Andy Griffith was a larger than life, truer than life, figure to me. His Mayberry portrayed southern America in a way that may never have been true but became the standard, imo, by which we judged that era.

I loved him in it. I liked the subtle play of emotions in his face when conflicts arose. But in his other earlier roles (I never watched Matlock) he had already shown himself to be a talented, many-faceted man.