spin-off of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot episode was aired as the season finale of the fourth season of its parent series on May 18, 1964. The show ran for a total of 150 half-hour episodes spanning over five seasons, in black-and-white for the first season, and then in color for the remaining four seasons. In 2006, CBS Home Entertainment began releasing the series on DVD. The final season was released in November 2008.
Harold John Smith was an American actor. He is credited in over 300 film and television productions, and was best known for his role as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show and for voicing Owl and Winnie the Pooh in the first four original Winnie the Pooh shorts and later Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons, Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore and in the television series, Welcome to Pooh Corner and The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He also did a cameo in The Apartment as a drunken Santa Claus.
Warner Bros. Television Studios, operating under the name Warner Bros. Television, is an American television production and distribution studio and the flagship studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of Warner Bros., a flagship studio of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Launched on March 21, 1955 by William T. Orr, it serves as a television production arm of DC Comics productions by DC Studios and, alongside Paramount Global's CBS Studios, The CW, the latter that launched in 2006 and WBD has a 12.5% ownership stake. It also serves as the distribution arm of WBD units HBO, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.
The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation.
Superboy is an American television series based on the fictional DC Comics character Superman's early years as Superboy. The show ran from 1988–1992 in syndication. It was renamed The Adventures of Superboy at the start of the third season.
Nathan Hiken was an American radio and television writer, producer, and songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1950s.
Will Hutchins is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster, in the Western television series Sugarfoot, which aired on ABC from 1957 to 1961 for 69 episodes.
Mac Hyman, was an American fiction writer who is known for his best-selling novel No Time for Sergeants, which was adapted into a popular Broadway play and a motion picture.
The Garry Moore Show is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Dorothy Loudon, Don Adams, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Don Knotts, Lee Goodman, James Kirkwood, Jr., Lily Tomlin, and Jonathan Winters. The Garry Moore Show garnered a number of Emmy nominations and wins.
The New Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom that was broadcast in the United States on CBS in 1971 on Fridays at 8:30 ET. It debuted on January 8, 1971, and ended on May 21, 1971.
Bernard Philip Ofner, better known by his stage name Barney Phillips, was an American film, television, and radio actor. His roles include that of Sgt. Ed Jacobs on the 1950s Dragnet television series, appearances in the 1960s on The Twilight Zone, in which he played a Venusian living under cover on Earth in "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?", and a supporting role as actor Fletcher Huff in the 1970s CBS series The Betty White Show.
No Time for Sergeants is a 1958 American comedy film based on a play by Ira Levin, which was inspired by the original novel. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, it stars Andy Griffith and features Myron McCormick, Don Knotts and most of the original Broadway cast, joined by Murray Hamilton and Warner Bros. contract player Nick Adams.
Arthur Paul Smith was an American comic character actor with a perpetually perplexed or, alternatively, bemused expression, who, during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, appeared in scores of television episodes, primarily sitcoms, including regular roles in five series, and was also seen in numerous theatrical features, television films and commercials, frequently in brief, sometimes unbilled, comedic bits. Best known for The Doris Day Show (1969-1971).
"No Time for Sergeants" was an American television play that was broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on March 15, 1955, as part of the television series, United States Steel Hour. The production starred Andy Griffith who made his television debut in the production. The production was nominated for Emmy Awards for best program of the year and for Alex Segal as the best director in a live series.
