Carolina Camera: Aunt Bee Retires

See a rare interview that Carolina Camera Reporter Bill Ballard got with Francis Bavier after she retired to North Carolina.

[@justsusan8606]

Andy Griffith was the best show on T.V. Good, clean humor. I still watch it today!

[@samuraibushido7077]

Because it was made with love which made it magnetic and timeless.

[@andrealatham1284]

Danny Thomas Show also is one of them best!

[@interstategar]

Who wouldn't want an Aunt Bee in their life? She was a great role model, and lovable.

[@ericbryant-dz8mj]

Horrible in real life,

[@silverranger302]

​@@ericbryant-dz8mjshe was. But a woman who can do that is one that is loved

[@MrCJ-qz9dl]

​@ericbryant-dz8mj l wouldn't say that. I read that she was very gracious post-TAGS when asked for an autograph, or something to that affect.

[@scottcozart8950]

Best show on TV. I watch it every day

[@user-ks1pd2ed3f]

we need more shows like this. . Best TV show EVER! Great moral compass , love and compassion!.

[@jsch8228]

I’m 15 and this is my favorite show it actually keeps me going with life.

[@kirbysteel2766]

Hi

[@debrascott8492]

I absolutely love this show and ALL its characters. There will never be another like it.

[@Boudica1313]

I have always said, “Everything I needed to know about life, I learned from Andy Griffith re-runs”. Of course, that isn’t entirely true, but I did learn a great deal about being a good person. What a wholesome show that was.

[@jackhopkins4679]

You know that's true wish kids today had the TV shows I grew up watching in the 60s so wholesome

[@samuraibushido7077]

He was a wise man and he made it in a very interesting way. I used to watch him since kindergarten coming home.

[@michaelflinn2791]

It's too bad she doesnt enjoy being identified as Aunt Bee, She impacted millions of us kids in such a positive way. Everybody loved her.

[@apostasiaelegcho5612]

Your parents should have taught you that actors are nothing more than professional liars. Then you wouldn't be so disappointed to find out the character she portrayed isn't the same person she was.

[@dougfredricks2017]

Amen to that. I graduated in 1982 and remember growing up with only Three tv channels. I enjoyed shows like TAGS and Carol Burnett. Such a great era.

[@ScottALanter]

I can understand why she felt the way she did. Would a guy at the McDonald's drive-thru want to be known as 'the drive-thru guy' thirty years after he left the job? The only actor I ever knew who embraced a part they played on TV to the point they became that person was Alan Hale Jr., the Skipper from Gilligan's Island. He wore his skipper hat everywhere he went and loved being called, "Skipper" by the public until he passed away. But, he was one of a kind. It's very rare to find someone like him.

[@kenkemzura903]

@@apostasiaelegcho5612 Your assessment on actors is a bit harsh. Their world is a world of make believe and yes, they can be professional B.S. artists. I know. I had an Uncle that was an Actor. I have met many actors and have done work for many studios, including being in a few productions. The second part of your comment is true. What you see on the screen and what you meet in person is totally different.

[@hhhggg4687]

I can understand what's she's saying. Being as " character" on tv, makes your real identity almost disappear. You start to become the character in real life. She wanted to keep her real identity. I saw a Twilight Zone show this exact thing. An actor played a lovable character on a tv series. His real life was not a happy one. He escaped in The Twilight zone" and became the character on tv. Running away with his tv wife. Sorry I don't know the episode.

[@chrism.4600]

Best TV show EVER! Great moral compass , love and compassion!

[@samuraibushido7077]

It America was ran like May berry it would be next to heaven.

[@garrettf5724]

Its always great to come back and watch this. Bill Ballard was my grandpa, and I grew up watching the show with him before he passed away. Even though she wasn't what he expected, interviewing Francis Bavier was always his favorite story to tell and one of his most memorable assignments as a reporter. Love you Pops!

[@cw9664]

He was a good interviewer

[@stevejensen3471]

RIP to your grandpa. You Tube has this as 2010 but I didn't realize the actual interview was in 1973! Bavier passed 16 years later in 1989.

[@michaeljordan6008]

He did a wonderful job and had an excellent voice. God bless your entire family.

[@patbrennan6572]

One of the best shows ever created had one of the most natural actors of all time. Thank you aunt Bea.

[@samuraibushido7077]

Can I get a Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!❤!!!

[@lilysdoc]

What a great interview. Miss Bavier seemed to be a very dignified human being. This interview raises my respect for her to new heights. Rest in peace, Francis Bavier........The Andy Griffith Show would not have been as successful without you!!!!

