unworthy one

Opie Taylor

Opie Taylor is a fictional character in the American television program, The Andy Griffith Show which was televised on CBS from October 3, 1960 to April 1, 1968.

Opie is a motherless 6 year old when the series opens and lives in the fictional and idealized small, sleepy southern community of Mayberry, North Carolina with his single father, Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), the sheriff of Mayberry County, and his father's spinster aunt, Beatrice "Aunt Bee" Taylor (Frances Bavier). Opie appears once in The Andy Griffith Show spinoff Mayberry R.F.D. and also in the 1986 reunion telemovie Return to Mayberry. The character is portrayed by Ron Howard.

First appearance

Opie makes a brief first appearance in the February 1960 backdoor pilot, "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", an episode from The Danny Thomas Show.

"The New Housekeeper"

In the first episode of The Andy Griffith Show (September 1960), Andy's Aunt Bee returns to Mayberry via Morgantown, West Virginia at her nephew's invitation in order to manage the Taylor household after Andy's housekeeper Rose marries and departs. Opie takes an instant dislike to Aunt Bee based upon his grief at losing his beloved Rose. Opie's dislike deepens when Aunt Bee takes responsibility for allowing the boy's parakeet to accidentally escape. The boy's animosity deepens even further when Aunt Bee proves she knows nothing about fishing or playing baseball. Opie refuses to eat at the same table as Aunt Bee, but sneaks a napkinful of her fried chicken and biscuits to his room for snacking. Aunt Bee thinks it best to return to Morgantown and prepares to leave. When Opie realizes he may lose her, he insists she remain because she needs someone to teach her how to play baseball and how to fish. The episode ends with Opie's parakeet returning to his cage.

Overview

Opie's relationship with his "Paw" Andy was a crucial element of the show, providing plot material for many episodes. In one episode ("Opie the Birdman", September 30, 1963), Andy teaches Opie the value of responsibility and parenthood after Opie accidentally kills a mother bird with his slingshot and leaves her three nestlings orphaned. Naming the birds "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod", Opie nurtures them until they are ready to be released into the wild. Although it is highly unlikely a small boy could hand raise three baby birds, the episode is at the top of many fan favorite lists.

Andy would sometimes misjudge Opie, suspecting him of being selfish and oblivious to the needs of the less fortunate. Andy would then discover to his chagrin that Opie had been self-sacrificing and generous. For example, in one episode, Opie forfeits a grocery store delivery job to allow a boy with an ill father to replace him. In another episode, Opie uses his savings to buy a friend a winter coat after his father lambastes him for contributing only three cents to a charity.

When not visiting his father at the courthouse, Opie would sometimes get into jams. Some of his juvenile misdeeds include: trespassing in a neighbor's barn, selling Miracle Salve to the citizens of Mayberry; accidentally destroying Aunt Bee's prize rose; concealing an abandoned baby in his clubhouse; tricking Goober into thinking a shaggy dog can speak, and starting his own tell-all community newspaper.

Friends

Opie's best friend through the series' run is Johnny Paul Jason. He also has several other friends during his childhood including Howie Pruitt. In one episode, Opie's new friend Trey Bowden provokes Opie's jealousy when Andy takes a liking to Trey and invites him along on outings. Other new friends sometimes prove unworthy. One friend, for instance, encourages Opie to throw tantrums at home to get his way.

In another episode, Opie joins a secret club and is made keeper of the club's special candle. The club trespasses in a farmer's barn and, when the barn later burns to the ground, Opie is blamed. In the color episodes, Opie's best friend is a boy named Arnold Bailey but in one color episode, Opie hooks up with a boy that plays a mean trick on Goober. Both boys are taken to task by Andy for their mischief making. Opie is respectful and friendly to adults in Mayberry. He spends time at the filling station hanging out with Goober and the two often share their comic books.

Opie has several girl friends including, in his boyhood, Karen Burgess (Ronda Jeter) and, in his teens, Mary Alice Carter (Morgan Brittany credited as Suzanne Cupito). He also develops crushes on Barney's sweetheart Thelma Lou and on his father's lover Helen Crump, inappropriately buying Helen a pair of stockings at the local ladies wear shop.

On the spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D., Helen and Andy marry and later on the series, Helen gives birth to Opie's half-brother, Andrew Samuel Taylor, Jr.

During his teens, Opie has a few jobs around Mayberry. He works in the drug store as a soda jerk, and, in another episode, works as a delivery boy at the grocery store. He also plays in a rock band with his friends and has a paying gig at a teen party. In a later color episode, Opie makes college plans with dentistry as his career choice.

Reunion telemovie (1986)

In the 1986 made-for-TV reunion movie Return to Mayberry, Ron Howard reprised his role as a now-adult Opie. The plot was driven by his father's return to see Opie's wife give birth to their first child.