I loved 'The Andy Griffith Show'.  I still do.

Heck I wanted to live in Mayberry with Andy, Barney, Aunt Bea...and play some ball with Opie.  In fact, my all-time favorite TV character is Barney Fife.  Did any actor play a better character so perfectly as Don Knotts portraying deputy Barney Fife?  Maybe, but not to me.

And Mayberry was, of course, filled with great characters, from Floyd the Barber to Otis the Town Drunk, from Miss Crump to that rascal, Ernest T. Bass.  Gomer, Goober and on and on.

And then there were the occasional appearances by our favorite mountain family, the Darlings.

Papa Briscoe Darling and the boys would take the old truck into town, and you knew there would be some...well, mischief!  Oh, and there be a great pickin' bluegrass song, too.

And of course, there was the one Darling girl, too.  Yes, the boys had a sister, Charlene, and she fit in perfectly with the family and the show.

Let's check in with Charlene and the family at Andy's house and then find out whatever happened to her.

 

 

Charlene Darling was portrayed to perfection by actress Maggie Peterson.  Maggie appeared in several TV series, including Love American Style, Green Acres, The Odd Couple and many more.  But could she always sing as well as she did as Charlene Darling?  It turns out the answer is 'Yes!'.  In the 1950's she was part of a quarter that appeared on shows like 'The Perry Como Show' and 'The Pat Boone Show'.  In fact, the quartet called 'Ja-Da Quarter' released an album.

Charlene Darling....oops, I mean Maggie Peterson...is 76 now, doing well and at last report is living in Las Vegas.

Maggie, thanks for giving us the gift of Charlene Darling, an important part of Mayberry!

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