[@eugenekozma2697]

I agree with you.

[@RJ42997]

@@eugenekozma2697 yes

[@MTRAdmiralty]

I visited her grave last year on the highway between Siler City and Asheboro. Someone had placed a jar of homemade pickles on the headstone in honor.

[@nightrider5109]

Lol that's so sweet and touching

[@pathetictroll7557]

Oh my, that's LUVLY dear! Perhaps the Jar of Pickles was left by The ghost of Bea's friend "Clara"?

[@TheShospitali]

LOL 😆

[@bird401]

That was one script that didn’t quite ring true. It didn’t seem to me to make sense that Aunt Bee would make crappy tasting pickles. Not that sitcoms always need to make sense.

[@TheStudderman]

Aka Kerosene Cucumbers

[@ACLTony]

Talented actress. She was reclusive during her final years but a wonderful thing she did before passing away. She called Andy Griffith and asked him to come over to her place. He visited her and she apologized to him for the times that she had acted coldly towards him and the cast. Andy, of course, told her not to even fret about that which made them both smile and they spent a good while talking. Faults and all, still, two super people that made America smile.

[@tinytowz4471]

ACLTony That's good to know.

[@brendam5380]

Tiny Towz Totally! I never knew aunt B apologised to wonderful Andy. Thx! Why didn't she like him? He seemed so wonderful!

[@jessiesmith5256]

Read Andy and Don, that is one heckuva book. Be warned, you will find a lot of clay feet in there.

[@debbiemoretz4415]

Queen B v

[@quiltlady73]

Queen B, she was just such a talented actress that we never realized that at all!

[@ohmeowzer1]

I'm glad she made peace with Andy

[@Ray3645]

Bavier was really a terrific actress. She could say more using only facial expressions than some actors/actresses could convey with a thousand words. Just marvelous.

[@captinbeyond]

It was a stretch the series where she learned to fly a plane. Jump the shark times indeed.

[@surf403]

God bless you Francis and thank you for doing the part of Aunt Bee. You are loved by so very many and I know you and Andy and Don Knotys are up in heaven right now!!

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

This television show has with stood the test of time. It's never left the airways of American television programming. That's the testament. Period.

[@BrianSmith-jx7td]

Personally I think it's one of the greatest shows of all time it's 1 of the funniest that's for sure. It doesn't even need crudeness or cussing or sexual innuendos to be funny it's just classic humor

[@ronijoseph7245]

@@BrianSmith-jx7td Agreed! To me and pretty much everyone I know and grew up with, it the greatest TV show ever made, bar none!

[@rfl6912]

we need more shows like this. 😓

[@stevejarrettnc]

I’m afraid it’s too late.

[@davesilverman3325]

I come from Raleigh, North Carolina so, naturally since childhood I loved Mayberry. After all, I grew up in that time and the cast portrayed the people whom I loved and were surrounded by. Times were different then and less complicated. I don't know, it may have only seemed that way because I was a child then, but thinking about it all now the honesty of the show helped in a small way form the views of the world I still hold as my own today in my mid sixties. It's funny how we're influenced without even realizing it. Years ago I worked as a geotechnical driller and was on my way to Nags Head down on the coast to drill a job for a study for a developer and on my way through Manteo, where Andy lived I decided to stop for fuel. As I was filling up my rig a car pulled up on the other side of the pumps. I thought nothing of it until I looked up and realized the fellow getting out of it was somehow firmillier. Then it hit me and I said, "You're Andy," and he replied, "Why, yes I am." I can't recall exactly what I said, but it had to do with my growing up watching the show and how much I'd enjoyed it and he smiled broadly and thanked me, wished me a nice day and drove away. As I drove off down the road I remember thinking how down to earth he really was in that, just like me, he pumped his own gas. He was gray and sort of bent over and I wondered how much longer he'd be around, and then not too much later I heard that he passed away. Looking back now it seemed that the world was sort of a better place for his being in it. Fortunately we can still enjoy him in black and white along with everyone else in an imagery town just up the road from Mt. Pilot, but just so you know, he was just as nice and kind as he was when he was Sheriff Taylor of Mayberry, North Carolina.

[@kaileyllewellyn]

I am 19 and The Andy Griffith show has to be one of my favorite tv shows. For the past few months I have been watching the Andy Griffith show and with every episode I have watched I have laughed if not harder. It's just a feel good show!!

