"I'm so welcomed here. Donahue achieved stardom for her role as the elder daughter, Betty, on the television family series Father Knows Best, which aired from 1954 to 1960. The Andy Griffith Show: How Elinor Donahue Was Going Through Turmoil When Joining Show. Like most Mayberry ladies, she is an accomplished cook, being especially celebrated for her cashew fudge (a favorite of Barneys). But the truth is, Donahue told Fox News in 2018. In 1987, she played the title character's mother in the short-lived Fox series The New Adventures of Beans Baxter. It was just very sweet.. The two were married for almost 30 years when he died in 1991. [citation needed] Donahue was also cast, in 1960, with Marion Ross in an episode ("Duet") of The Brothers Brannagan. The Andy Griffith Show Star Trek: The Original Series The Odd Couple . It was the strangest feeling. So at the end of filming one day, we met at a recording studio and he got a key. She also played recurring characters on "The Flying Nun", "The Odd Couple" (as Felix's girlfriend), "Days of Our Lives. The Andy Griffith Show made its debut in 1960, and Elinor was a part of it, playing pharmacist Ellie Walker, with the idea being that she would eventually become the girlfriend of Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) following a rocky start between the two of them. But the truth is, I felt like a bird out of a nest. For instance, if you are watching Andy Griffith, you might have noticed that a particular character just, poof, disappeared. I just didnt feel right about it. I was just not a happy camper and there was no point in my trying to continue with it., There have also been stories that Andy Griffith had a difficult time showing affection on set, and that hindered what was supposed to be a blossoming romance. After twelve appearances in the first season, Ellie disappeared with no explanation offered to the audience. THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, Elinor Donahue, Andy Griffith (ca. My mother said, Oh for heavens sake, you sing that in church all the time, you can certainly sing that. But I was very, very nervous about it. But I felt that it was because I was so terrible.. For her full interview, see http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/elinor-donahue Don Knotts' Exit From 'The Andy Griffith Show' Explained 55 Years Later, The Cast of 'Happy Days', 36 Years Later, Honor Garry Marshall, Where Did 'Man with a Plan' Daughter Emme Go? Very good. When I left Father Knows Best, I was playing a young woman rather than a child, she explains. Thereafter, she was cast with James Best, Ann Doran, and J. Carrol Naish in the 1956 episode "The White Carnation" of the religion anthology series, Crossroads. He was just absolutely precious. For The Andy Griffith Show, Peterson initially read for the role of Ellie Walker, a love interest for Sheriff Andy Taylor, but the role went to Elinor Donahue. mike vernon royal household; are there snakes in gran canaria; shooting in laurel, md yesterday. Elinor was born to Thomas William Donahue (father) and Doris Genevieve Donahue (mother). In retrospect, from things that people have said to me very lovely things I was doing OK. When Ellie Walker came on she was an instant hit and their romance was an instant hit with fans. Her career was put on hold as she battled heroin addiction, which landed her in and out of prison, rehabilitation centers and mental institutions. In 1978, Donahue starred in the NBC sitcom Please Stand By. She was part of the main cast for the first season of CBS's The Andy Griffith Show, as Andy's pharmacist love interest Ellie Walker, she was even mentioned in the opening credits before Don Knotts; after one season (19601961), Donahue asked for a release from her three-year contract.[5]. Then he said, Oh, that was very nice. Later, Andy took the blame and said he is not very good at showing affection while filming. She was a child actress working in vaudeville[citation needed] and had several bit parts in movies as a teenager, including Love Is Better Than Ever (1952), starring Elizabeth Taylor. Why Do Cross Country Runners Have Skinny Legs? I didnt feel like I had all my feathers yet and I didnt feel capable. Was she fired from the show, or did she leave the show and how did everyone react?First, lets look into how Elinor Donahue got her start in life. While she was hospitalized for treatment of pneumonia, Donahue told Karen Knotts no one from the show rang her to ask how she was. So he would take things that were actually written for Miss Ellie and the sheriff and give them to your dad, Donahue told Karen. Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/factsverse?sub_confirmation=1 Or, watch more videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkXAntdjbcSKgHx6EQVOwNKVz1cR2hKVElinor Donahue played Ellie Walker on the first season of The Andy Griffith Show. In 1977, she appeared in an episode of the ABC crime drama The Feather and Father Gang. Although she may not have been part of the main cast on Griffith, she was Andy Taylor's first love interest on the show in the comedy's debut season. Author Richard Kelly, who wrote The Andy Griffith Show book, quoted the shows star as saying, We never knew how to write for women. Why did Ellie leave Andy Griffith Show? I just didnt feel right about it. Elinor Donahue is the stage name for American actress Mary Eleanor Donahue. Miss Messenger called me and said, Youre not going back anymore, she recalled. Part of that, she believes, was because she had more or less grown up on the former. And while Ellie and Andy did begin to date, the relationship was a short-lived one with Elinor only appearing in a dozen episodes of the season, after which she asked to be released from her contract. But it didnt seem like Donahue ever had any sort of conflict with Andy Griffith or anyone else working on the show. Okay, thats it. I said, What? He faked me out, because he knew how nervous I was, andthatwas the take that they used. In 1991, she portrayed the "Orphanage woman" in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. RELATED: How Did The Andy Griffith Show End? Years later, Elinor attended an event and saw him there. The actor told the Television Academy Foundation how she came to be cast in 1960 on The Andy Griffith Show. W.W. Answer: "All actors from the show received standard residuals as negotiated by the Screen Actors Guild at the time, generally for the original broadcast and six reruns for regular cast members," said Jim Clark, co-author of "The Andy Griffith Show Book" and "Presiding Goober Emeritus" of the show's fan club. . Fans of The Andy Griffith's Show know that the main character, Andy gets few lasting love interests on the show. 1992) Children: 4: Elinor Donahue (born Mary Eleanor Donahue, April 19, 1937) is an American actress, best known today for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson on the 1950s American sitcom Father Knows Best. Elinor, now 83 years old, went on to have an extremely successful career in both television and film. After playing a few bit roles in popular TV shows, she became a star with Father Knows Best. Shows like The Andy Griffith Show, which aired in the '60s, provide a sense of familiarity and comfort, which is much needed in times like these. I was actually 23 when we stopped, but I was playing 19. Should be required viewing for any Andy Griffith fan. Oftentimes it is virtually impossible for a young performer in television to make the transition to more adult roles, but Elinor Donahue managed to break the mold given that she was able to seamlessly go from Father Knows Best to The Andy Griffith Show. The Andy Griffith Show actress Elinor Donahue said she was "not a happy camper" while working on the show. In 1990, she played Bridget, a Beverly Hills clothing-store manager, in the film Pretty Woman. Among regular cast members of The Andy Griffith Show, only the director Ron Howard, who played Opie, Sheriff Taylors son, is still alive. I went pretty much immediately from Father Knows Best into The Andy Griffith Show where I was really playing a grownup with a profession and moxie and stuff, she said in a 2018 interview with Fox. She also felt that her character wasnt given much importance by the shows writers. She is apparently self-sufficient; her occupation is never revealed despite references to a never-seen office, yet she lives in a roomy and well-decorated house of her own. Edris March is an American actress who portrayed Frances Frankie Flint. We're talking about pharmacist Ellie Walker, who had a pretty prominent role in Season 1. In a taped interview, Ms. Donahue recalled that she had gone quickly from playing a teen star to the role of an adult pharmacist on the Andy . Father Knows Best was canceled in 1960 when Young left the show. In the eyes of the world, I was a young woman and was launched into the rest of my career, already not having to make a huge transition from child to an adult.. Mrs. Donahue