''The Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Jim Nabors Show,'' the story of the one-off reunion in '65

Griffith, and Nabors, and Knotts. Oh my!

All good things must come to an end. The age-old proverb rings true for all of life's best splendors. Nothing lasts forever, not even beloved television series. In the case of The Andy Griffith Show, the end came on a few different occasions. For fans who loved seeing Jim Nabors in Mayberry, 1964 may have felt like the end, when the spin-off series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. sent his character packing, first to Camp Wilson in North Carolina, and then to Camp Henderson in California. For fans of Don Knotts' Barney Fife, the following year might have felt like the end, when the star left Mayberry in pursuit of motion picture stardom, only to return for occasional guest spots. And any Andy Griffith fan knows that the show as we know it ended with the eighth season, as Griffith prepared to leave. If all good things truly come to an end, then the best things end in threes.

Luckily for us, Mayberry Mania didn't have to die when these characters went their separate ways. The men behind them remained good friends, and would occasionally appear in projects together. The first of those reunions was 1965's The Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Jim Nabors Show.

For the first time since Knotts and Nabors left The Andy Griffith Show, the pair joined Griffith onscreen for what became a full hour of comedy. October 7th, 1965 saw the first airing of the pals' production, which featured songs and jokes meant to strike just the right notes of nostalgia for a rabid viewing audience.

"We're not like college grads heading for the school reunion, ya gotta understand," Griffith told the Chicago Tribune. "We're three good friends getting together on a night club act we did at Lake Tahoe. You could call it a reprise of the act--taking the viewers to the Harrah's club in Tahoe without their leaving their living rooms."

Andy Griffith's manager, and the man who discovered Griffith, Richard O. Linke, describes the venture as such: "This is the first time the boys work together doing comedy, singing, and dancing outside the framework of The Andy Griffith Show itself. And it isn't a copy of The Andy Griffith Show by any means."

What it was, though, is an evening of comedy with friendship at its center. Griffith performed two monologues, one about "Brutus and Caesar," and a second, "The Lion and the Mouse," which he'd also later perform on The Carol Burnett Show

In addition to the monologues, the night saw a sketch that took place at a family picnic. Griffith starred as the father, while Knotts, naturally, played the family matriarch. Nabors rounded out the cast as, in his words, "the nutsy son." 

Knotts also performed a scene of two astronauts bickering in outer space, and Nabors sang songs from his album "Gomer Says Hey."

Watch The Andy Griffith Show on MeTV!

Weeknights at 8 & 8:30, Sundays at 12 & 6 PM

*available in most MeTV markets
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15 Comments

drcrumpler 17 months ago
Is it possible for MeTV to find this 1965 gem & show it as a special? I'd tune in.
obectionoverruled 17 months ago
Barney Fife WAS the Andy Griffith Show, no offense. The rest of the caste were just window dressing for America’s Greatest Deputy. Barney’s outbursts, facial expressions, shrill excitable voice, and getting all dressed up in those tweed suits and goofy fixes he always found himself in were hilarious comedy.
Andybandit 17 months ago
The show must have been funny with AG, DK, and JN. That is something MeTv should put on.
Bapa1 Andybandit 17 months ago
I agree, that would be interesting.
LoveMETV22 17 months ago
There are a few clips of the show on several websites. Wonder if there is a full episode in
CBS's Archives ? If it exists, it would be an interesting watch on a Sunday. Just a thought.
Pacificsun LoveMETV22 17 months ago
This isn't it, and just myself at least, couldn't find more. Although it could be accessible within FB group, possibly. My hunch is the music rights might be an obstacle for network TV. But this YouTube is still fun, demonstrating the chemistry among TAGS favorite characters. Andy relates a good story, too!
LoveMETV22 Pacificsun 17 months ago
There are a few short clips if you Google:
" The Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Jim Nabors Show"
Nothing longer than 7 minutes or so that I could find anyway.
Perhaps there are no full length clips of the show so to speak. I would hope CBS has one just for archival history. It was part of television @ that time.
Pacificsun LoveMETV22 17 months ago
Thank you, I found it. At least the scene with AG & DN on the porch. Does anyone realize how hard it was to get that scene right, and "Barney" just nails it!!
texasluva Pacificsun 16 months ago
See you @ Can you name all these TV shows featuring Don Knotts?. Come one come all to the MeTv Friday Night Movie Quiz.
Where everyone can take a guess or make comments to other quizzers.
There will be extra bonus movies for just coming by. Including entertainment for all. Feel free to ask questions, copy movie links and just plain join in the fun via communication. The MQ will be up until the movie is guessed and an hour to look over and pick out what you wish. Have fun doing so. There are no wrong answers but the first one to guess the correct movie gets their names put up for getting it correctly.
Good luck and enjoy
Karellen 17 months ago
Any chance Metv could air this special?
Wiseguy70005 Karellen 17 months ago
Not if it involves real music/singing. The rights to songs is what keeps a lot of series off DVD. I doubt if MeTV would want to pay for the rights either.
FrankensteinLover 17 months ago
Such a fan of all three, thank goodness for Reruns.
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