Betty Ann Lynn was born August 29, 1926 in Kansas City.  The lovely actress is best remembered as Thelma Lou in Andy Griffith – the girlfriend of everyone’s favorite deputy, Barney Fife.  We all know a lot more about Thelma Lou than we do Betty Lynn.

Things like:

• Thelma Lou made great cashew fudge
• Thelma’s cousin Karen had a smoky voice and was a skeet shooting fool
• Thelma Lou’s cousin Mary Grace was… well, she was nice, real nice
• Thelma Lou wanted nothing more than to marry her beloved Barney Fife
• Opie crushed on Thelma Lou for a while until he realized she couldn’t (or wouldn’t) climb trees
• Thelma Lou played the piano and sang for the church choir – unlike her boyfriend, she could carry a tune

Thelma Lou’s portrayer, Betty Lynn, could also carry a tune.  And dance!  The lovely actress came from a musical background and even performed on Broadway in such musical productions as “Walk with Music” (1940) and “Oklahoma!”  In the 1940s, Betty was signed by Twentieth Century Fox and appeared in several of their popular movies, billed herself briefly as “Betty Ann Lynn” before abruptly dropping her middle name from credits.

Betty Lynn made her movie debut in a small role in the classic Clifton Webb comedy Sitting Pretty in 1948. After another minor part in Apartment for Peggy (1948), she earned a featured part  in June Bride (1948) starring Bette Davis and Robert Montgomery.  She played kid sister to Barbara Bates.

While on hiatus from the Disney series “Texas John Slaughter” (1959), Betty tested and won the recurring role of Deputy Barney Fife’s steady girl on The Andy Griffith Show. She was part of the cast for five seasons, until Knotts officially left the series for motion pictures. The producers were  thinking of keeping her on the show but Betty felt her role would be incomplete without her connection to the Fife character.

Betty Lynn had recurring roles on “Family Affair” (1966) and “My Three Sons” (1960) and guest parts on “The Farmer’s Daughter” (1963), “The Smith Family” (1971) and “Little House on the Prairie” (1974), and “Barnaby Jones” (1973).  She rejoined the Mayberry cast for a reunion in the TV movie Return to Mayberry in 1986. In the same year, Andy Griffith hired her to play his secretary in a handful of episodes for his “Matlock” (1986) series. Betty’s last acting role on TV was  in 1990 and, save for a stage appearance in “Love Letters” in 2002 opposite another former Mayberry resident Howard Morris, she officially left acting.

Residing in the same West Hollywood home since 1950, she moved away from California to a Mayberry-inspired town, Mount Airy, in North Carolina.  This was actually Andy Griffith’s hometown.  The actress never married and lives in a retirement community in Mount Airy.

Once, when asked why she became an actress, Betty Lynn said, “I wanted everybody to like me.“  She got more than she bargained for, then.  Everyone LOVES Betty Lynn.

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Be sure to vote for your favorite “First Family” on TVLand. The nominees are: The Taylors of Andy Griffith, The Sanfords from Sanford and Son, and the Clampetts from Beverly Hillbillies. These are three of my absolute sitcoms ever. I had a really hard time deciding which one to vote for. At least my other favorites (I Love Lucy, Good Times, Roseanne) weren’t thrown in as well.

The winning family earns a marathon of their show on election day. What a cool idea. TVLand’s always cooking up something fresh and fun. Love them.

Click HERE to vote for your family, then get good and comfortable Tuesday – because, no matter which of the 3 wins, it’ll be a wonderful day of laughs. I’m stocking up on popcorn and M&M’s tomorrow.

Watch Full Episodes on TVLand!

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For the fourth consecutive year, TV Land joins The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University in celebrating Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children on Monday, September 22nd. This year, TV Land will continue the network tradition of devoting the supper-time slot and air back-to-back episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show,” starting at 6:00pm (ET/PT).

From TV Land:

TV Land dedicates this time to encourage and remind families of the importance of time spent dining together.

“‘The Andy Griffith Show’ is a perfect fit for Family Day,” states Larry W. Jones, president, TV Land. “The show is consistent with the positive messages of Family Day and its importance. ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ is a series the whole family can enjoy, and therefore, an ideal selection for a day meant to promote togetherness.”

“We are fortunate to once again have the support of TV Land for Family Day to remind Americans of the importance of family dinners and to promote parental engagement in children’s lives,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA Chairman and President and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. “Based on 16 years of research the most important thing we can do to curb substance abuse in our nation is to make sure children in America have dinner with their parents at least five times a week.”

Participants can register to pledge to have dinner together on September 22nd, Family Day, on TVLand.com. TV Land and CASA are hoping Americans will use Family Day as a catalyst to make family dinners a regular part of their lives. TVLand.com additionally offers fun Family Day suggestions, such as Conversation Starters, a Family Dinner photo gallery of your favorite television families around the dinner table, a blog offering helpful meal-time tips and much more.

TV Land is also supporting Family Day by showcasing specially-created commercials that emphasize the numerous benefits that come from consistent family dining. CASA’s Family Day, was created in 2001, in response to over a decade of research revealing that the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink and use drugs.

