Reading Andy Griffith

Last week I received a phone call from a fellow I had not seen in over a decade.  He called to inform me that he was sending over a fax . . . a story he had clipped from a North Carolina publication regarding Andy Griffith's childhood connections with the Moravian Church.

I've since read this piece and found it intriguing.  I'll also place this article in my Andy Griffith file--a bulging pocket in my closet that includes voluminous information about the actor/singer. 

In the event there are people who don't have enough Andy Griffith trivia, but might need some absolutely useless information to brighten their day and give them a reason for living, here are a few things about AG or the AGShow you might not know:

* Andy Griffith's first gospel album went platinum
* Griffith logged more air time as Matlock than than he did as Andy Taylor, Sheriff of Mayberry
* Andy Griffith often used the names of old friends and acquaintances on his show (for example: in one episode he mentioned a choir director by the name of Lemle Gilbert . . . later, on the Gomer Pyle show, Gomer names his attack dog Lemle Gilbert, leading Sergeant Carter to further conclude that Gomer is off his nut).
* Andy Griffith played guitar and sang gospel songs with Don Knotts between takes on the set of The Andy Griffith show.
* Griffith's early and later screen roles were often dramatic rather than humorous . . . his acting range was actually quite broad.