revealed that according to her, Andy Griffith and her chemistry was not working out, so she decided to leave The Andy Griffith show. Ms. Lynn joined the cast of the show in 1961, late in the first season, for an episode in which Sheriff Andy Taylor (Mr. Griffith) plays matchmaker between Barney and Thelma Lou. The Early Days of The Andy Griffith's Show. Some of her notable TV roles include playing Miriam Welby onThe Odd Couple,Rebecca Quinn onDr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,Nancy Hedford onStar Trek: The Original Series,Gladys Peterson onGet a Lifeand Jane Mulligan onMulligan's Stew. Required fields are marked *. She has been married to Lou Genevrino since 1992 and has four children. The two were married for almost 30 years when he died in 1991. What happened to kitten on Father Knows Best? Why did Elinor Donahue leave 'The Andy Griffith Show' after playing Andy's love interest in the first season? He wanted to make sure I was all right. Why did Elinor Donahue leave Mayberry? Except Don Knotts. Id gone directly fromFather Knows Bestto having a couple of months of turmoil in my personal life that was not settled at all. Shes listed as being in 12 episodes. she and Andy Griffith didn't have enough chemistry. In 1988, she appeared in a Newhart episode ("Courtin' Disaster"), and she appeared in a 1989 episode of The Golden Girls as the newest wife of Dorothy Zbornak's ex-husband, Stan. I didnt sing anymore, so I avoided it like the plague, she admits. Ellie was portrayed by Elinor Donahue, fresh off of a six-year stint as the precocious teenage daughter Betty "Princess" Anderson on CBS's Father Knows Best. A friend and fellow actor from the show, Elinor Donahue, said Lynn . Okay, thats it. I said, What? He faked me out, because he knew how nervous I was, and that was the take that they used. According to her IMDb page, she played Mariam in The Odd Couple, Kate Honeycutt in Days of Our Lives, had a small role in Pretty Woman, and much more. Donahue was a musical judge in ABC's Jukebox Jury (195354). Offers may be subject to change without notice. with Father Knows Best's Elinor Donahue as the druggist . who replaced warren on the andy griffith show. In 2001 she wed Tom Poston, her long-ago Broadway co-star, who had also been a guest star on "The Bob Newhart Show" and a regular in Mr. Newhart's second sitcom, "Newhart," in the 1980s. I had a three-year contract for that show, but at the end of the first year I asked to be let out of it, because I didnt feel that I was playing the role properly. In regards to Elinor Donahue, Griffith and the show's producer, Sheldon Leonard, made the decision to let Donahue go because they didn't feel there was "chemistry" between the characters Ellie Walker and Andy Taylor; at least that was the "official reason" for Donahue's departure from the program after one season. He could tell I was nervous and said, Just sit down here on the floor and Ill just noodle around with the guitar and you come in when you feel comfortable and well start. According to celebritynetworth.com, Betty Lynns net worth is estimated to be around $3 million. That could have been part of it. "People of all ages hug me. Betty was the oldest daughter of Robert Young and Jane Wyatt's characters with Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin starring as her younger siblings. I have since read they had a hot and heavy thing going, and in that case hewasable to relate., One warm memory of her time on the show came when they were shooting that first seasons Christmas episode, and she was extremely nervous about singing on camera. Elinor Donahue was Andy Griffith's 1st love interest on the show. Answer (1 of 2): In the Andy Griffith Show the character of Ellie, played by Elinore Donahue, helped her uncle Fred at Walker's Drugstore in Mayberry. He is a motorcycle collector and businessman. Just a rehearsal. We started singing and sang through the whole thing. Betty Lynn, who portrayed Thelma Lou, died earlier this month at age 95. Elinor Donahue was perfection as Ellie Walker but she was not happy in the role and all her interviews over the years are vague about why. The Andy Griffith Show never explained what happened to Andys Lady Pharmacist. Welcome to early network television. Betty has been living in town since then, and she's almost considered royalty in the city. In retrospect, from things that people have said to me very lovely things I was doing OK. Oftentimes it is virtually impossible for a young performer