Hi Valerie: Enjoyed your questions about the character of Aunt Bee. Here's what I know.
I perform as a Motivational Humorist as the Mayberry Momma™ That's because I grew up in Mount Airy during the same time as Andy Griffith and my original character is a combination of TV's Aunt Bee and my real Aunt Bea who also grew up in the same town. Frances Bavier was a very interesting person. In my presentations at conferences I talk about the fact that she was actually from New York City and was a graduate of the prestigious American Academy of the Dramatic Arts. She had performed on Broadway and in Europe. When you understand her background the fishing scene from " The New Housekeeper" takes on new meaning. In the TV show, she is said to be from Siler City, NC. In a wonderful example of life imitating art, when TAGS was over, Frances Bavier retired to Siler City, NC. One year, when I was presenting as the Mayberry Momma in a Mayberry Festival put on by the Mandarin Christian Church in Jacksonville, Florida, a gentlemen came up to me and identified himself as someone who knew Frances Bavier. He said he lived in Siler City and was a handyman who did odd jobs for her in her later years when she lived there in a large house with her 20 cats! To complete the circle, last year the Mayberry Momma had a national recipe contest to find the best "down-home" recipes for my latest book. Entries came in from all over the US. The entries were presented to the professional chef judges without names or identification of geographical origin. When the dust settled, the Winner of the recipe for the Best Meatloaf was a wonderful woman from Siler City, NC who knew Frances Bavier, and like her, helped rescue feral cats! Frankly, I felt it was Divine Right Action! Jewell Mitchell Kutzer aka The Mayberry Momma™ http://www.mayberrymomma.com _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
