Two costars from a classic 1960s TV show learned that they are actually related in real life.
Ron Howard, who played Opie Taylor on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, discovered that he and Don Knotts, who played Barney Fife, are distant cousins.
“A fun photo of the day in ‘97 when #AndyGriffith and #DonKnotts surprised me with a visit to the set of #Ransom in #Queens,” Howard captioned a photo of him with his former costars. “It was recently confirmed that Don and I were actually distant cousins!”
Fans in the comment section were surprised by the news. “Distant cousins!!!?? How randomly wonderful,” one user said. Another person chimed in, “There is a slight resemblance with Don! Oh, the memories!!”
Knotts died in 2006 at age 81 due to complications with lung cancer. He, along with Howard and Andy Griffith, starred in the show which focused on Griffith’s character Andy Taylor, a father and widow who was a sheriff in the fictional town of Mayberry. It ran from 1960 to 1968.
“There’s one key difference between this and the shows on today: Maybe what everyone really misses about the world of Mayberry is the faith the town ultimately has in each other and in their God,” Movieguide® said of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. “Strengthened by the example of Sheriff Andy Taylor, the characters love each other, learn from each other and help each other serve a greater purpose. Andy genuinely loves Barney. They are best friends who not only work together, but also eat many a meal together often prepared by the ever-caring Aunt Bee. They find themselves humming the same tunes and anticipating each other’s reactions.”
Howard is the only living actor remaining from the cast and now works as a director, something he dreamed of as a child.
PEOPLE reported that at age 6, he told Griffith and the show’s producers of his goal of being a writer-producer-director, and they bought him his first camer.
“Andy was like a wonderful uncle to me,” Howard told PEOPLE in 1986. “He created an atmosphere of hard work and fun that I try to bring to my movies.”
