Frances Elizabeth Bavier

 Frances Elizabeth Bavier (December 14, 1902 – December 6, 1989)

Originally from New York theatre, Bavier worked in film and television from the 1950s. She played the role of Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. from 1960 to 1970. Aunt Bee logged more Mayberry years (ten) than any other character. Bavier won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Comedy Actress for the role in 1967. Bavier had roles in more than a dozen films, as well as playing a range of supporting roles on television. Career highlights include her turn as Mrs. Barley in the classic 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still. In 1955 she played an early auntie role as Aunt Maggie Sawtelle, a frontier Ma Barker-type character in the Lone Ranger episode "Sawtelle's Saga End." In the episode, she fights with Tonto while the Lone Ranger fought with her nephew. At the conclusion, Tonto says that he'd like to trade opponents next time. In 1957 she played Nora Martin, mother to Eve Arden, in the series The Eve Arden Show. That year she guest starred in the eighth episode of Perry Mason as Louise Marlow in "The Case of the Crimson Kiss". Despite her success with Aunt Bee, Bavier had a love-hate relationship with her most famous role during The Andy Griffith Show. She was also in an episode of Make Room for Daddy which featured Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor. She played a character named Henrietta Perkins. As a New York actress, she felt her dramatic talents were overlooked. At the same time, she played Aunt Bee for eight seasons and was the only original cast member to remain with the series in the spin-off Mayberry R.F.D., staying two additional seasons.

In contrast to her affable character Aunt Bee, Bavier was easily offended and the production staff took a "walking on eggshells" approach to dealing with her. After the series ended, Bavier retired and, ironically, moved to North Carolina. She died of a heart attack at age 86, having suffered from suffered from both heart disease and cancer. Frances Bavier is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Siler City, NC.