RE: What happened to Otis
In reference to Otis disappearing, I did see Hal Smith on several episodes of The Doris Day Show, Season 1. This season was 1968-1969. In both episodes that I'm aware of, he played an Otis-like drunk neighbor of Doris'. The most recent time, Doris ran out of gas in her car, and she syphoned gas from Otis car, with Doris insisting that he shouldn't drive his own car drunk. So he fell asleep in the trunk, while she took of (in her own car, of course) and babysat the neighbor kids. One of those kids was a 6-year-old Jodie Foster (whose brother Buddy was on Mayberry RFD). So there exist lots of hidden Mayberry references. ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
what happened to Otis
Does anyone know what the reason is for Otis no longer being on TAGS in season 7. They don't even have a send off for him. The way Hal Smith told it, one of the executives at General Foods (The Show's sponsor) was an alcoholic who disapproved of seeing drunks on TV. Even though Otis was always portrayed as a lovable, harmless character, this executive eventually pressured the producers into dropping him from the cast. Otis appears in only 2 color episodes: Otis the Artist, in which he takes up the hobby of mosaics, and Otis the Deputy in which Andy and Howard are held captive in the old Carson shack. The reason they never had a send off for Otis is that there was always a slim chance he would be able to return in future episodes. Otis also appears in 1986's Return to Mayberry. By this time, he has sobered up completely and is gainfully employed, working as an ice cream man. --Paul ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
