Aunt Bee
Encyclopedia
Beatrice Taylor is a fictional character
from the 1960s American
television
sitcom
The Andy Griffith Show
. The show was televised on CBS
from October 3, 1960, until April 1, 1968. The character migrated to the spinoff Mayberry R.F.D.
(1968–1971) when The Andy Griffith Show ended its run.
Note that though she was the aunt of Sheriff Andy Taylor, virtually every character in Mayberry called her "Aunt Bee", regardless of whether they were related to her or not.
and great-aunt to his son Opie Taylor
. In the premiere episode of The Andy Griffith Show, "The New Housekeeper", Aunt Bee returns to Mayberry after a five-year sojourn in Morgantown
, West Virginia
, when Andy's housekeeper Rose marries and leaves his house. Aunt Bee thereafter manages Andy's household and becomes Opie's surrogate mother and grandmother. Andy explains to Opie that he was raised by Aunt Bee and Bee later mentions, without elaboration, having raised other Taylors. Bee is well-known in Mayberry for her cooking skills. In the first episode, she serves a platter of fried chicken with all the trimmings, and thereafter her character is associated with wholesome, home-cooked meals. She frequently contributes meals to community or church events and brings picnic baskets of food to Mayberry's tiny jail for its lawmen and inmates. While Aunt Bee is celebrated for her cuisine, she falls short as a pickler. Andy and Barney refer to her pickles as "kerosene cucumbers". Andy is fond of her pork chops and cornbread biscuits, while Opie's favorite dish is her butterscotch
pecan pie
. Bee has several one-episode flirtations in the early seasons with men who prove to be cads.
Aunt Bee's other relatives sometimes come up in episodes; she speaks of trimming her brother's hair when a girl and, in one episode, her sister Nora visits. She also has a rapscallion cousin called Bradford J. Taylor who features in a color episode. Bee is a teetotaler. In an episode in which a traveling salesman comes to Mayberry peddling patent medicine, Andy tells Barney that Aunt Bee is heavily against alcohol due to her brother's trouble with the bottle. (It is unclear whether this brother is meant to be Andy's father, or one of Andy's uncles.) In the same episode, Bee plays the piano and speaks of her baptism. Bee is a member of the town choir and sings in church.
Bee undergoes some changes during the final three color years of The Andy Griffith Show. In the early years, she gives her heart to scalawags of all sorts and sometimes needs Andy's help in extricating herself from unpleasant romantic situations. In the color years, however, Bee's suitors are respectable gentlemen and include a retired congressman, a clergyman, and a distinguished professor. Bee's evolution in personality is reflected in her dress. In the show's early years, she is given to wearing comically dowdy house dresses, fruit- and flower-decorated hats, and ladylike white gloves for venturing outside the house. In the color episodes, she discards her frumpy wardrobe and steps into more stylish attire.
More drastic in the evolution of the character than her taste-shift in men and her wardrobe about-face is her liberation from her homemaker role in Andy's house. In the later episodes, Bee leaves the Taylor kitchen to open her own restaurant
, to host a television cooking show, to run for office, to buy a car, and to take flying lessons. Andy and Opie are sometimes left at home to prepare their own meals. In spite of her sudden spirit of independence, Bee never quite makes a complete break and continues to rely on Andy to direct the course of her life and make the difficult decisions.
Aunt Bee sees Opie grow from age 6 to 14. When Andy marries his longtime girlfriend Helen Crump
on the spinoff Mayberry R.F.D., she opts to give the newlyweds their own space and becomes housekeeper for farmer Sam Jones (another widowed father) and his young son Mike. Residing at the Jones's farm
, Aunt Bee feeds the livestock and gathers eggs. The following year Andy and Helen move to Raleigh
.
In 1986, a made-for-television reunion movie called Return to Mayberry
was broadcast on NBC
. Although many original cast members reprised their roles, Aunt Bee's portrayer, film veteran character actress and 1967 Emmy winner Frances Bavier
, had retired to Siler City, North Carolina (where she died in 1989 and is buried), was in ill health, and declined to participate. In the television movie, Andy Taylor is seen reverentially visiting Aunt Bee's grave.
for two episodes) during season one of Mayberry RFD.
Aunt Bee's closest friend in Mayberry is widow Clara Edwards
(Hope Summers
). Although Clara is a well-meaning woman, she often proves irksome when positioning herself as Bee's rival for the attentions of the single, older gentlemen passing through Mayberry. She vies with Bee in cooking contests and flower shows and replaces her in the town pageant when Bee realizes she has no talent for theatricals. Clara and Bee attended school together as girls. They compose an anthem celebrating the good life in Mayberry and, in one episode, vacation in Mexico with their friend Myrtle. Clara is sometimes a petty and jealous woman, often ruining Bee's pleasure in one small thing or another with a dismissive sniff or an abrupt and cutting comment.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the 1960s American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
. The show was televised on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from October 3, 1960, until April 1, 1968. The character migrated to the spinoff Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D. is a spin-off and direct continuation of The Andy Griffith Show under a new title, for the same sponsor, General Foods...