[@nameless-qi9yo]

Kailey Llewellyn....you should check out MASH and Bonanza...you may like them also ☺

[@scottwilson7849]

I am happy to know that you saw the value in the show. It's filled with morals and good things that no longer exist. The theme is "do the right thing". Learning this value in life will make you a better person. Kudos!!

[@willislynn4613]

Andy Griffith said that he didn't think Ms. Bavier ever really "got" his humor, it wasn't so much, he thought, that she disliked him, and he certainly did not dislike her as a person or an actress. He simply felt they never understood each other...and it was a shame..

[@blueskye6372]

Yet they had great chemistry on screen.Interesting.

[@charlestidwell5361]

The Andy Griffith Show is one of the best TV shows of all time and it still stands the test of time 63 years later

[@andrealatham1284]

Agree! Also feel the Danny Thomas Show is also one of the best!

[@dianefitzpatrick7774]

She's a delightful woman and she played her character perfectly. No where did it seem she dislikes anyone on set. We loved Aunt Bee!!

[@phillipjames453]

I always feel good when I watch the Andy Griffin Show. I like Aunt Bee. She reminds me of my grandmother.

[@kathrynmolesa1641]

The episode where Aunt Bee and Clara get drunk. My sides ached from laughing.

[@sailer5373]

"Toot toot Tootsie,.....goodby!"

[@JeevesReturns]

What a great actor. She was a wonderful part of my childhood. Always wished that I had an ‘Aunt Bea’ growing up. I think that, with her career and innate talent, that she was better than the role, but nobody else could have done it with so much sincerity.

[@samuraibushido7077]

I was laughing toooo much at Barney. I would come home from kindergarten to junior HS and it was always on tv to meet me after a long school day:). But, what I really loved, is the ending notes and looking at the picture of the trees and the fishing lake and then the picture was replaced by the town strip of buildings. I actually hunted down the original pictures and I did find them and it warmed my heart with memories. I just wish I could talk to the artist who made them that would be the cheery on top. It was so must a big part of my childhood:).

[@CornerStoneEquesSvcs]

Francis and Andy were good actors since you couldn't tell they did care for each other off screen.

[@angelahatfield1365]

I STILL LOVE MY ANDY GRIFFITH AND AUNT BEE.

[@austinteutsch]

Frances Bavier was in the 1951 classic movie THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. She was so good on The Andy Griffith Show.

[@diddlytube]

Watching this, I can't help thinking somebody should have cast her in a biopic about Eleanor Roosevelt. The hair, the voice... As for her relationship behind the scenes with Andy Griffith, TV history has no shortage of shows where the actors didn't get along, but still managed to buck up and get the work done convincingly. Neither She nor Griffith seems to have been an unpleasant person (based on what little I know about either of them) but maybe the personal chemistry just wasn't there. A TV set is like any other workplace -- sometimes you just have to block out the personal differences, and get down to the task at hand.

[@pinky567]

diddlytube you are so right

[@michaelhungate7506]

She seems like a tell it like it is person and honest. I think she was a pleasant lady. Without Aunt Bea I think she knew she wouldn't be so famous BUT she had a 40 year career also that didn't probably get brought up like she deserved it to. She does give Andy Griffith alot of credit in several ways. Seems to me she thought she could influence the show to Be a little more serious. Who knows?? Just my speculation. The show is one of my all-time favorites.

[@retroguy9494]

She WOULD have made an excellent Eleanor Roosevelt if the movie was about her later in life.

[@trent3872]

She seems like a really classy and dignified person.

[@mc12358]

My dad grew up in the 1950s and 60s in a small town in North Carolina that looked a lot like the fictional town of Mayberry. I am confident that Andy Griffith was careful to make life in Mayberry as authentic as possible to real life in the rural south in the early 60s. It's that authenticity that makes TAGS so relatable, even today.

[@michaelhungate7506]

She does give Andy Griffith credit where credit is due. She seems like a likable and honest lady.

[@monmixer]

It's great that shows can be viewed no for free on the internet. Kudos to the people who own the rights to allow it to be public domain. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not but I watched every episode from my bed either before going to sleep every night or on a day off before I hopped out of bed for the day. It really took me back to my child hood growing up in the 60's with my grandmother ironing clothes every day with this show on around noon. she watched me while the parents worked. Great memories.

[@SongSwan]

Most of us work with people everyday we don't get along with,sometimes for many years

[@ashleygilliland4331]

And that’s okay. In my opinion, what matters is that you can be civil at work, but you don’t have to be or even acknowledge them if you see them in public.

