What Happened to Andy Griffith’s Other TV Son, Andy Jr.?

Dave Sundstrom October 23, 2025

MAYBERRY R.F.D., Aneta Corsaut, Andy Griffith, 'Andy's Baby', (Season 2, Episode 1, aired September 22, 1969), 1968-71 — Everett Collection

Fans of The Andy Griffith Show are all familiar with Andy’s boy Opie; during that show’s eight-season run, we really grew to love that little feller, and perhaps more than any other aspect of that classic TV show, that father-son relationship was critical to its success. But did you know that Opie had a half-brother? Andy Samuel Taylor Jr., who made his first appearance during a second season episode of Mayberry R.F.D. titled “Andy’s Baby,” was Andy and Helen’s child — the couple returned to Mayberry for his christening. But when the Mayberry gang reunited decades later, little Andy Jr. was nowhere to be found.

It is worth noting that although Mayberry R.F.D. would run for another season on CBS before being canceled, according to The Andy Griffith Show wiki, this particular episode marks the last appearance of Andy and Helen until they returned 17 years later in the made-for-TV movie Return to Mayberry.

When we finally did get a chance to catch up with the Taylor family, as well as the whole Mayberry gang, in that wonderful 1986 reunion movie, poor little Andy Jr. is nowhere to be found. Not only is he not seen in the movie, but no one even bothers to mention his absence.

Now, if I do some basic math, it does seem possible that if Andy Jr. were an exceptionally bright and driven young lad, that maybe, just maybe, he zipped through high school and was already in college. But if that were the case, you’d think that the proud Taylors would’ve said something about that to Opie and his family.

RETURN TO MAYBERRY, front from left: Betty Lynn, Don Knotts, Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, rear from left: Jim Nabors, George Lindsey, Aneta Corsaut, Jack Dodson, Hal Smith, Richard Lineback, 1986. ph:

Viacom/Courtesy Everett Collection

Although there is an extensive conversation about the fate of Andy Jr. over at Sitcoms Online and there are plenty of theories there, I have my own that I believe is equally as valid. I think it is probable that, somewhere along the way, Andy Jr. encountered a guy from Milwaukee by the name of Chuck Cunningham. And these two forgotten sons somehow became the best of buds, maybe living on some sort of tropical island with a super nice beach, spending their days doing their very best to forget that they are both forgotten sons of classic TV families.

I think it is absolutely shameful how both of these families seem to have forgotten one of their children. How could they do that? It boggles the mind. All kidding aside, I’m sure what actually happened is that when the TV reunion movie was made, the powers that be simply decided not to muddy the waters with a character that had only been seen on television one single time.

It is also entirely possible that by the time the reunion movie rolled along, even mentioning a character named Andy Jr. might’ve been a painful thing for Andy Griffith. Why? Well, that’s because Andy Griffith actually had a son named Andy Samuel Griffith Jr. And by the mid-eighties, the real Andy Jr., who everyone called Sam, was having some real struggles of his own, and would pass away at the all-too-young age of 37 in 1996. As is usually the case, reality is far less fun than the fantasy-filled world of television.