Don Knotts left [Andy Griffith Show] to pursue a movie career, so once he was gone I left too.

I'd been visiting Mount Airy every year for Mayberry Days. Twice when I was doing personal appearances, one in Alabama and once for Mayberry Days, my house in Los Angeles was robbed. I decided I didn't want to live there anymore, so I moved to Mount Airy, and I am so glad I did!

I love to meet people for lunch at my favorite restaurant, the Loaded Goat. It is named after the Andy Griffith Show episode where a goat ate a bunch of dynamite.

In 1986, when they made the TV movie, Return to Mayberry, Barney and Thelma Lou did get married!

I think the show has so many wonderful memories connected to it for lots of people. When fans come to see me at the Andy Griffith Museum they get so emotional. Some of them cry, lots of them hug me and some want a kiss on the cheek.

[I and Don Knotts never have a romantic relationship off screen].We were just good friends, and would go out to dinner sometimes when we both lived in Los Angeles. People always asked me if we were involved, but I always said, "No! He's a married man!".

George Lindsay who played Goober thought Andy Griffith Show limited his career.