Bernard Fox wanted Malcolm Merriweather to replace Barney Fife

The actor who played Andy's English valet once shared his dream of what happened after Malcolm left Mayberry.

Malcolm Merriweather, an English "gentleman's gentleman" on a tour of America, strolled into Mayberry on exactly three occasions.

In his first appearance, in "Andy's English Valet," Malcolm signs on to be Sheriff Andy's valet and do all his errands and chores, because Malcolm doesn't have enough money to cover a small fine.

Then, in "The Return of Malcolm Merriweather," he arrives in time to find Aunt Bee feeling overburdened by housework and fills in to give her some relief. He does such a good job that Aunt Bee gets scared he will replace her!

Finally, in "Malcolm at the Crossroads," Malcolm arrives again with plans to make his residency in Mayberry permanent. Andy decides to replace Ernest T. Bass by posting Malcolm as a crossing guard.

This leads Ernest to challenge Malcolm to a fistfight, which Andy, of course, cools down before it occurs. The end result is Ernest T. bearhugging Malcolm and declaring him his best buddy.

This sixth-season episode of The Andy Griffith Show would become the final appearance of both Malcolm Merriweather and Ernest T. Bass, which is unfortunate for fans of the Englishman because he'd only just announced that he'd moved to town for good!

Years later, in 1998, the actor who played Malcolm Merriweather Bernard Fox told The Johnson City Press that his character was always something of an enigma, a hard man to pin down.

"Obviously, he didn't have enough cash to pay his fine, so how he was getting around America, I've no idea," Fox said.

When asked what happened to Malcolm after he left Mayberry, Fox said he imagined that the valet completed his American tour and then, contrary to his declaration in "Malcolm at the Crossroads," returned home to England.

"I'm positive he went back to England to become a gentleman's gentleman again," Fox said. "That's a nice idea."

We think Mayberry fans would prefer another idea Fox had for his character.

He imagined a future where after Barney Fife leaves Mayberry… and Malcolm Merriweather returns to become Andy's new deputy! Now that's a job we definitely never pictured Malcolm stepping into.

"I do think he would want to go back to Mayberry," Fox said.

"Yes, and now that Don Knotts is out of it, I think he would probably go back and apply for the job of assistant sheriff," Fox said.

Could you picture a world where Malcolm became Mayberry's next deputy? It's even funnier than when Aunt Bee was feeling weird about the valet replacing her.

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47 Comments

Runeshaper 10 months ago
I would have liked to see Malcolm as the Deputy or Assistant Sheriff.
KawiVulc 10 months ago
Some of my favorite episodes. Imagine Barney turning up on a visit home with Deputy Malcolm doing everything exactly the way Ol' Barn would not.
justjeff 10 months ago
I think he would have been a great replacement as a new barber in town...
HerbF 39 months ago
Not a replacement for Barney, but to fill a role for someone that Andy is friends with an interacts with - which is why they created Howard Sprague - Howard, as City Clerk WAS Barney's replacement so to speak (and to a lesser degree, Floyd.) as someone who along with Goober, would give Andy a circle of friends.

Zip 40 months ago
I could actually see that working, myself. Not that anybody could live up to the standards that Don Knotts set down as Mayberry's deputy, but I could see many story lines and funny incidents happening surrounding Malcolm as an English deputy in America.
Poor Jack Burns gets a bum rap with his portrayal as Warren, but he really did have a tough assignment after Don left. So I really don't have anything against the character of Warren, though he really was too "by the book" which in turn was too similar to Barney's demeanor, albeit in a totally different style.
zman47240 41 months ago
Malcolm would have been a great regular on the show, but not as Barney’s replacement. Warren however, was very annoying and dull as burnt toast.
MichaelEasterwood 44 months ago
The character was good for a couple of episodes,but as a deputy,just no
bdettlingmetv 44 months ago
Chuckled at: " 'Obviously, he didn't have enough cash to pay his fine, so how he was getting around America, I've no idea,' Fox said."

A Brit probably wouldn't know, but the itinerant, "hobo" sub-culture was alive and well back then, and in fact continues to this day. I gave a ride to a young man and his dog a few years ago, and he even described his community as "hobos". The movement has modernized with Facebook groups and Twitter feeds of gatherings, tips on 'safe' places, etc. Nice guy, hope he made it out to Colorado for his 'summer home'.
JohnGibbons 44 months ago
The second appearance is one of my favorite episodes. The fake drunk scene is a belly laugher.
Big3Fan 44 months ago
I don't think anyone could have replaced Barney. The Warren character was terrible, and as much as I enjoyed the Malcolm episodes I can't picture him as deputy. My choice would have been Jerry Van Dyke. I don't know if he was considered, but he had committed to doing MY MOTHER the CAR after his lone TAGS appearance.
MichaelEasterwood Big3Fan 44 months ago
Warren was very good,as you say,nobody could replace Don
RandallStrouse 44 months ago
Paging Dr. Bombay, Dr. Bombay, Emergency Emergency Come Right Away
Timothy 44 months ago
Malcolm was wonderful on all the shows mentioned that he was on...all the way to The Mummy. However Nadya is soooo right..Helen Crump was the WORST girl Andy ever had. Every other girl he has was light years ahead of Helen....always bitchy and jealous
Bucky65 44 months ago
Check out Arte Johnson as the hotel clerk in the episode when Andy a Barney go to the big city for a convention and they catch the jewel thief
JohnHardesty 44 months ago
Malcolm Merriweather should stick to playing the English fop because there’s no Keystone cops in Mayberry.
collin8 44 months ago
Did you ever notice in the black day for mayberry at the beginning of the episode in the courthouse when Opie walks in front of the "T Men" towards Barney that it's not the same 2 men? Watch it they are wearing hats but they're different.
JohnGibbons collin8 44 months ago
Yes one of the actors became ill and couldn’t finish so they re-shot the scene with Rance Howard.
Nadya92129 44 months ago
Earnest T. Bass would have been a great replacement for Barney Fife. The producers should have 86'd cold, bitchy, jealous, humorless Helen Crump! She really brought down the show.
Big3Fan Nadya92129 44 months ago
I totally agree! They should have dumped Crump.
retired2019 44 months ago
I liked him as Malcolm but loved him as Dr. Bombay.
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