The Andy Griffith Show had nepotism on and off-screen

Close ties on and off-screen

The Andy Griffith Show ran from 1960 to 1968 on CBS and has never been off the screen in sixty-five years. Some fans may not realize this, but thereas nepotism with family connections both on and off-screen for the characters and their portrayers.

Barney Fife (Don Knotts) was the Deputy to Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), and the two were good friends. Barney was always giving wisdom to Opie Taylor (Ron Howard) and the other boys, even when his words did not work out. In real-time, Knotts and Howard were related.

Howard and Knotts were cousins

According to MeTV, in February 2025, Howard said he had only recently found out that he and Knotts were distant cousins. He seemed surprised and pleased at this revelation.

He also said the camaraderie fans saw on-screen was just as real off-screen, and they all loved each other. Not only were Knotts and Howard related, but their Andy Griffith characters were cousins as well.

Andy and Barney were cousins

The pilot for The Andy Griffith Show premiered on the Danny Thomas Show in 1960, but Knotts was not on it. He did appear in the first official episode, The New Housekeeper, where he referred to Taylor as "Cousin Andy."

Although it was not spoken, the dynamic between Andy and Barney suggested that the Sheriff chose his new deputy through nepotism. The audience's laughter when Barney said "Cousin Andy" seems to imply they caught on,

Cousin Andy and Cousin Virgil

At least once on a separate occasion during the early part of season one, Barney mentioned that he and Andy were cousins. Neither of them said how they were related, but this indicated that he was also blood cousins with Aunt Bee (Francis Bavier) and Opie.

Barney had at least one more cousin to appear in an episode of the show titled Cousin Virgil. (Michael Pollard), who starred in Bonnie and Clyde with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, portrayed Virgil.

It was not mentioned that he was also Andy's cousin, so he must have been on the other side of the family tree. In later years, Andy and Barney were portrayed as great friends, and their kinship was not mentioned again.

Rance Howard and nepotism

Longtime fans of The Andy Griffith Show know that the Howard family was prominent on and off-screen. Ron Howard's father, actor Rance Howard, worked behind the scenes on the show, even directing one.

Rance appeared in several episodes and was the preacher in the 1986 movie Return to Mayberry who married Barney and Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn). mHe also coached his son in learning his lines because at six years old, young Ronnie could not read.

The father did a great job because Opie always delivered and seemed a natural. Rance was an actor prior to The Andy Griffith Show, and he also appeared in 15 films directed by Ron.

Clint Howard

Ron's brother, Clint Howard, portrayed Leon (no last name) on the series. This was the kid wearing the cowboy hat who offered Barney his peanut butter and jelly sandwich after he shut the jail cell door and locked him in.

Leon also offered Barney his sandwich when Fife was undercover as a mannequin in Weaver's department store. In later years, Clint appeared in many of his brother's films, including Splash and Apollo 13.

He also starred as Mark in the television series Gentle Ben. Last year, had a role on the CBS soap The Young and the Restless. Rance Howard appeared in China Town, The Long Hot Summer, A Beautiful Mind, and Cinderella Man, among other credits.

Barney was a good deputy, and the Howard family were great actors, still nepotism comes to mind with The Andy Griffith Show.