[@christinegaetano1226]

A great show, still watching. She was a great actress, all of them were.

[@ricksovel9814]

Francis was a wonderful actress who gave much to her Aunt Bee character. She was cast for the part and she made the character what it was, you couldn't help but love her. From what I once read, I think she gave her opinion on story lines but I find it hard to believe that she and Andy didn't get along.

[@douglasthompson9482]

I love you Aunt Bea....thank you for so much

[@dphotos007]

That is one show I can watch over and over even if I have seen the episodes many times. If I am feeling down I will watch a few shows and it will always give me a good laugh. All the actors were perfect portraying their characters.

[@joeballi9748]

we had lunch one time it was great shes was a nice lady

[@bsilver354]

Lucky!! Having had lunch with her sounds awesome.

[@johnyoung468]

Joe Balli I lived in Siler City when she died. I worked at Collins & Aikman in Siler City. I late moved to Ramseur,NC but i still worked at Collins & Aikman.

[@Ed-lz4jv]

she was in the movie,,,,The day the earth stood still

[@dennisandry1632]

Where ?

[@privatebubba8876]

Her Final film roll was in Benji 1974. Her final television roll was as Aunt Bee on Mayberry RFD. 1970.

[@privatebubba8876]

@@dennisandry1632 She played Mrs. Barley.

[@AmericanFlag2012]

What a great show, if we lived our lives like the Andy Griffith show as a nation we would be a lot better with respect and morals.

[@beverlyjohnson1510]

You are absolutely correct!!

[@creamycreamu2843]

AmericanFlag2012 yeah but it bothers me that I NEVER saw 1 black person in Mayberry!

[@beverlyjohnson1510]

@@creamycreamu2843 ,yes there was and he and his daughter became a regular on the spinoff Mayberry RFD.😊

[@bergjohnson5273]

@@creamycreamu2843 , never say never. I know of two episodes where there was a lady. And I heard of one with a man. I haven't seen that one. They where just extras though. At the beginning of of one show Barney gets tangled up with an escaped convict on the sidewalk. They capture the convict & Barney gets credit for it. She's in the crowd when they capture the convict. There's another one, I think it's the same lady. If it makes you feel any better , Good Times was one of my favorite shows. I don't remember any white people. It's all good. Two of best shows ever , to me. Both are about lessons in life. ✌

[@jaya.0069]

@@creamycreamu2843 Opie had a black football coach who was very talented showing Opie it was possible to play ball and the piano!

[@statesideqsod]

Francis Bavier was a customer at my Dad's stationery store on the Upper East Side of New York City....

[@Blakeneyd]

She seems like a sharp and thoughtful lady. I read about the conditions of her passing, too. A shame that she did not have any family or close friends to help her in her final days. R.I.P., Miss Bavier.

[@mrstevehartman]

Maybe her bad disposition, drove everyone away?

[@Trytocookthis]

+mrsteve hartman I think there would be more lonely old people if a bad disposition kept others at bay. My momma had a grumpy little way about her, but I would have never given up on her. Well, I never did. Sometimes we just wind up alone, we outlive our friends and family - the few who are close to us ..... then what? What next? We become a hermit, a cat lady, a shut in..... sigh. ALONE?

[@itburns5756]

She was ill for a long time and probably let things go, as happens with the elderly sonetimes when they lose their independence. We know she spent a lot of time at the end of her life writing inspirational letters to those who contacted her and/or asked for an autographed picture, and we know that after her death a big box of fan letters labelled "to be answered" was found in her room. We don't know how many friends she had or didn't have. It's only speculation. We do know she graduated from Columbia University and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and she planned to teach before getting the acting bug. We know she preformed for the troops in USO shows during the war. We know she worked to raise money for Easter seals and several other charities for years and that her entire estate was donated to a local hospital as she had wanted. We know that she never uttered an unkind word about her co-workers. We know that Ron Howard once said he didn't think she was crazy about kids, but he also more recently said that Francis Bavier was a great person. We also know that, right or wrong, she did make the effort to contact Andy and apologize for not being the person he wanted her to be. Who cares if she wasn't a BFF for Andy Griffith? Who is best friends with all their co-workers anyway? I've hated some of the people I've had to work with but I worked with them anyway. Doesn't make me a bad person just like it didn't make Frances Bavier a bad person. It just sucks that the internet is such a vile hateful place where facts don't seem to matter at all and people are judged on a stupid uninformed whim. Yet these asshole commenters have no trouble making sweeping assumptions about her and declaring her evil and mean and cold and a lesbian, etc who deserved to suffer. It's sick, it really is.

