Few, if any, celebrities have become a household name and a part of Americana to the extent of Andy Griffith. His television show, launched over sixty years ago, is still shown daily. Fan clubs of the actor and the show are all over social media. Countless fans journey to Mt. Airy, NC, each year to see the town where the show was based. Needless to say, Griffith left quite a legacy.
You are undoubtedly familiar with Griffith’s roles as Andy Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show” and Ben Matlock on “Matlock.” Many of you may know that The Andy Griffith Show was set up by Griffith’s appearance on The Danny Thomas Show. In that episode, Griffith plays a sheriff that arrests Danny for ignoring a stop sign in his small Southern town. Future TAGS regulars Ron Howard and Frances Bavier also appeared in that episode that served as a pilot for the new series.
Before the Danny Thomas Show, Griffith appeared in the immensely successful film “No Time for Sergeants,” which was his first on-screen partnership with his future co-star, Don Knotts. Griffith had received a Tony award nomination for his role in the Broadway version that preceded the film. Don Knotts was also in that cast. The stage production ran for almost eight hundred performances. It was adapted from the novel of the same name. A one-hour version aired on TV in 1955, which also starred Griffith in the lead role of Will Stockdale. Those roles landed Griffith appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, at that time called “Toast of the Town,” starting in 1954, and the Tonight Show in 1956.
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Before No Time for Sergeants, Griffith appeared in the film “A Face in the Crowd.” Famed director Elia Kazan became aware of Griffith from his hit record, “What it Was, Was Football,” and wanted him for the somewhat hayseed-like role of Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes, the film’s main character. This record effectively launched Griffith’s career.
Griffith began his entertainment career studying music in college at the University of North Carolina. He taught music for a few years after he graduated but then joined the cast of a local play, “The Lost Colony.” Next, he began appearing as a monologist, somewhat like a stand-up comedian who tells stories instead of jokes or a comedic routine. One of those stories was “What It Was, Was Football.” He performed in front of groups, primarily civic organizations.
Much of his material came from his rural beginnings. One story was a rural take on Romeo and Juliette, which would later be the “B” side of his future hit record. Another regular bit was “The Flop-Eared Mule.” Once, when traveling to Raleigh from Chapel Hill, Griffith was searching for new material, and he concocted a bit about a young man who gets caught in a mass of people heading into an event, which puts him in front of his first-ever football game.
The story was told from the standpoint of a naïve country boy who was unfamiliar with the specifics of the sport and described it in his own familiar verbiage. The story came to include references to referees (convicts blowing whistles), cheerleaders (pretty girls wearing little bitty short dresses and dancin’ around), and the players (groups of men fighting over a funny little pumpkin). His character refers to the field as a cow pasture and to the event as “the awfullest fight I have ever seen in my life!”
Seeing Griffith share this story at a function, a local newspaper owner, who also owned a record company, approached Griffith about recording his football bit. They agreed to record it live at an event and that they would split any profits from record sales. There were several failed attempts, but Griffith finally got a good take at a dinner for a life insurance company where he was the featured entertainment.
The record was released in 1953 and became a hit for the tiny Colonial records, selling almost 50,000 copies. The record’s cover credited Griffith as “Deacon Andy Griffith.” Its success caught the attention of a Capitol Records executive, Hal Cook. On a business trip to Charlotte, Cook saw a line waiting to get into a record store. When he investigated, he found the crowd was waiting to purchase “What it Was, Was Football.” He immediately located and signed Griffith and Orville Campbell, the owner of the record company, to a contract.
Click here for the story of “Mr. Haney”, actor Pat Buttram
With the Capitol Records release, Griffith’s football story became one of the best-selling comedy records in history, rising to number nine on the Billboard charts with over 800,000 copies sold. Hollywood took notice, and the record became a springboard for Griffith, leading to roles on Broadway, in films, and on television.
