Mornin', ladies. My goodness, don't you look happy. Must be cuttin' somebody up pretty good.

I wanted to prove that I could play something else, but there were 249 episodes out there of 'Mayberry,' and it was aired every day. It was hard to escape.

Mornin', ladies. My goodness, don't you look happy. Must be cuttin' somebody up pretty good.

I still play that guitar. It's a Martin D-18 with a clear pick guard. I've played that guitar on and off my TV shows for nearly 50 years.

Religion has been an essential part of my life ever since I was baptised. My personal journey with God has been very important throughout my life.

I am proud of my connections to Carolina and pleased to know that some results from a lifetime of work on television, film, stage and recordings will have a permanent home in Chapel Hill.

I am proud of being a Southerner. I wasn't about to let Southerners on my show be stupid or aw-shuckses who just sit on the front porch and spit in the yard. I wasn't about to do that, and I made that very clear from the start. I was kind of the gate-keeper on that stuff.