The Death of Andy Griffith

Kay and I were discussing yesterday the vast amount of Internet traffic and incredible number of Facebook posts regarding the death of Andy Griffith. I have seldom seen anything like this. It got me to wondering just what was it that attracted him to the general public. He did not fit the typical actor mold. He was seldom political or out front on any contentious subject. So, why all the interest?

While Andy Griffith had multiple iterations of his acting career, including Shakespeare, outdoor theater, and a gig in comedy, he is most well-known for the roles of Sherriff Andy Taylor and Matlock. His most famous role was clearly the small town sheriff in the television series that carried his own name. If you think about it, in many ways, Matlock was an older and even wiser Taylor.

Still I ask, what drew people to him and why did folks feel the loss in such a personal level? I have tried to speak my thoughts on that question here. I know it was a part of many of our “childhood,” but I think it goes deeper.

Southern Cooking Made Genuine

I am a southerner. I was born there. It was and is in my blood. Now, I have loved living 1/3 of my life in the north. I love the people here. I love  my home here, I love my various ministries here. However, even at that, they remind me often of where I am from. I am not longer offended. I am proud of that piece of my heritage. Having grown up in North Carolina, I remember being so happy to see a program on the black and white television that was set in North Carolina, albeit a fictitious town in North Carolina. It gave us a feeling of credibility I guess.

Andy was from the south. Why is that an important part of his allure? For one thing, Andy could make fun of us southerners because he was one. He could talk about the south with sincerity, because he was part of it. There have been many actors who have played southerners, but deep down the southerners did not really respect it. It was sort of like Amos and Andy pretending to be African American to us. African Americans did not take them seriously, because they were not black.

Andy poked fun at the folks in the south and our way of doing thing and did so in a way that was not offensive, because he was part of it. It was in his blood as well as ours.

Loving and Challenging Acceptance

I think the real genius of Andy Griffith’s characters lie here. He accepted peoples where they were and as they were but was not content to leave them that way.

It did not matter if it was Otis, or Floyd, or Barney, or Gomer, or Goober, or Opie, or Helen or Aunt Bea, Andy accepted them for who they were and what they were. His character may not have approved of the other character’s behavior (e.g. Otis and his alcoholism) but he loved and accepted them. At the same time, there was this challenge to move and live beyond whatever it was that needed addressing. It may have been oh so subtle, but it was there.

This is an important lesson to me. As a Christian minister, is that not how I should behave? Shouldn’t I accept people where they were, but not be content for them to remain there? Is that not what Jesus does for me? He accepts me as I am, but he is not content to leave me as I am.

If I learn no other lesson from the character that was Andy Taylor, that would be enough. Enough indeed.