Believe it or not me and a guy I worked with had many spirited discussions re this issue. Mayberry was a small town. I’m sure their town budget was rather small. This issue relates to the salaries of Andy and Barney. Barney couldn’t have made too much at all. He lived in a rented room in a rooming house, where he was only allowed a low watt light bulb and no hot plate. He didn’t own a car, and made reference to watching his pennies. Andy, on the other hand, lived in a large and pretty nice home with several bedrooms. Plus, he supported Aunt Bea and Opie. I can’t see his salary being high enough to cover all this. My buddy maintains that when Andy’s wife died, he must have collected on a life insurance policy. He even suggests that Andy might have contributed to her untimely demise. I suggested that Andy might just have been a crooked cop. Perhaps given that Mayberry was “dry”, there could be ample opportunities for bribes. What do you guys think? How do you explain Andy’s lifestyle? The big, fine house?
According to this song there was a lot going on behind the scenes. I can attest that this is a true story.
Andy and Barney both didn't have their own cars. So if one of them went to mt pilot with the cop car what did the other do if there was a emergency
I figured the large house was probably handed down through family. Maybe it was Aunt Bee's house and Andy & Opie moved there after Opie's mother died so Bee could help look after him. It's not like there were a lot of ways to spend money in Mayberry. Helen and Thelma Lou were cheap dates.
Isn't being a sherrif an elected position in those Southern counties? Maybe Andy was independently well-off before he ran for the job (?)... maybe it's just a hobby for him. In the backstory on Wiki, they say that Aunt Bea moved in after Andy's maid got married and moved away. Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show) - Wikipedia So like I say, Andy must have been loaded. It also says that Barney was his cousin... so that's blatant nepotism right there.
Who's gonna marry Otis? Or Ernest T. Bass? Or any of the Darlings? Even when Ken Berry replaced Andy, HE was a widower like Andy....
I always thought his wife may have come from money or as you said, Andy got some life insurance when she passed.
Good point about Aunt Bea. She always came across a little uppity now that I think about it. She probably came from some money.
Good points. It just appears that Andy is living far above a sheriff’s salary. As for Aunt Bea, she’s described as an older spinster. The story line is that she was raised in Mayberry. But she’s not w Andy and Opie when the show first aired. Where was she? She has a questionable background. Maybe she did bring some dough w her back Mayberry.
Royalties on that folk music album they recorded in Mayberry, with Hugh Marlowe? Oh that's right, he didn't invest! Ha!
When Sam Jones took over in Mayberry R.F.D. he owned a farm. Just so there's no issue about his income.
I agree. Don was my favorite. Funny has heck but at the same time you felt sorry for him. I think we all saw a little of ourselves in Barney Fife.....I know I did.
I think Don Knotts & Griffith had the best chemistry, and probably some of the best writing of any sitcom. They were the Lennon-McCartney of sitcoms. Talented by themselves, but together----magic. When Barney sang "Juanita..." into the phone, he told Andy "I'll fix that later" Andy said "You won't you know."
Average salary for a small town sheriff today is $67K. The bottom 10 percent of small town sheriff's make about $32K. Source: small town sheriff Salaries | Simply Hired Using an inflation deflator, $67K today was worth about $8K in 1960, and $32K today would equal around $3,800 in 1960. Source: Calculate the value of $45,000 in 1960. How much is it worth today? Eight thousand dollars was a darn good salary back in 1960. I would guess Andy was more in the neighborhood of $3,800. The average family income in 1960 was $6,700 and the median income was $5,600. But remember that in 1960, the average house cost $11,900, gas was 31 cents per gallon, and a first class stamp was 4 cents. I think Andy did OK. Probably had a mortgage on his house, and he sure could have kept under the suggested 28 percent of monthly income going to his mortgage. I don't think Andy or Barney ever did anything under the table to make money. However, if you ever watch the first airing of Andy as Sheriff (a skit that aired on the Danny Thomas show) you will see that Andy had a much harder edge to him and was more rascally than when his show became a regular weekly program.