(1968–1971) when The Andy Griffith Show ended its run.
Note that though she was the aunt of Sheriff Andy Taylor, virtually every character in Mayberry called her "Aunt Bee", regardless of whether they were related to her or not.
Black-and-white seasons (1960–1965)
Aunt Bee is the paternal aunt of widower Sheriff Andy TaylorSheriff Andy Taylor
Sheriff Andrew "Andy" Jackson Taylor is the principal character on The Andy Griffith Show, an American sitcom which aired on CBS, . The character made a few appearances in the show's spinoff Mayberry R.F.D. and appeared in a reunion telemovie Return to Mayberry...
and great-aunt to his son Opie Taylor
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...
. In the premiere episode of The Andy Griffith Show, "The New Housekeeper", Aunt Bee returns to Mayberry after a five-year sojourn in Morgantown
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, when Andy's housekeeper Rose marries and leaves his house. Aunt Bee thereafter manages Andy's household and becomes Opie's surrogate mother and grandmother. Andy explains to Opie that he was raised by Aunt Bee and Bee later mentions, without elaboration, having raised other Taylors. Bee is well-known in Mayberry for her cooking skills. In the first episode, she serves a platter of fried chicken with all the trimmings, and thereafter her character is associated with wholesome, home-cooked meals. She frequently contributes meals to community or church events and brings picnic baskets of food to Mayberry's tiny jail for its lawmen and inmates. While Aunt Bee is celebrated for her cuisine, she falls short as a pickler. Andy and Barney refer to her pickles as "kerosene cucumbers". Andy is fond of her pork chops and cornbread biscuits, while Opie's favorite dish is her butterscotch
Butterscotch
Butterscotch is a type of confectionery whose primary ingredients are brown sugar and butter, although other ingredients such as corn syrup, cream, vanilla, and salt are part of some recipes...
pecan pie
Pecan pie
Pecan pie is a sweet pie made primarily of corn syrup and pecan nuts. It is popularly served at holiday meals and is also considered a specialty of Southern U.S. cuisine. Most pecan pie recipes include salt and vanilla as flavorings. Chocolate and bourbon whiskey are other popular additions to the...
. Bee has several one-episode flirtations in the early seasons with men who prove to be cads.
Aunt Bee's other relatives sometimes come up in episodes; she speaks of trimming her brother's hair when a girl and, in one episode, her sister Nora visits. She also has a rapscallion cousin called Bradford J. Taylor who features in a color episode. Bee is a teetotaler. In an episode in which a traveling salesman comes to Mayberry peddling patent medicine, Andy tells Barney that Aunt Bee is heavily against alcohol due to her brother's trouble with the bottle. (It is unclear whether this brother is meant to be Andy's father, or one of Andy's uncles.) In the same episode, Bee plays the piano and speaks of her baptism. Bee is a member of the town choir and sings in church.
Color seasons (1965-1968)
More drastic in the evolution of the character than her taste-shift in men and her wardrobe about-face is her liberation from her homemaker role in Andy's house. In the later episodes, Bee leaves the Taylor kitchen to open her own restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
, to host a television cooking show, to run for office, to buy a car, and to take flying lessons. Andy and Opie are sometimes left at home to prepare their own meals. In spite of her sudden spirit of independence, Bee never quite makes a complete break and continues to rely on Andy to direct the course of her life and make the difficult decisions.
Aunt Bee sees Opie grow from age 6 to 14. When Andy marries his longtime girlfriend Helen Crump
Helen Crump
Helen Crump is a fictional dramatic character on the American television program The Andy Griffith Show . Helen made her debut in the third season episode "Andy Discovers America" . Helen was a schoolteacher and became main character Sheriff Andy Taylor's girlfriend...
on the spinoff Mayberry R.F.D., she opts to give the newlyweds their own space and becomes housekeeper for farmer Sam Jones (another widowed father) and his young son Mike. Residing at the Jones's farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
, Aunt Bee feeds the livestock and gathers eggs. The following year Andy and Helen move to Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
.
In 1986, a made-for-television reunion movie called Return to Mayberry
Return to Mayberry
Return to Mayberry is an American television reunion movie for the 1960s American sitcoms The Andy Griffith Show and, to an extent, Mayberry R.F.D. as well. The movie premiered on April 13, 1986 on NBC, and was the highest-rated telemovie of 1986. Sixteen of the original cast members reunited for...
was broadcast on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. Although many original cast members reprised their roles, Aunt Bee's portrayer, film veteran character actress and 1967 Emmy winner Frances Bavier
Frances Bavier
Frances Elizabeth Bavier was an American stage and television actress. Originally from the New York theatre, Bavier worked in film and television from the 1950s...
