
For those who might be familiar with it: One of our favorite TV shows (and yes, it’s a vintage show) is The Andy Griffith Show, which ran in first run from 1960-1968 and in reruns ever since. There are a host of odd characters on the show, perhaps the oddest of which is Ernest T. Bass, played by the multitalented Howard Morris, a director and voice actor as well as an actor. Ernest T. wanders out of the mountains once in a while and gets the attention of Andy and Barney by throwing rocks through windows and breaking them. He is, in Barney Fife’s (played by Don Knotts) words, a nut. So, while Ernest T. never actually threw rocks at anyone, he might as well have…

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Now a word about The Thing from Volkswagen.
Maybe I’m just getting old and can’t remember, but I don’t recall anyone who had one of these…
The hubby is a huge fan of the Andy Griffith show. He grew up near where it was made (or maybe based on? in Virginia) and would point it out every time we drove back and forth from college to visit his folks. 🙂
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Andy was from Mt. Airy, North Carolina, which is near Virginia, and that’s the area it was based on. Frances Bavier and Betty Lynn lived near there after the show ended (and while there isn’t a Mt. Pilot, there is a Pilot Mountain). Of course, the show was filmed at Desilu Studios, which is in Hollywood… It’s funny that they talk about going to Raleigh a lot as if it was pretty close, when it’s an almost three hour drive and close to 150 miles. Pretty country up that way…
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I have watch the Andy Griffith Show but I do t recall this character but he sounds like one that would easily have been a resident of the area I grew up in.
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A small sample:
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Oh yes. Ernest T. Bass is one of our favorite characters on that show. We do watch them over and over every day. He sure had some memorable lines that we have fun quoting. 🙂
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Maybe one of the best characters ever. Andy Griffith had a few: Ernest T., Barney, Otis, Floyd, Gomer and Goober, Ben Weaver…
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OMG my husband loves these old time shows…He can impersonate Ernest T. to a “T” 🙂
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Isn’t there an episode where they unsuccessfully try to clean up and reform Ernest?
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I think it was on MeTV not long ago. “How do you do, Mrs. Wiley…”
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It’s me it’s me it’s Ernest T.
Also Mush Mouse in the Hanna Barbera cartoons.
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And the Hamburglar on the McDonalds commercials, and Gopher in the Winnie the Pooh movies. I bet Roger’s worked with him. Guy was a genius.
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We love Ernes T. Bass in this house.
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He’s a very funny character. Remember the thing about him getting a gold tooth and knocking out the teeth on either side so it stood out more? Funny, funny stuff…
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Yes, I remember it well!
Our grandson that just turned 18 always loved watching this show with us. He never liked the later colorized episodes. He was very fond of the Darlin’s and his favorite episode was “The Loaded Goat”. Very funny stuff.
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The Darlings were great. Maggie Peterson (later Maggie Mancuso) had a beautiful voice, didn’t she? I wrote about it here: https://thesoundofonehandtyping.com/2019/08/04/song-lyric-sunday-there-is-a-time-and-a-swingin-safari/
Andy Griffith said that the show improved tremendously when he decided to be the straight man and let everyone else be the funny ones. Don Knotts was one of the funniest men God ever put on earth, and he left the show the season they went color. Jack Burns, who was also a very funny guy, never stood a chance as his replacement: Barney was a great character and Don was the reason.
The goat episode? Pure genius. It should have won an Emmy.
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Those shows never ever get old and their talents were unparalleled. Maggie certainly had a beautiful voice.
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IMDb says she’s living in Las Vegas and working for the tourism board. I think for a while she’d get together with The Dillards and sing “There Is A Time” with them.
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That would be a fun reunion to see.
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That it would be….
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