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Mark Cuccia to Jerry Krumm (April 11, 2002) In the last four or five episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, which aired on CBS in Spring 1968, the closing of the eighth (and final) season, Ken Berry became a regular (he hadn't been seen previously throughout all of the other seven seasons nor even the early part of the final season), playing Sam Jones, a widower with a boy (Mike) about as young as Opie was when The Andy Griffith Show had begun in the early 1960's. Sam was a "gentleman" farmer just outside of the developed "town" of Mayberry -- Sam runs for Town Council. A seat had just become open, and his opposition is Emmett Clark (played by Paul Hartmann). Sam wins out over Emmett. Emmett is yet another new "regular" beginning with the final season; while he started off at the beginning of the eighth season, he had never been seen nor referred to for any of the previous seven seasons. He took over Floyd's Barber Shop location and changed it to Emmett's Fix-It Shop. It was said that Emmett had done repairs and fixing things in his home previously. It was said that Floyd had left for either a larger barber shop in Mt.Pilot (or maybe Floyd had retired?). Anyhow, Howard McNear had had another stroke and passed away. There were a few references to Floyd in the eighth season, as well as "that new barber in town", but we never saw the new barbershop nor new barber. Incidentally, there was an episode in the previous (7th) season, during 1966/67, where Howard had bought out the property where Floyd leased/rented space for the barbershop. Floyd wouldn't have been able to afford the price to actually own the storefront so Howard buys it and decides to raise the rent charged to Floyd by something like $30.00. Floyd threatens to vacate, claiming that there is an opening for a new barber at that large 3-chair barbershop in Mt.Pilot. Floyd actually does vacate, temporarily. Howard brings in a new prosepective tenant, who owns a chain of barbershops around North Carolina. The new prosepetive tenant is "strictly business" and wants the checkers table and checkerboard removed. Howard and the others don't like what could happen. In the end Howard decides to reject the man's offer and lease to Floyd by coming down only $15.00 in a rent increase. As I mentioned, Emmett's Fix-It Shop was located where Floyds' Barbershop had been located. Remember that there was the small TV/Radio Repair Shop (and TV/Radio store) next door to Floyd's. In the eighth season of The Andy Griffith Show, this storefront is now labelled "Furniture, New and Used". There used to be "Biggs," located on that street that runs alongside the righthand side of the courthouse when looking directly at the front of the courthouse building. "Biggs" was labelled "Furniture, New and Used". If you look at some of the Star Trek "Miri" pics, you'll still see the sign "Biggs - Furniture New and Used" on that side-street. Also, the Mayberry Grand Theater... in the (final) season of The Andy Griffith Show, and possibly even in some of the seventh (1966/67) season, you do not see that rounded top marquee attachment over the front entrance. That marquee was not used in Superman's first season. The marquee was seen in Star Trek's "Miri", but it was gone during "City on the Edge of Forever" and also gone on the brief glimpse of the Grand during "Return of the Archons". In The Andy Griffith Show "Opie and Mike" almost at the very end of the series, it opens with Andy, Goober and Sam at the northeast corner of Main and "North" streets. The view is over across to the "Teen Post" and other things on the western side of "North" Street (things seen in "Return of the Archons", and several episodes of Gomer Pyle USMC and Hogan's Heroes). Then they all start walking eastward along Main, in the direction of the Courthouse. You expect them to pass the Grand Theater. However, that storefront (still now without its rounded-top marquee) has been re-labelled "Mayberry Town Council" or maybe "Mayberry Town Hall" or something like that. Remember that Sam is now a town councilman, and his offices are now in that building, which used to be the Grand Theater! It's been a while since I've seen Mayberry RFD, and I wonder if that was retained as such. Remember too, MayberryRFD's first (1968/69) and second
(1969/70) seasons had interiors filmed at what had been Desilu-Cahuenga
(credited "Paramount" for 68/69; credited as "Cinema
General Studios" for 69/70). The exteriors that were actually
filmed outside were indeed still filmed at Forty Acres. However,
Mayberry RFD, the short lived Headmaster with Andy
Griffith for fall Some other things that changed during the 1960's at the Mayberry set of Forty Acres... (and I might have mentioned this before at one time or another): There are two buildings on the side street that runs along the righthand side of the Courthouse. During Superman (1951) and the early years of The Andy Griffith Show (probably first season only?), there are two buildings that look like simple houses, with dormer-type windows in the second-story's roofline, a typical residential house "slanted/gabled" type roof. (See the last picture on http://www.jimnolt.com/fortyacres2.htm.) You can't exactly see it too clearly here, and it is only one of the "houses", but look at the windows in the second story roofline. You can get a much better view of BOTH "houses"