[@billhosko7723]

@@mrstevehartman ideat

[@billhosko7723]

@@itburns5756 Your rant now... is/was no better. Lead, by example...

[@fernandochavez4312]

The very best show ever! Her favorite episode was mine as well. Truly a classy person.

[@zombywoof7583]

Despite any differences between the two, Ms. Bavier certainly had respect for Griffith and for the way he ran the show. Very classy lady and civil, too. Something today's celebrities are not.

[@jamesogle8421]

a great window view of a time in the past ........dearly needed in our present!!!!!! Fine Job CarolinaCamera!!!!

[@LarryLeeMoniz]

Amazing find. I have always wondered how Frances sounded and carried herself off-camera. Thanks so much for sharing this.

[@lindaburns5817]

Good old days of real TV!!! She was just a great actress. ❤⚘🦋

[@MandM-tb3lv]

When I was a kid, it never dawned on me that an actress played Aunt Bee. She was just Aunt Bee to me. I hope she knew the positive impact her work had on people.

[@tharold8639]

I adored Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee. Wonderful actress

[@68lincoln]

I like her. I like The Andy Griffith Show. Always have. Always will. I'm not too concerned about what happened on the set of the TV show between the actors. That's their personal business. And I don't really cotton to gossip anyway. I enjoy the show because every episode is well written, well acted, warm, funny and better than anything on TV these days.

[@sandrawilliams5594]

68lincoln I totally agree. I could watch this show everyday. Today's tv shows are not good, sorry, that is why there are so many reboots of old shows, Roseanne, Full House just name a few.

[@Myra1959]

Well said.

[@msj.randel1496]

Agreed totally!!

[@levinmoser4001]

She hated being identified with Aunt Bea, yet she dresses just like Aunt Bea

[@grooveythoughts]

Shows what lies you have been told. She was stage actress not a comic actress so for her Andy & Don wasting time with jokes ... was totally unprofessional. Think she got over it and Andy adored her for being real.

[@levinmoser4001]

+Greta Ginn I wasn't told anything. Listen to the interview. She said she was over Aunt Bea, but, she's dressed like Aunt Bea in the interview. I've been through Siler City, but never stopped. It's not much different from Mt Airy.

[@easytherepilgrim2339]

I'm pretty sure that deep down she loves being known as Aunt Bee. Actors often say they don't want to be typecast and they weren't happy on a show....but that's just to make it seen like they have so much talent.

[@MorrisonScotch]

Think you got it backwards there fella

[@jenniferdonlin6627]

@@easytherepilgrim2339 Doesn't her gravestone say "Aunt Bea?"

[@travis7310]

Classic, hilarious episode! Probably the best one out of the whole six year run of the series! :D

[@handlebar41]

They’re so many that get trapped in the characters they’ve created…I hope she came to a place of acceptance and I’m sure she embraced her fans…No one is one note…She’s a nice lady it seems..

[@MrParkerman6]

Half the time they are not the ones who created the character.

[@countryguitar4u]

Love you Francis, thanks so much!

[@PHARRAOH]

best show ever

[@brucenelson1424]

amen brother amen!

[@donaldhicks3359]

This and The Twilight Zone

[@suzycreamcheesez4371]

Seinfeld Frasier Cheers All In The Family Wings

[@rottyangel770]

Thank you for uploading this! I never saw her in an interview before.

[@KillerKlownAsylum]

Still watch this show Aunt Bee was and is one of my favorite characters it's sad she didn't wanna be identified with the character if only she knew how many generations she has impacted over time

[@terrybrown3224]

Typical aunt, granny back in 60s thru 90s b4 they passed. Loved the show

[@dad7275]

she seems very close to her TV character here in real life.

[@magoo9767]

What a wonderful interview.

[@jonathanjacques7250]

Loved this, thank you for putting it on.

[@1966gto1000]

I'll never forget 1967 when our family took a vacation trip to Calif. We hired a guide and went to the CBC commissary, where she had a pass. What a trea My image of Aunt Bea went away when on a vacation trip with my familty in 1967, we witnessed her at the Desilu commissary eating lunch while a guest of our guide. She pulled out a foot long cigarette and Aunt Bea was gone. Great actress. Loved her work.

