'The Andy Griffith Show' is one of the most beloved TV sitcoms of all time. Originally televised on CBS from Oct. 3, 1960 to Apr. 1, 1968, the show ended its final season at No. 1 and consistently ranked in the top 10. More recently, the show has taken on a new life in TV Land reruns.

Andy Griffith had already made a name for himself in movies like 'A Face in the Crowd' and 'No Time for Sergeants,' when he agreed to star in his own TV show as the widowed Sheriff Andy Taylor, who didn't have to carry a gun in the small country town of Mayberry, N.C.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of 'The Andy Griffith Show,' we thought we'd catch up with the cast members -- arguably the best character actors in the business -- who appeared on the show over the years, and who'll be forever embedded in the minds and memories of millions of Mayberry fans.

Now here's an interesting idea: a line of food based on a TV show.

They're called Mayberry's Finest, and they are a line of "southern comfort food" based on the type of stuff The Andy Griffith Show's Aunt Bee used to cook for Andy and Opie (and anyone who was sick in town, like Clara): beef stew, mustard greens, and mixes for buttermilk biscuits and lemon icebox muffins. They're being launched at the Food Marketing Institute's convention in Chicago. Each package will be based on a character from the show and will include snippets of show scripts and episode info.

This could start a trend. How about a line of food based on Gilligan's Island (canned pineapple, coconut cream pie) or Survivor (bugs)?

Last week we told you how plans to create a Barney Fife statue in Mount Airy, NC in honor of the late Don Knotts (he died last February) were stopped because CBS and Paramount had to pull their support of the project because they didn't have the rights to say yes or no to such a project. Knotts' family was against the project as well because they wanted a statue of Knotts that wasn't of Fife but of Knotts as himself.

Now they might get their wish. Officials in Morgantown, WV, where Knotts was born, are well on their way of raising the $50,000 they need to erect a statue of the actor. They already have a small version of the statue (designed by the guy who designed the back of the WV quarter). The statue will show the actor dressed in regular clothes, sitting down, reasding a script.

The town also has a bronze star honoring Knotts on their city sidewalk, and they plan to name a park after him as well.

[via TV Tattle]

This guy is running for sheriff in Platteville, Wisconsin, and he has an unusual gimmick to get attention.

He's legally changing his name to Andy Griffith.

And before you say that I'm being too hard on the guy by implying that he's doing it to get attention, he admits to doing it for that reason. His real name is William Fenrick, and he's sick of how the politics game is played nowadays and wants to get things back to the way they were in Mayberry. His opponent has been sheriff for the past 10 years.

But wait a second. If this guy is running for sheriff, shouldn't he change his name to "Andy Taylor?" After all, that was the name of the character on the show. Seems odd to run for sheriff and change your name to an actor's name and not the sheriff character he played.

This is sad news indeed: Emmy-winning actor Don Knotts died in Los Angeles last night from pulmonary and respiratory complications.

Besides his role as Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show (he won 5 Emmys for the role), he also was a regular on Three's Company, and starred in classic movies such as The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Shakiest Gun in the West, and The Incredible Mr. Limpit.

If I were to pick my 10 Favorite TV Characters of All-Time, Barney Fife would be in there.