at: http://www.jimnolt.com/fortyacres3.htm Those two buildings were modified sometime early during The
Andy Griffith Show, probably in time for the second or third
season, to where there was a straight vertical projection from
the front of the building, going up to cover the front of the
second floor... the buildings now looked more like businesses If you look at some of the Star Trek "Miri" pictures, you'll get a much better view of what was done to modify these structures. Also, on some of the "Miri" pictures, if you look closely, you can see that the modification was only where a vertical extension was added to the front... the pitched/slanted/gabled roofline is still there "to the back"... some of the "Miri" pics are taken at a higher angle and you can see what is really behind those vertical projections! The building seen in Superman's "Riddle of the Chinese Jade" was modified sometime in the early 1960's... actually, we know that it wasn't its first modification. It looked much different in Gone With The Wind! Anyhow, the Jade building during Superman and early Andy Griffith Show episodes has that slanted part of the roof between the first and second floors running all the way to the (southeast) corner with "South" street. See: http://www.jimnolt.com/fortyacres6.htm about midway down. But on the same webpage, all the way to the bottom, is a picture from a later b&w episode of The Andy Griffith Show. Note how there is this "block" vertical/horizontal "marqee" at the corner of the Jade building, between its first and second floors. This "block marquee" somewhat resembles what is on the other buldings at that intersection (Hardware Store, Italian Restaurant on the southwest corner, the Teen Post on the northwest corner, and the Palmerton Cafe, Bake Shop, etc. on the northeast corner). All of those buildings seem to have some kind of block "marquee" at the corner, between the first and second floors. As for this "block marquee" addition to the building from "Riddle of the Chines Jade," look at the Star Trek "Mire" pics - the pic of the view westward on Main Street, with the Bayou and the Jade on the front left, and the Grand on the front right. Look at how the "block marquee" was a simple addition, not a complete rebuilding of the Jade. You can still see the slanted roof-section between the first and second floors behind this "block marquee" addition! Also, in the earliest episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, I don't necessarily think that Floyd's was next to the courthouse. I'll have to see those earliest episodes again more carefully. I'm also unsure about everything else in that short row. There is the Funeral Parlor, but I'm not sure if that was where the Grocery was, or where Floyds was. I think that the Funeral Parlor was in the place of the later TV/Radio repair and sales shop. And, have you ever noticed how the windows on Floyd's and the Grocery Store are slanted inwards (when looking from outside), but only on the actual Forty Acres backlot structures. When you see Floyd's and the Grocery store front "interior sets", whether filmed inside the "stores" or on the interior soundstage set of the "outside", it doesn't look like the windows are slanted inwards. I'm looking forward to TV Land rerunning Superman and
Batman in May. It's been some time since I saw the first
season Superman episodes. I'm curious if they also filmed
on the "North" or "South" branch streets,
or the second block (Gone With The Wind Hardware Store,
Teen Post, Atlanta Examiner) of Main Street! Jerry Krumm's response to Mark Cuccia (April 12, 2002) 1. They reran Mayberry RFD on TV Land last year. While all of Sam Jones' farm are not at 40acres, they still would use the acres for downtown Mayberry, the City Council building (nee the Grand) etc. 2. I refer to the street behind the courthouse as "Back Street." The buildings on Back Street are not buidings at all. They are fronts only. Therefore they are very easily changed. Most of the other structures in this part of Mayberry are actual buildings with four sides and a roof. The final front to be put up at the end of Back Street is called "Feed and Grain." This was put in so that Higuera Street could not be seen. 3. Regarding interior and exterior filming of Courthouse Row:
There are two massive pillars in front of the courthouse. These
do not appear on the soundstage set of the courthouse exterior.
Secondly, listen to the soundtrack whenever they use this soundstage.
It always has lots of street noise and a car horn honking in
the backgground. When they actually film at the acres it is much
much quieter and definatly no honking horns. Thirdly, just beyond
Foley's is the vacant lot where the Opie sold lemonade (there
is a basement stairwell used in Switchblade Sisters)
and just beyond that lot is Dr. Ort's place. When they use the
soundstage there is some funky building just beyond Foleys, but
it does not leave any spacing for the lot. |