It’s been thirty-five years since the tragic death of beloved actress Frances Bavier, best known for her compassionate and nurturing role as Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show (CBS, 1960–1968). She died of cancer and heart disease in 1990 at age 86. In celebration of Women’s History Month, this is her story.
A Closer Look
Frances Bavier was a native of New York City who attended Columbia University and graduated from the New York American Academy of the Arts. She had amassed over two decades of live theatre experience, including stints in vaudeville and on Broadway, where her credits included the F. Hugh Herbert comedy Kiss and Tell and Paul Osborn’s Point of No Return.
Beyond her legendary performance as Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show, Bavier’s list of credits includes big-screen classics such as The Lady Says No and the science-fiction cult favorite, The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Reprising Aunt Bee
Frances Bavier briefly reprised her most famous role as Aunt Bee in Mayberry RFD, the three-season sequel to The Andy Griffith Show, which starred Ken Berry (and which ended in the spring of 1971).
In 1985, Bavier had been invited to appear in the TV-reunion-movie, Return to Mayberry. However, she opted not to participate in the film, which brought together the entire cast of the original series, including Griffith, Don Knotts, Jim Nabors, George Lindsay, and even Ron Howard (who had by then become famous for Happy Days and his directorial career), among others.
By this time, Bavier had become somewhat of a recluse, and simply decided not to do the reunion, despite a personal visit from Griffith and Howard requesting her to do so.
Lasting Impression
According to the Desert News, on her deathbed, Frances Bavier was just as sweet-natured as her iconic television persona, Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show.
In an interview broadcast on The Nashville Network, Griffith, who died of a heart attack in 2012, relayed a phone conversation he had with Bavier shortly before she passed away. “She said, ‘I’m sorry we didn’t get along better,’” noted Griffith, who added, “We got along fine. It’s just that she didn’t feel like it a lot of times.”
“She wanted to talk to me to say goodbye,” Griffith said. “That’s some experience.”
And Frances Bavier was some dynamic woman in the history of television, on and off screen.