[@DolittleMccoy]

I've always been a big fan of the Andy Griffith Show, My favorite's are the first 5 seasons which were in black and white and before Barney and Gomer left the show... No joke, Ever since Netflix has had all of the Seasons on there site, I watch The Andy Griffith show before bed and fall asleep to it as it plays. Every single night for the past year... There's something about hearing the show play while i'm going to sleep that relaxes me.. Everyone should try it,, No joke. You will relax in a good mood, sleep great, No bad dreams. etc

[@goingclear2647]

Same here. I have the DVD set. Watch it often.

[@chrisupton5884]

I'm not alone!

[@jackieharp4670]

The pickle story was my favorite, so funny.

[@dagnabbit6187]

Kerosene Cucumbers !

[@mpaxton8991]

That one and Call the Man with that old rickety freezer full of meat!

[@vanmoody]

It is one of my favorites too because it showed how much they loved Aunt Bee and didn't want to hurt her feelings.

[@glyndajenkins3581]

jackie harp me too

[@m.e.d.7997]

Yes and Bargain Day with the meat and the freezer. Also The Mr Goss epi and when the egg farmer was her made up beau. So many really!!!

[@sailer5373]

I loved when she was shnockered, playing the piano to, " Toot toot Tootsie, goodbye........ "😂

[@gingerhaydon4693]

Loved the interview... thank you

[@mcfrdmn]

Lovely interview with Francis Bavier !

[@AKKodiak1969]

Series star Andy Griffith addressed the fact that the two sometimes clashed during the series' run. According to Griffith (Larry King Live, April 24, 1998), Bavier phoned him four months before she died, and said she was deeply sorry for being "difficult" during the series' run.

[@cathybobalek8069]

What a wonderful show.she. is. So talented.my mom remembered her as a singer.actress.i still watch the. Show.☺

[@denisespurlock]

This is a wonderful piece. Thank you for sharing.

[@rf-bh3fh]

She tells the truth. Funny what the world sees or we presume is not likely the truth. This is one reason we are told not to judge. What is even more important is not to lie.

[@bill45colt]

I worked as factory rep for Honda motorcycle 1971-1973. Andy had two spoiled sons who had motorcycles that they consistently beat the hell out of and they kept coming back to the dealership with every thing they broke, insisting that warranty should cover it. The dealer tried to go along with this as long as he could, but finally had had enough. At one point Andy threatened to cause problems, so Honda backed down and continued to repair at their costs.Id always thought lots of Andy up until then

[@ChildrensWorld57]

Love this show I still watch it 🥰

[@usermikes]

Francis Bavier use to have a show back in 1954 called "It's a great life"..It's on youtube..Show was very good.

[@buddahass6178]

Despite her indifference to Aunt Bee and the inescapable identity she forged, she still seemed remarkably similar to her beloved character, and perhaps under different circumstances and/or environment, Aunt Bee might have been famously written as recluse. As for the cats, don't kid yourself. Many an elderly, hermit-like, self-supportive, self-determined, or self -governed lady, is merely a hungry "meow" away, from crowning herself the next supreme empress of kitty nirvana.

[@ronwade5433]

Can you just imagine!? She wanted to get away from Mayberry by retiring to the Tar Heel State, Siler City no less!

[@stevejensen3471]

The funny thing is that she moved to Siler City because she said it reminded her of what Mayberry would be like :).

[@spectrumlocalb191]

Thanks for sending me this I love it.Thanks again You Tube is wonderful

[@georgeorwell4534]

Wonderful intelligent person, great actress.

[@newfielad47]

I go to bed most nights watching andy g. I was really disappointed to learn that the actual set was demolished. I to would like to have the power to go back there in reality anytime. The closest I can do is cd's soI go back in time most nights that way to mayberry.

[@donnadonnavarietyvlog4391]

Oh, you should look up Mayberry Days and take a trip to Mt. Airy, NC to be a part of it.

[@goingclear2647]

I do the same.Watching Andy Griffith in the evenings. Especially now with all the insanity out there. I have all 8 seasons on DVD. In the above clip there is a photo of Andy getting married.? Was there an episode where he got married?

[@JSTONE9352]

She was in the movie "Bend of the River" with Jimmy Stewart, when I first saw her in the movie I said "hey, its Aunt Bea". :)

[@shawnduncan8257]

Also The Day the Earth Stood Still

[@johnbravo2301]

shawn duncan I saw it ESS recently and had to do a double take..but i knew that voice

[@jamesjacoby6740]

+John Stone I would had said the same thing..I would had said..Hey,It's aunt Bea..that's what I would had said...TOO!!

