List of The Andy Griffith Show characters

The following is a list of characters of The Andy Griffith Show, an American sitcom television series, starring Andy Griffith. The series ran for eight seasons on CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968.

Main

Character	Seasons	No. of episodes	Actor	Brief description
Andy Taylor	1–8	249	Andy Griffith	Sheriff of Mayberry; father (widowed) of Opie
Opie Taylor	1–8	203	Ronny Howard	Son of Andy Taylor
Barney Fife	1–5 6–8 as guest	141	Don Knotts	Deputy Sheriff of Mayberry
Aunt Bee	1–8	175	Frances Bavier	Andy's paternal aunt

Sheriff Andrew Jackson "Andy" Taylor is Sheriff and Justice of the Peace of Mayberry. He is genial, good-natured and endears himself to the townsfolk with an air of good will, polite charm and keeps the peace by using common sense. He refuses to wear a gun or formalize his uniform with a tie, as he feels a relaxed image makes him more approachable. Andy is a widower with a young son, Opie, and tries to raise him with good sense and good values. Also in his home is his paternal Aunt Bee who arrives in the home shortly after the previous housekeeper, Rose, marries and moves away. Although a widower, Andy has a steady string of girlfriends, but his longest-lasting relationship is with Helen Crump, Opie's teacher, whom he eventually marries, moves out of Mayberry with, becomes a U.S. Postal Inspector, and moves back to Mayberry and runs for Sheriff.

Opie Taylor is the son of Andy Taylor and his late wife. A good-hearted, normal little boy (about six when the series began), most of Opie's lessons come from his close relationship with his father and his Great Aunt Bee. He is not prone to get into trouble and spends a great deal of time around the jail. At one point, Aunt Bee considers this to be a bad influence, and when Opie runs away from home briefly, she relents and allows him to visit the jail after school on a conditional basis.

Barney and Gomer Pyle

Deputy Bernard Milton "Barney" Fife is Deputy Sheriff of Mayberry. Thin, wiry and high-strung, Barney fancies himself an expert lawman even though—in reality—he is actually a bumbling goof. In episodes 001 and 002, Andy refers to him as "Cousin Barney". In episode 025, his middle name is said to be "Oliver"; in episode 082, his middle name according to his high school yearbook is "Milton", in episode 157 (season 5) his middle initial is repeated as "P". He considers his position to be essential to keeping Mayberry safe. Even though the town has very little crime, he dubs the town: "Mayberry, Gateway to Danger". Andy keeps Barney's crime-fighting shenanigans to a reasonable level, but tries to never step on his ego. Due to Barney's ineptitude with firearms, Andy requires him to carry his service revolver unloaded and only issues him one bullet at a time, which Barney keeps in his shirt pocket until needed. When Barney does load and fire his weapon, he often accidentally shoots into the floor, narrowly missing his own foot. Although referred to many times, Barney's mother, portrayed by Lillian Culver, appears only once in episode 002. Like Andy, he has a steady stream of girlfriends, but his longest lasting relationship is with Thelma Lou. In episode 028, Barney has just met Thelma Lou at the "Junction Diner". In season five, he takes a job as a detective in Raleigh, leaving Mayberry, but returns in seasons six through eight for guest appearances.

Beatrice "Aunt Bee" Taylor is Andy's paternal aunt. Aunt Bee is a spinster in her late-50s who raised Andy. She was living alone in West Virginia when Andy invited her to come to live with him and Opie, after their housekeeper Rose got married and moved away. Aunt Bee is a motherly figure who takes the place of Opie's late mother and dotes over the boy, caring for his welfare and taking care of Andy as well. She is prominent in town, a respected lady who spends her time helping with social functions and church events. She is prone to spend time with her friends gossiping about the town's citizens.

