The Andy Griffith Show is one of America’s most treasured comedy series that aired on CBS from 1960 to 1968. Viewers loved the show for its life lessons, good-natured humor, and of course the characters.
One fun fact about the character Aunt Bee is that Andy Griffith himself insisted on changing her name. For Griffith, it made a big difference how you pronounce the word “Aunt,” because, for people who grew up in the South like him, it’s always “ant” and never “ont” or “auntie.”
The writers of The Andy Griffith Show originally introduced the character in “The New Housekeeper” as “Auntie Bee” and the TV star strongly disagreed.
Griffith divulged the story behind the pronunciation during a 1960 interview with the Miami Herald Sun that was unearthed by MeTV.
“I told them at first rehearsal, no one’s called Auntie anything,” Griffith explained. He convinced the writers that it should be pronounced “Ant” rather than “Auntie.”
There was no way to contradict their star on this one. Griffith said they changed the name right there on the spot during that first rehearsal.
He claimed that the change would help the show maintain its authentic Southern roots.
“Things like that you wouldn’t know, ‘less you lived down there,” he concluded.
Seems like Griffith made a good call!
Watch some of Aunt Bee’s best moments in the video below.