[@johnyoung468]

John Stone I said the same thing.

[@theastewart6721]

Nice interview! Thanks for sharing!

[@denisesimpson591]

Frances Bavier comes across to me as a little cold . . .but she pulled off the warm and anything-but-reclusive Aunt Bee quite wonderfully!

[@lmsandy9154]

It is truly horrible to mock an elderly lady who is gone to the next dimension. Anyone mocking her house or its condition.... when perhaps at 89 she used a walker, a cane, could not bend over, or perhaps was bed ridden? And those pets were her family... I can only say that life is a circle, and that which you put in, will come full circle and knock you on your face. (karma) Rest well, Ms Bavier . Your acting was impeccable, simply the best .

[@jonhohensee3258]

Karma isn't real, silly Sandy.

[@rcnelson]

Where did this accusation of slovenliness come from?

[@troybirch]

Jon Hohensee Khama isn't real but if you treat everyone horribly when you need them they won't be there for you. It may not be because a mystical force- but trust me. It's the truth.

[@jonhohensee3258]

troybirch - NO KIDDING

[@muse7746]

Shouldn't mock the elderly. However, when facts come to light that are unexpected, its so sad. I thought she was a wonderful actress, and I'm sure she had health issues and age, holding her back from being all neat and tide with her house. Understood, no blame..

[@nowvoyagerNE]

i wish i'd had an aunt bea :)

[@alanmorris7669]

She owned a large brick home in Siler City, which is only an hour and fifteen minutes away from me. It has now become a bed and breakfast.

[@botison617]

All the years gone by so fast many have already been gone as well where did years go seems only yesterday

[@porkchopspapi5757]

Well said

[@SCfanIam100]

In the early 80's my mother had surgery at Duke Hospital in Durham, NC. She was in the hospital recovering and found out that Aunt Bee was in the hospital as well on the same floor. She asked her nurse would it be possible for someone to roll her down to Aunt Bees room in a wheel chair to meet her. The nurse told her "Honey you are better off leaving that woman alone. She isn't anything like the Aunt Bee on TV. She will probably hurt your feelings" So my mother decided not to go because she wanted to just remember Aunt Bee the way she was on Tv.

[@m.e.d.7997]

She was an awesome actress . She and Andy did not get along.

[@m.e.d.7997]

With HIPPA now that nurse would not tell you she was even there.

[@heru-deshet359]

She was a bitter old lesbian.

[@katherinea.williams3044]

Margaret HA! That’s so very true!

[@beverlyjohnson1510]

@@heru-deshet359,how do you know for sure she was a lesbian ?

[@akrenwinkle]

She never even attempted a Southern accent on the show to get into character. Just sounded like herself, the elegant part of New York.

[@bodleladle]

In early episodes she did have an accent..

[@akrenwinkle]

bodleladle I'd like to hear that. Is there a link you can provide?

[@dagnabbit6187]

+bodleladle Like people like the late David Niven ,who although English, he could be Transatlantic. Bavier's Aunt Bea could probably fit in anywhere . Some people's voices can. Bavier did fine as a rural classy elegant Middle Class lady.

[@gregberg5559]

In the first several episodes, she does have a southern accent- and it's even more clearly heard in the Danny Thomas Show episode that served as a sort of pilot episode for "The Andy Griffith Show." In it, Danny Thomas gets pulled over in Mayberry and meets Sheriff Taylor - and Frances Bavier is in that episode as well. It's quite interesting and worth seeking out.

[@gregberg5559]

Here is the link to that "Danny Thomas" episode. And as I watched it, I realized that my recollection was faulty. Her accent isn't very southern at all- but she uses words like 'ain't' that give it a southern flavor. The accent is heard more in the first several episodes of the show. Also, she is not playing Aunt Bea in this episode- but rather a townsperson named Henrietta. Anyway, here's the link if you're curious to see where it all began. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGHVhXycmrR8oaM

[@KevinBower-xl7tm]

I would loved to have met Miss Frances "Aunt Bea" before she passed. Wonderful actress. Loved the show! RIP Aunt Bea!

[@Onlymusical]

Wow! Very articulate and compelling to listen to. This is a wonderful interview that I'll remember.

[@mb96001]

She wasn't a horrible person, I don't believe, but hard to work with. As Andy Griffith said in an interview, "She just didn't warm up to me, didn't like me. And I could never figure out why." He also said that Howard Morris (Ernest T Bass) directed several episodes. According to Andy, Morris was setting up a scene, and said, Miss Bavier, we'll move you over to this spot. She replied by yelling, I'm not a piece of furniture, I'm an actress. You don't move me. She walked off for an unscheduled break. She was temperamental, like many artists are. But she was a great actress. When the cameras were rolling, she was a very believable Aunt Bee.

