Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show)

Andy Taylor
Griffith as Andy Taylor with Julie Adams, the new county nurse, 1962.
First appearance	"Danny Meets Andy Griffith"
Last appearance	Return to Mayberry
Created by	Sheldon Leonard
Portrayed by	Andy Griffith
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Sheriff (1952 - 1968; 1986 - ?) Agent of State Bureau of Investigation (1968 - ?) Postal Inspector (? - 1986) Justice of the Peace (? - 1968)
Family	Barney Fife (cousin) Aunt Bee Uncle Ollie (uncle) Aunt Nora (aunt)
Spouse(s)	Unnamed wife (deceased) Helen Crump
Children	Opie Taylor (son) Andy Taylor Jr. (son)

Sheriff Andrew "Andy" Taylor is the major character on The Andy Griffith Show, an American sitcom which aired on CBS, (1960–1968). He also appears in the Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. episode "Gomer Joins the Marines", made a cameo appearance in the USMC episode "Gomer Goes Home," five episodes of Mayberry R.F.D. (1968–1971) and the reunion telemovie Return to Mayberry (1986). The character made his initial appearance in an episode of The Danny Thomas Show entitled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith." In the CBS special The Andy Griffith - Don Knotts - Jim Nabors Show (1965), Andy and Barney are featured in a musical sketch about their friendship and recreate some classic moments between the characters. Andy Griffith, as Sheriff Taylor, also has a brief comedy cameo in Rowan and Martin at the Movies (1969), a PSA short subject promoting the purchase of U.S. Savings Bonds. Andy Taylor appeared in all 249 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and was played by comedian and actor Andy Griffith.

Andy Taylor lives in the fictional, sleepy community of Mayberry, North Carolina. Andy is a widower and father to one young son, Opie. In the backdoor pilot episode from The Danny Thomas Show, viewers learn Andy lost his wife when Opie was "the least little speck of a baby." Andy's Aunt Bee acts as his live-in housekeeper and as surrogate mother/grandmother to Opie. Andy goes fishing with his son and often spends evenings on the front porch strumming his guitar. He sometimes entertains (with reluctance) overnight guests like his Aunt Nora and Uncle Ollie and often has friends in for Aunt Bee's fried chicken dinners. Andy's favorite pastime is fishing, goes to the movies occasionally, to dinner at Morelli's with friends, and enjoys picnicking at Myers Lake.

In the working world, Andy is Mayberry's Sheriff and Justice of the Peace. Andy has a bumbling deputy named Barney Fife and, in the color seasons, another bumbling deputy named Warren Ferguson-who is even worse than Fife. When business is slow at the courthouse, Andy can be found playing checkers with Barney, sitting in front of the barber shop chewing the fat with idlers, playing pranks, or conducting personal errands. He occasionally leaves Mayberry to attend work-related conferences or functions in Mt. Pilot or Raleigh.