Cigar events:
Smoking on the Andy Griffith show
One of my all time favorite TV shows is the Andy Griffith show. I watched it as a kid and watch it as an adult. The small time feel, the homespun humor, the wisdom of Andy and the great character actors make this a classic.
Last night I was viewing the show on MeTV, broadcast 8 and 8 30 pm in the LA market and the episode was one about Briscoe Darling asking Aunt Bee to marry him. The Darling family were semi regulars on the show always bringing with them some issue about love and matrimony . The sons of Briscoe were a well-known blue grass band called the Dillards, accomplished musicians , all top-notch players.
The bassist in the show always had a pipe in his mouth, in fact , he never took it out. This got me thinking about how many times we saw Andy or others in the cast smoking. Andy did smoke cigarettes is some of the episodes at his home , office and on the road.
Several other characters also smoked during broadcasts but mostly bit players.
“The dry cleaning store owner always had a lit cigarette hanging on his lips with ashes falling. Andy lit up once in a while but looked awkward like he didn’t know how to smoke. Guests and bit players smoked on occasion. In those days, most adults smoked and tobacco companies were heavy advertisers.”
So while not a regular part of the show, tobacco was allowed to be seen on various scenes and at the time it was considered acceptable.
Keep smoking