What a wonderful idea! I love anything that gives me back-to-back Andy Griffith episodes, but as a wife and mother of 3, I love the emphasis on family time even more.  I’ll look into it a little further to find out which episodes they’ll be showing.  When I find out, I’ll add a p.s. to this post.

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Okay, beautiful readers, let me give it to you straight.  There’s absolutely no reason to put your television on any channel but TV Land today.  Starting at 9:00 (be sure to check your own local listings), their going to obliterate the competition.  Being the I Love Lucy addict that I am, I’m getting weak in the knees.  Get this:  Lucy will take over the channel for 7 hours – putting me in 7th Heaven!

When the Lucy Laughs end, TV Land will reshow the AMAZING premiere of their new reality show, She’s Got the Look.  If you didn’t catch it the first time around, you’ll most definitely want to see it this time.  It’s so well done, with a lot of style.

After episode 1 of “She’s Got the Look,” you’re in for more laughs with two back to back Beverly Hillbillies followed by some of the funniest Andy Griffith’s ever.

At 6:00, they’ll air “Hot Rod Ottis,” the one where Otis buys a car and puts the fear of God into Andy and Barney – who then put the same fear back into Otis!  The next Andy Griffith is just as hilarious – the title is “The Song Festers” – it’s the one where Barney thinks he’s a killer singer but Gomer comes  along and outshines him. 

At 7:00, Aunt Bee buys too much beef for the ailing freezer to handle, leading to headaches for Andy and laughs for the rest of us.  “Aunt Bee, call the man!“  At 7:30 is another of my favorites – “Divorce, Mountain Style!”  Any episodes featuring both Barney and the Darlings is one I don’t even blink during.  In this episode, Charlene wants to divorce Dud Wash and marry Andy.  Fortunately, Andy has Barney to help.  Except for one thing – he isn’t any!

After Andy and Barney finish up, there’s an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition followed by… wait for it, wait for it… Episode 2 of She’s Got the Look.  According to the promo, it looks like someone has a big meltdown.   TV Land caps it off (post-meltdown!) with about 4 episodes of MASH.

I’ve already got TV Land on and going here in my home office.  Lucy and Ethel are trying to find a way to get in on the trip to Europe.  Ehtel cracked me up – when it looks like she’ll be the only one who doesn’t get to go, she was extremely down trodden and says, “I don’t want to see Europe anyway.  It’s so old.”

This is going to be a great day!

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You may not recognize the name Jay Novello, but I’m certain you recognize his very expressive face – from more places than you may realize.

This delightful character actor was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 22, 1904 to Italian parents – explaining why he learned to speak Italian before English.  He died in 1982 from lung cancer, but we’re here to keep memories alive, and Jay Novello has provided us with some great material to draw from!

He has a very impressive filmography resume – having worked in just about every genre imaginable. He even played a Japanese spy in Adventures of Smilin’ Jack (1943).  He is, however, best known for his work on television. Many people remember him as the scheming Mayor Lugato in “McHale’s Navy” (1962). Since I’ve never seen a single episode of McHale’s Navy, I’m not at all familiar with his work on the show. He did, however, appear on two series that I haven’t gone a day without since I can’t remember when: I Love Lucy and Andy Griffith.

He had several very memorable roles on I Love Lucy:

“Mario” in the epdisode titled Visitor from Italy (1956)
“Mr. Beecher” in the episode titled The Sublease (1954) – He was hilarious as the extremely nervous tenant-wannabe who Lucy tries to scare off.
Mr. Merriweather in the episode titled The Seance (1951) – As a highly strung man trying to contact “Tillie” on the other side.

He also left his mark on Andy Griffith:

Jay Novello showed more of his straight man side to the one and only Don Knotts in two classic episodes of Andy Griffith. In Guest of Honor, He played a thief who tricked Barney into thinking he was a hotel detective. He even convinced Barney that the actual hotel detective was the crook.  In Otis Sues the County, he played the sleazy attorney, Neil Bentley.

You may also recognize him from Make Room for Daddy (1958), The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (as Carlos De La Marca in 2 episodes, 1957-1958), Zorro (5 episodes, 1958), The Donna Reed Show (1960), Wagon Train (1960), The Lucy Show (1962), Perry Mason (1962), The Untouchables (Gino Romaldi, 1963), My Three Sons (Vincenzo in an episode from 1966), Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. (2 episodes as Dr. Purdy, 1967-1969), Lassie (1968), Family Affair (3 episodes, 1969), Bonanza (2 episodes, 1965 and 1969), The Flying Nun (1969), Ironside (1971), The Mod Squad (2 episodes, 1969-1971), The Brady Bunch (as Mr. Martinelli in an episode from 1973), Kojak (1976), Chico and the Man (1976)…..

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to learn much about Jay Novello’s personal life.  His wife’s name was Paticia and they had one daughter, Yvonne.   One of my favorite ways to get a handle on someone is to read their quotes, but I haven’t been able to find even one.  I’m still on the hunt, though, so you might want to check this post again in a few days.

Mr. Novello may have something to say and you wouldn’t want to miss it!

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