This ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ Actor Often Returned Home to Refresh His Mayberry Accent

Andy Taylor and Andy Griffith had a lot in common. Both grew up in a small North Carolina town and had heavy Southern drawls. Unlike his fictional counterpart, Griffith feared that he might lose his accent. In a 1960 interview with the San Francisco Examiner, Griffith revealed the lengths he went to maintain it.

“Every so often, I take my wife, Barbara, and the youngsters back home to our farm in Manteo, N.C., and just refresh myself,” the comedian and singer stated. “Yep, that’s what I do. I love going down home because everyone there is kin to one another in my area. Everyone is just wonderful to us. They act as though I’d never been away.”

And though many critics labeled Griffith “uneducated” due to his accent, he never shied away from his roots. “Just because we live in small towns, that doesn’t make us hillbillies. Alive, alert people live in small Southern mountain towns,” the actor once said in an interview. “It’s been traditionally hard for people who live in the mountains to make a living. Out of this comes a great deal of wisdom and humor. They work hard, play hard, and laugh hard.”

^{_{Photo Courtesy: ‘Andy Griffith went home to brush up on his accent whenever he had the chance′ | @The Andy Griffith Show Facts and Trivia via YouTube}}

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