On Oct. 3, 1960, TV was changed forever when the very first episode of The Andy Griffith Show premiered. The series, set in the fictional North Carolina town of Mayberry, ran for 249 episodes — most of those in black and white — before it ended in April 1968. It also sparked two spin-offs: Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and Mayberry, R.F.D. Many original cast members also returned for the 1986 reunion special Return to Mayberry.
Griffith played Andy Taylor, a widowed sheriff who was kind and considerate — but kept everyone in line when he had to. Don Knotts played Barney Fife, Andy’s cousin and deputy who often got up to major hijinks. Ron Howard played Andy’s lovable son Opie. Frances Bavier played Andy’s Aunt Bee, who helped take care of the house.
The Andy Griffith Show has been in syndication for decades, amusing original fans plus thousands of new ones every year. Ahead, here’s what happened to the cast of The Andy Griffith Show.
Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor
Andy Griffith decided to leave The Andy Griffith Show in 1968, ending the series. He told PEOPLE in 1979 that he regretted that decision. The nine years that followed were a “dry spell,” he said. “I did five pilots that got nowhere, had two series that flopped.”
“A deep panic set in,” he said of his career. In the ‘70s, he appeared in miniseries like Centennial, From Here to Eternity and Roots: The Next Generations. Then in 1983, he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome and was paralyzed for three months. Recuperation took six months of physical therapy.
Soon after, his career bounced back. He starred in the 1984 miniseries Fatal Vision and then in the TV movie Matlock, which was picked up for a series. “I’m working harder than ever,” he told PEOPLE in 1986.
The 1986 Andy Griffith Show reunion came out of him, Knotts and Howard presenting together at the Emmys in 1983. Matlock ran until 1995. He made a handful more media appearances, including in an episode of Dawson’s Creek and in 2003’s The Andy Griffith Show Reunion: Back to Mayberry, before he died in 2012 at age 86.
Griffith was married to Barbara Bray Edwards from 1949 to 1972. He was married to Solica Cassuto from 1973 to 1981. In 1983, he married Cindi Knight, who was with him until his death. “It’s a splendid marriage,” Griffith told PEOPLE in 1986. “Our thrust in life is to bring joy to each other.”
The actor and his first wife welcomed two children together by adoption, Dixie and Andy Jr.
Ron Howard as Opie
Ron Howard seemingly predicted his future, when, at age 6, he told Griffith and the show’s producers that he wanted to be a “writer-producer-director.” They bought him his first camera. “Andy was like a wonderful uncle to me,” he told PEOPLE in 1986. “He created an atmosphere of hard work and fun that I try to bring to my movies.”
Howard starred in another classic TV series, Happy Days, as Richie Cunningham, and in the beloved 1973 film American Graffiti.
Still, in the middle of that success, his first series remained special to him. Of the 1986 The Andy Griffith Show reunion, he told PEOPLE, “I didn’t think the experience would live up to my expectations. But the feelings are still there.”
Howard left Happy Days in 1980 to focus on his directing career. His first film was 1982’s Night Shift and in 1984 he found major success with Splash. At the time, he explained to PEOPLE how edifying it was. “It’s not like people always ran around saying I was a joke, but this is the realization of the potential people thought I had. It is real gratifying,” he said.
Howard’s many successful films include The Paper, A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Cinderella Man. In 2002, A Beautiful Mind won him the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. He is also a six-time Emmy winner, for projects including Arrested Development, Curious George and Jim Henson Idea Man. He also won a Grammy for The Beatles: Eight Days a Week.
Howard married Cheryl Alley, his high school sweetheart, in 1975. They share four children: Paige, Jocelyn, Reed and actress Bryce Dallas Howard.