[@benschlechter]

And Howard Morris came close to engaging in a physical confrontation with her(slugging her in the jowl).

[@billejeanthomas7621]

mb96001

[@jamesjfisk4968]

mb96001 Not even difficult to work with, according to Elinore Donahue, who played Miss Ellie. Donahue said "I loved Frances Bavier". She also noted that some people said she was cold or snappish and so on, but she never saw anything like that from Frances Bavier. She was very, very nice according to Donahue. She was nice to her fans too, and many, many people who met her called her courteous or polite. So I think this whole story is hugely exaggerated. I did read somewhere that she hated cursing and didn't tolerate that stuff from the men working on the show. I say good for her.

[@eugenekozma2697]

@@jamesjfisk4968 yes I read in a book about the andy Griffith show Elsinore donahue speaking well of Frances bavier.i think Frances bavier was a high strung woman is all.

[@rallenfontenot]

Never saw her separate as her real self before. Thanks! I can't believe she and Andy rarely spoke!

[@ralphsantacroce8196]

A perfect actress for the part, well done.

[@jebsdaddy141]

I am a big watcher of the show. I will be 64 in July. She seems way older than 70 here. Not putting her down but just an observation. She played Aunt Bee so well.

[@MTknitter22]

Yes she was on the ornery side. Some actors don’t mind the identification with such a beloved iconic figure like Aunt Bee but for Frances, who had been in many roles before, she did not like it. Well bless you Miss Bavier, I am glad you found such a happy life in Siler City in your later years. You sure blessed our lives as Aunt Bee.

[@bduhe219]

i saw a few ugly comments about here on here. i think that is totally unfair. many actors who want to be taken seriously, feel at times they are not. from what i heard, she did not like being talked down to, or to be made like she was not professional at her work. all have said she was very professional, and if their quarrel with her was that she was not too friendly, that maybe attributed to the fact she was a loner. never married, and never tied to any major relationships, she probably was uneasy around others and maybe did not think she was worthy of someones attentions. that is why many people get into acting. they can be the person they aspire to be, yet never feeling they could be that person on their own. passing judgements on her, thats really unfair.

[@conniecharley7086]

without aunt bea the show seemed a link missing she made so much of a big part to be what the show. was about

[@Lauren-vd4qe]

unfair?? really? whats FAIR about her treating other people coldly which is what she admitted and apologized for before she went to meet her Maker and account for her life? I dont think her coworkers thought it was fair at all!

[@Serenadesong]

If she chose to apologize then clearly she never meant any harm and wanted to reach out to show that. So yeah, it is unfair to be hating on her.

[@steventuck8615]

bduhe219 yes i totally agree, i think that was her situation exactly...

[@sensiblyhonest695]

I can sympathize. She spent 50 years in public life, it's understandable that the folks in Siler City assume she was the same personality as Aunt Bea but that's not reality. She had a right to be Francis...not Bee. That would be difficult to accomplish without hurting some feelings. She probably should have lived in Charlotte, Wilmington, or Raleigh for a little more anonymity and just gone to visit the small towns to "experience" the life. Small towns were full of people that grew up there back then...if you didn't it didn't take much to get labeled. Same way in a lot of towns today...you hear "He's not from here" as though that means something. Thanks for posting this video CarolinaCamera!

[@weedermann]

A female actor is more likely to be placed in a rigid "social box", especially if they are a character actor prior to 1970. Bavier had to speak up if she wanted some say in her work. Perhaps Bavier was on the receiving end of Griffith's attitude and had to navigate carefully. Andy Griffith was a powerful figure in Hollywood and used it ruthlessly. If he did not like something (or someone), he got his way. ALL of the time. For instance, the show, "Matlock" was originally set to be shot at Viacom (in Culver City), but Griffith refused to travel so far from his home north of Los Angeles. Production was moved to Universal Studios in the Valley to please him.

[@vikkinicholson2300]

Griffith was not that skilled as an actor. Often, he came off almost amateur in some scenes, especially on Matlock. He surrounded himself with good character actors like Don Knotts who made him look better.

[@allenshifflett5300]

I enjoyed growing up whith the show it was our life to

[@veraevans6387]

What an interview. Worthy of the Archive of American Television, its so classic.