Recurring

Name	Seasons	No. of episodes	Played by	Brief character summary
Goober Pyle	4–8	86	George Lindsey	Auto mechanic and cousin of Gomer Pyle (Called Goober Beasley in Season 5 Episode 23 "TV or Not TV")
Floyd Lawson	1–7	80	Howard McNear	The barber
Helen Crump	3–8	66	Aneta Corsaut	School teacher and Andy's girlfriend in later episodes
Howard Sprague	6–8	37	Jack Dodson	The milquetoast county clerk
Otis Campbell	1–7	32	Hal Smith	The town drunk who lets himself into the jail to sleep it off
Clara Edwards	1–8	31	Hope Summers	aka Clara Johnson, Bertha Edwards; a widow who is Aunt Bee's best friend
Thelma Lou	1–6	26	Betty Lynn	Barney’s girlfriend. Her last name was never revealed.
Gomer Pyle	3–4	23	Jim Nabors	Dim-witted mechanic at Wally's Filling Station; a deputy when needed; joins the United States Marine Corps
Emmett Clark	8	16	Paul Hartman	Fix-it shop owner/operator
Ellie Walker	1	12	Elinor Donahue	Andy's first girlfriend of the series; pharmacist at drug store
Johnny Paul Jason	3–6	11	Richard Keith	Opie's best friend
Deputy Warren Ferguson	6	11	Jack Burns	Floyd's nephew; replaces Barney
Mayor Pike	1–2	11	Dick Elliott	Mayor of Mayberry
Judd Fletcher	1–7	8	Burt Mustin	Elderly citizen of Mayberry
Mayor Roy Stoner	3	7	Parley Baer	Mayor of Mayberry
Briscoe Darling	3–7	6	Denver Pyle	Head of The Darlings
Charlene Darling	3–7	5	Maggie Peterson	Briscoe Darling's daughter. Had a crush on Andy.
Reverend Hobart M. Tucker	3–8	6	William Keene	Pastor of All Souls Church
The Darling Boys	3–7	6	The Dillards	Musical brothers played by real-life bluegrass band
Ben Weaver	1–8	6	Will Wright/Tol Avery	Miserly old landlord and department store owner
Emma Watson	1–2	6	Cheerio Meredith	aka Emma Brand
Ernest T. Bass	3–6	5	Howard Morris	A troublemaking mountain man
Asa Breeney	3–5	5	Charles P. Thompson	The elderly (always sleeping) Mayberry Bank guard
John Masters	2–5	5	Olan Soule	Choir director and hotel manager
Leon	2–4	5	Clint Howard	Toddler in a cowboy outfit
Peggy McMillan	3	4	Joanna Moore	Andy's girlfriend and nurse
Sam Jones	8	4	Ken Berry	Widowed farmer
Rafe Hollister	2–3	3	Jack Prince	Local farmer and moonshiner
Wally	3 4 6	4	Norman Leavitt (2) Trevor Bardette Cliff Norton	Owner of the filling station where Gomer and later Goober work
Martha Clark	8	3	Mary Lansing	Emmett's wife
Trey Bowden	4	3	David Alan Bailey	Opie's friend
Daphne	3–5	3	Jean Carson	One of “The Fun Girls”
Skippy	3–5	3	Joyce Jameson	The other “Fun Girl”
Malcolm Merriweather	3–6	3	Bernard Fox	English valet
Hilda Mae	1	3	Florence MacMichael	Girlfriend of Barney in season 1, replaced by Thelma Lou.
Flora Malherbe Nettie Albright	6; 8 6	2; 1 1	Alberta Nelson	As Flora, a waitress at the Mayberry Diner who becomes Goober's girlfriend, in three episodes As Nettie, a classmate who had a crush on Barney, in "The Return of Barney Fife"
Rose Clara Lindsey	1 1	1 2	Mary Treen	As Rose, Taylor's old housekeeper who got married and moved away, in "The New Housekeeper" As Clara Lindsey, a townsperson, in "Ellie for Council" and "Those Gossipin' Men"

Unseen

Name	Seasons	Brief character summary
Sarah	1–8	Mayberry telephone operator who often eavesdrops on calls and has brief conversations with characters in at least 19 episodes
Juanita Beasley	1–5	Waitress at the Bluebird Diner who Barney talks to on the telephone as his second girlfriend in ten episodes
Leonard Blush	4–5	Radio announcer from station YLRB, later WMPD, from Mount Pilot, in "Family Visits" and "Barney's Bloodhound" whose voice is that of Howard Morris, who is also referred to by name in "The Song Festers"