, had retired to Siler City, North Carolina (where she died in 1989 and is buried), was in ill health, and declined to participate. In the television movie, Andy Taylor is seen reverentially visiting Aunt Bee's grave.
Aunt Bee's "romances"
Beginning with the second season, Aunt Bee had at least one flirtation (rarely, if ever, amounting to a true romance) per season. These flirtations added significant depth and interest to her character. In the black-and-white seasons, Bee threatened to give her heart to cads of all sorts and sometimes needed Andy's help in extricating herself from unpleasant situations. In the color years, however, Bee gained wisdom through experience. She paired herself with respectable gentlemen and managed her affairs without significant assistance from Andy. Of course there was never an implication of physical involvement. In spite of Aunt Bee's propensity for affairs of the heart and her active pursuit of elderly bachelors, she was only engaged once—to a cruise-ship captain (played by Will GeerWill Geer
Will Geer was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons....
for two episodes) during season one of Mayberry RFD.
- Henry Wheeler, an itinerant handyman, uses Bee's romantic vulnerability to cadge himself free meals and shelter at the Taylors' (Second season: "Aunt Bee's Brief Encounter").
- Fred Goss, a chain-smoking dry cleaner, dates Bee when she believes her stay-at-home lifestyle inhibits Andy from pursuing his chances for dating and marrying (Second season: "Wedding Bells for Aunt Bee").
- Colonel Harvey (John DehnerJohn DehnerJohn Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
), a traveling medicine man, sells Bee two bottles of his IndianIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
elixir. Bee becomes tipsy on the brew and Colonel Harvey lands in jail (Third season: "Aunt Bee's Medicine Man").
- Briscoe Darling, a mountain man, becomes smitten with Aunt Bee and carries her off to his cabinLog cabinA log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
in the hills. Andy rescues Bee but not before she makes Briscoe's life miserable (Fourth season: "Briscoe Declares for Aunt Bee").
- Roger Hanover is an old, out-of-town friend of Aunt Bee's. He visits Mayberry and loiters at the Taylor house, knowing Andy distrusts him, finally threatening he'll propose marriage to Bee unless Andy pays him to leave (Fifth season: "Aunt Bee's Romance").
- Orville Hendricks is a butter-and-egg seller whom Bee pretends to be dating when, goaded by Clara, she decides Andy needs space to pursue his romance with Helen (Fifth season: "Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau").
- John Canfield, a retired Congressman, dates Aunt Bee until the two become exhausted with their whirlwind activities (Sixth season: "Aunt Bee, the Swinger").
- Reverend Leighton, a visiting pastor, is impressed with Bee and considers accepting a parish near Mayberry. Bee believes he will think less of her when he learns she wears a wig (Seventh season: "Aunt Bee's Crowning Glory").
- Hubert St. John is a visiting lecturer who becomes smitten with Aunt Bee because she resembles his deceased wife (Eighth season: "Aunt Bee and the Lecturer").
Aunt Bee and Clara Edwards
Clara Edwards
Clara Edwards is a fictional character on the American television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show . Clara was portrayed by actress Hope Summers....
(Hope Summers
Hope Summers
Hope Summers was an American character actress known for her work on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry RFD, portraying Clara Edwards.-Career:...
). Although Clara is a well-meaning woman, she often proves irksome when positioning herself as Bee's rival for the attentions of the single, older gentlemen passing through Mayberry. She vies with Bee in cooking contests and flower shows and replaces her in the town pageant when Bee realizes she has no talent for theatricals. Clara and Bee attended school together as girls. They compose an anthem celebrating the good life in Mayberry and, in one episode, vacation in Mexico with their friend Myrtle. Clara is sometimes a petty and jealous woman, often ruining Bee's pleasure in one small thing or another with a dismissive sniff or an abrupt and cutting comment.
Memorable moments
- Aunt Bee's arrival in Mayberry in the first episode of the series, "The New Housekeeper," October 3, 1960. Opie takes an instant dislike to his great-aunt but revises his thinking at episode's end when he realizes Aunt Bee needs him to teach her how to do important things, such as playing baseball and catching fish.
- In the second-season episode "The Pickle Story," Aunt Bee makes quarts of inedible pickles to enter in a contest at the county fair. Andy and Barney refer to her pickles as "kerosene cucumbers." The episode often places on "Top Ten Favorite Episodes Lists" of fans and critics.
- In "The Bed Jacket," Bee hopes Andy will buy a pretty bed jacket for her birthday. Instead, he buys her a box of canning jars. When he learns he broke Bee's heart with his mundane gift, he trades his favorite fishing rod for a bed jacket.