Meet the Real-Life Loves of ‘The Andy Griffith Show’

Andy Griffith and Cindi Knight

While Griffith played the widowed Andy Taylor on the sitcom, in real life, he was married to Cindi Knight from 1983 until his death on July 3, 2012. Prior to his relationship with Knight, Griffith was married to Barbara Bray Edwards from 1949 to 1972 and Solica Cassuto from 1973 to 1981.

“I had been alone for a long time when I met an extraordinary woman named Cindi Knight,” he recalled to Guidepost in November 1996. “Our relationship began as a friendship, but as the months passed, I couldn’t help but notice her strong faith and gentle strength. Did I mention she was also quite beautiful? Somehow she fell in love with me. Five years after we met as friends, we became husband and wife.”

Griffith was a parent to two children from his first marriage: son Andy Jr., born in 1957 and daughter Dixie, born in 1959. After his death in 2012, Dixie reflected on her dad’s life and described her dad’s life as “grand.”

“He had a very strong will to live and to enjoy his life,” Dixie told The Denver Post at the time. “And he did enjoy his life. One of his favorite things to say, when I’d share news of the girls, was, ‘Well, isn’t that grand!’ ”

Ron Howard and Cheryl Alley Howard

Howard was just 5 years old when he started playing Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. Although he continued acting for years afterwards, he made time to attend high school, where he met his wife, Cheryl Howard (née Alley).

“I met her, and there was never anybody else,” Ron told PEOPLE in June 2019. “She’s unbelievably supportive and always has been. Our compatibility has endured through all kinds of experiences.”

Ron and Cheryl dated for five years before getting married on June 7, 1975. After celebrating their 44th wedding anniversary, Howard told PEOPLE in August 2019 that “communication” is key.

“People say, ‘How’d you do it?’ There’s no technique,” he said. “There’s no tactic, other than communication is really important. You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways. Beyond that, there’s an element of luck because people either grow together or they don’t and I don’t think you can force that.”

The Oscar winner and the author went on to welcome four children together, including fellow actress Bryce Dallas Howard, who was born in 1981.

Don Knotts and Frances Yarborough

Don Knotts, who played the beloved deputy sheriff Barney Fife, was married to Frances Yarborough until he died in 2006. The beloved comedian, who won five Emmy Awards from his time on the show, tied the knot to Yarborough in 2002.

Prior to his relationship with Yarborough, Knotts was married to Kathryn Metz from 1947 to 1964 and later Loralee Czuchna from 1974 to 1983. Knotts was a father to two children, Thomas and Karen, whom he shared with Metz.

Knotts died on Feb. 24, 2006, when he was 81 years old. Karen, who followed in her dad’s footsteps as an actor, remembered her dad as “very loving.”

“He was also a very loving father, though he was a very internal kind of person,” Karen told Women’s World in January 2025. “He liked to tell stories and talk; he talked a lot about other celebrities, like Jackie Gleason. He was a showbiz person through and though. We talked about show business a lot.”

George Lindsey and Anne Wilson

George Lindsey became a staple on The Andy Griffith Show as the happy-go-lucky Goober Pyle. Before Lindsey died in 2012, he was in a relationship with businesswoman Anne Wilson. While neither Lindsey nor Wilson publicly spoke about their relationship, she was described as a “dear companion of many years” in his obituary.

Lindsey was previously married to Joyanne Herbert from 1955 to 1991, and during that time, they welcomed a son, George Jr., in 1962 and a daughter, Camden, in 1964.

Lindsey died on May 6, 2012, at 83 years old.

Howard McNear and Helen McNear

Howard McNear cut hair for his friends on The Andy Griffith Show from 1961 to 1967 as town barber Floyd Lawson. However, just one year after The Andy Griffith Show wrapped in 1968, he died on Jan. 3, 1969. He was 63 years old.

Up until his death, he was married to his wife, Helen McNear. The couple had one child, a son named Christopher, per his obituary in the Valley Times.

Hal Smith and Louise C. Smith

Hal Smith may have acted as the “town drunk” Otis Campbell on the sitcom, but in reality, he was a doting husband to wife Louise C. Smith from 1947 for nearly 50 years before her death.

Hal and Louise tied the knot in 1947 and were married up until her death in 1992, according to Woman’s World. He died two years later on Jan. 28, 1994. They had one son named Terry, per his obituary in the Los Angeles Times.

Jack Dodson and Mary Dodson

Although Jack Dodson was a later addition to the sitcom in 1966, he made his presence known as the colorful county clerk Howard Sprague on both The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D.

Up until Jack’s death in 1994, he was married to Emmy-nominated art director Mary Dodson. Jack and Mary got married in 1959 and were parents to two daughters, Amy and Cristina, per her obituary in the Hollywood Reporter.

Jack died on Sept. 16, 1994 at 63 years old. Mary, who was the art director for Murder, She Wrote, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease on Feb. 15, 2016.