It's one of the most loved television series in the history of TV

The Andy Griffith Show.

How many times have we wandered about Mayberry with Andy, Aunt Bea, Opie, Barney, Thelma Lou, Helen, Gomer, Goober and all the other residents of this fictional village that we all fell in love with?

Nothing much ever too big happened in Mayberry.  Oh, once in a while an escaped criminal might find his way to town, but Barney was always there to save the day.

Nope, everything was always calm, serene, quiet...until...

Ernest T. Bass came to town!  'It's me, it's me, it's Ernest T.!'

And so windows would be broken, girls would be courted, lessons would be learned and we fell in love with Ernest T. Bass.  But like all good things, it came to an end, both the Andy Griffith Show and the antic's of one of our favorite troublemakers, Ernest T. Bass.  Thankfully, the Mayberry crew is still on our televisions a half-century later.

But whatever happened to Ernest T.?

Well, there was a lot...a lot..more to Ernest T. than we thought.  Portrayed by actor Howard Morris, Ernest T. was just one in a long line of credit's for this super talented man.

Howard Morris was a classically trained actor who first came to public attention Sid Caesar's 'Your Show Of Shows' in the very early 1950's.  Guest appearances on several shows followed, including a memorable 'Twilight Zone' episode.

But he is (well deserved) best remembered for 'The Andy Griffith Show'.  But hold on, hold on just a minute!

You've heard the voice of Howard Morris hundreds...no, thousands of times!  One of the best 'voice actors' in television history, Howard Morris' voice has been (and is) heard on episodes of 'Beetle Bailey', 'The Jetsons', 'The Flintstones', 'Magilla Gorilla' and many more Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

And one more thing...Howard Morris was an accomplished and much sought after director!  In fact, he directed Doris Day in her final film, 1968's 'With Six You Get Eggroll'.

So, all in all, as much as we loved Ernest T. Bass, it turns out (as is often the case) there's a lot more to the man who so convincingly made us believe he was nothing more than a fun troublemaker!

So then, whatever happened to Howard Morris, our lovable Ernest T. Bass?

The great Howard Morris passed away in 2005 at the age of 85.  And God Bless him. And thank you for the laughs.

 

 

 

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