The Darlings

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The Darlings are a fictional family of musically inclined hillbillies in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.

Overview

The Darlings (usually pronounced "Darlin's") lived in a mountain shack somewhere in the mountains neighboring

lore, they were perceived by the people of Mayberry as being somewhat backward and ignorant. Their arrival in town usually meant trouble for Sheriff Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife
, despite their friendly relationship with the family.

The Darlings made their first appearance on The Andy Griffith Show in episode #88, "The Darlings Are Coming". In their second appearance, episode #94, "Mountain Wedding", Andy and Barney must pay a visit to the Darlings' home to rid the family of Ernest T. Bass, a pesky neighbor with an affinity for rock throwing, who was intent on marrying Briscoe's daughter Charlene.[1] Andy asked Briscoe if he and "the boys" couldn't take care of Ernest themselves, to which Briscoe laconically replied, "Well, we thought about killin' 'im... Kinda hated to go that far." Their appearance on the show was always supplemented by a song (provided by bluegrass band The Dillards, who played the Darling boys), usually with Andy accompanying them on guitar.

Family members

Briscoe

Briscoe is the patriarch of the family, and was played by

jug (which he used to keep time by blowing across the opening). He once attempted to court Andy's Aunt Bee
by kidnapping her, but called off the "engagement" when she tried to reform him.

Charlene Darling

Briscoe's only daughter, Charlene (

Opie
, as was customary in her family. She occasionally sang when her father and brothers played music.

The Darling Boys

The bluegrass group

bass
(Mitch Jayne). When they played, one usually sang lead and the others provided harmonies, while their father played rhythm on the jug.

In a running gag, Andy addresses them, and they return only a blank stare. Thus greeted in "Mountain Wedding", Andy remarked to Briscoe, "The boys are talkative today." Completely missing the irony, Briscoe admitted "They all keyed up" (over Ernest T. Bass's antics). Another time was when Charlene had a baby (Andelina) and Andy said, "You boys must be proud to be uncles." They did not respond. Briscoe answered, "They all choked up." A rare and funny line spoken by Dud was the suggestion "Hey, how 'bout playing 'Never Hit Your Gramma with a Great Big Stick'?" just before Charlene says, "Nah, Dud. That'n makes me cry." The only lines spoken by the Darling boys occur in the jail scene of the episode "The Darlings Are Coming". Mitch can be heard to say, "About to pop." Another line was spoken by Doug. He could be heard saying, "Great beans, Aunt Bee." Mitch Jayne's character always had a pipe in his mouth.

Dudley A. "Dud" Wash

Charlene's

U.S. Army, where he achieved the rank of private first class. He had been betrothed to Charlene since the age of five. Dud was originally portrayed by Hoke Howell as a well-mannered country boy. However, in Dud's final appearance, episode #121, "Divorce Mountain Style", Howell was curiously replaced by Bob Denver. Denver's portrayal was more along the lines of a wily, scrappy mountain man, akin to Ernest T. Bass, in contrast to Dud's original "good ol' boy" persona. At a 1995 convention, actor Hoke Howell explained the replacement as CBS's attempt to make Bob Denver a more familiar face, to promote his upcoming show, Gilligan's Island, despite the fact that Denver previously played Maynard G. Krebs on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.[3]
Dud was absent from the Darlings' later appearances.

The Darlings made their final appearance on The Andy Griffith Show in episode titled "The Darling Fortune". They made a total of six appearances throughout the show's run.

Episodes featuring the Darlings

Season # Episode # Production # Broadcast # Airdate Title
3 25 088 088 March 18, 1963 The Darlings Are Coming
3 31 094 094 April 29, 1963 Mountain Wedding
4 5 096 100 October 28, 1963 Briscoe Declares for Aunt Bee
4 25 121 120 March 30, 1964 Divorce, Mountain Style
5 12 139 139 December 7, 1964 The Darling Baby
7 6 193 195 October 17, 1966 The Darling Fortune

The Darling family (sans Dud) returned in the 1986 reunion movie, Return to Mayberry.

Songs performed by the Darlings

References

  1. ^ Katsilometes, John (5 July 2012). "For 'Andy Griffith Show' fans, Maggie Mancuso will always be just Darling". Las Vegas Sun. Greenspun Media Group. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  2. ISBN 0-312-03654-X
    . Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "35th Anniversary Celebration: A Mayberry Reunion". iMayberry.com. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
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