Preserving Mayberry's Characters & The Andy Griffith Shows' Legacy
- Author
- Big Heads Media
- Published
- Thu 28 Aug 2025
- Episode Link
- https://share.transistor.fm/s/fc9397ae
What happens when a big time movie star gets popped for speeding while rolling through Mayberry? He just may learn the value of connection and community, that’s what!
Mayberry Man… first a movie, then a series… was inspired by the reverent fervor that is the annual Mayberry Days Festival which takes place annually in Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina. Producer Gregory Schell and Writer/Director Stark Howell are both second generation Mayberry progeny and their experiences at the festival inspired them to crate the Mayberry Man franchise.
Greg and Stark both have dads who made two Andy Griffith Show appearances, Hoke Howell and Ronnie Schell. Ronnie then went on to co-star with Mayberry’s own Gomer Pyle on Gomer Pyle USMC.
Greg and Stark join us in-studio to help us welcome Zoom guests, Allan Newsome who plays the Floyd the Barber re-enactor and Chris Bauman, who brings Gomer to life. They share their histories of falling in love with those characters, stepping into their shoes and clothing, meeting festival fans and now sharing their portrayals onscreen in Mayberry Man.
Stark’s Dad Hoke was besties with Rance Howard. Together, they pursued their acting and writing careers while Rance’s kids Ron and Clint played little league and created early films with the Howell boys.
Stark’s brother, producer Cort Howell, shares how he used crowdfunding, targeted marketing and fan community building to bring Mayberry Man to life.
Plus, Greg reflects on growing up in the shadow of an actor/comedian father and Stark shares his earliest screen role, co-starring with Clint Howard, in a 14-year-old Ron Howard’s third Super 8 film classic, Cards, Cads, Guns, Gore & Death.
And in current media, Weezy enlightens Fritz as to the internet outrage regarding Big Brother's Rylie and Katharine showmance and Fritz shares his enthusiasm for the new Spike Lee 'joint' Highest 2 Lowest, now in theaters
Path Points of Interest:
https://www.amazon.com/Mayberry-Man-Brett-Varvel/dp/B0B8NNSYR9
https://www.mayberryman.com/home-z
https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Mayberry-Man-The-Series/0OW0MU66B6JJM52GUUWO3CQQ8K
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24222046/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_lk
