He was no friend to southerners. From what I have hear he was a far leftist who while making his money protraying basically southern charactors most times in a demeaning way. I lived for 20 years in the shadow of Barney Fife the bumbleing small town police officer who had to carry his one bullet in his pocket because he was so Inept. You do not know how much Barney Fife influenced departmental policy in a southern town. Then there was Gobber and Gomer Pyle.
Barney, Gomer, and Goober were played against Mr. Griffens sophisticated and wiser "Andy Taylor", in fact the whole town of Mayberry was played that way except for Andy's girlfriends, which were usually the more "educated" types like a school teacher. The comments attributed to him when Martin Luther King was assinated was something to the effect, 'those damned southerners have killed him'. No Mr. Griffen was a good actor but was no friend to southerners.
No Sir, I'll keep my Flags, Confederate and United States, flying at full staff.