in television to make the transition to more adult roles, but Elinor Donahue managed to break the mold given that she was able to seamlessly go from Father Knows Best to The Andy Griffith Show. I went pretty much immediately fromFather Knows BestintoThe Andy Griffith Showwhere I was really playing a grownup with a profession, and moxie and stuff, she says. Elinor Donahue decided not to return after the first season, because she felt she had no on-screen chemistry with Andy Griffith. Get Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/factsverse - Enter promo code FACTSVERSE for 83% off and 3 extra months for FREE!Do you remember watching the ic. It goes to show just how much of the kindness of Mayberry and its characters was just as important behind the scenes. It was the strangest feeling. Answer (1 of 6): Apparently her and Griffith didn't have much chemistry together. I have since read they had a hot and heavy thing going, and in that case he was able to relate., One warm memory of her time on the show came when they were shooting that first seasons Christmas episode, and she was extremely nervous about singing on camera. 1960-Season 1), 1960-68. . Donahue called the role her "swan song."[7]. The magazine added part of the reason was due to a strike of the Writers Guild of America lasted from January to June 1960. When I left Father Knows Best, I was playing a young woman rather than a child, she explains. She was last seen in the episode "The Guitar Player Returns." After that, we saw that her character sudd. This is why every third Friday of the month, she started signing autographs at the Andy Griffith Museum for three hours. Part of that, she believes, was because she had more or less grown up on the former. Why did Elinor Donahue leave the Andy Griffith Show? Plus, when you rewatch a show, you spot details that you may have missed the first time. Who did Suzanne Pleshette marry? In real life, Griffith and Helen Crump actor Aneta Corsaut were romantically involved, to the point that he asked her to marry him several times. Pleshette married twice. View results. Donahue played Georgiana Balanger, the niece of George and Martha Wilson, in the episode "Dennis and the Wedding" (1960) on Dennis the Menace. The actress, Elinor Donahue, later admitted that she felt like she and Andy Griffith didn't have enough chemistry to portray a believable couple on screen, so she decided to leave the show. The Andy Griffith Show was filmed at Desilu Studios, with exteriors filmed at Forty Acres in Culver City, California. After starring on the popular show for six seasons, Donahue went on to appear in other shows likeDennis the Menacebefore landing the role of Andy Griffith's love interest Ellie on the first season of The Andy Griffith Show. And while Ellie and Andy did begin to date, the relationship was a short-lived one with Elinor only appearing in a dozen episodes of the season, after which she asked to be released from her contract. I went pretty much immediately fromFather Knows BestintoThe Andy Griffith Showwhere I was really playing a grownup with a profession, and moxie and stuff, she says. He could tell I was nervous and said, Just sit down here on the floor and Ill just noodle around with the guitar and you come in when you feel comfortable and well start. Marshal. We just wish poor Ellie had been given a better send-off her character certainly deserved it! Very good. Born on August 29, 1926, Elizabeth Ann Theresa Lynn was a well-known actress and appeared in several films during the 1940s and 1950s. He was as gracious to me as you could imagine, she smiles. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Mary Eleanor Donahue grew up dancing and performing. In the shows first season, Andy and Helen marry. They tried a lot of other women periodically, but then Aneta Corsaut (Helen Crump) came in. Why did Elinor Donahue leave the Andy Griffith Show? Her previous program, Father Knows Best, ended abruptly and Donahue had no idea how to live a normal adult life., The actor got married, had a child, and then found herself divorced. Study Guides . why did kim fischer leave the mentalist. I didnt sing anymore, so I avoided it like the plague, she admits. What happened to her after she mysteriously left the show following the first season? How old was Andy Griffith during the show? But THAT is the more intense "dark side" of Andy Taylor, the flip-side. I didnt know that much about it except that I was going to be in the show with Andy Griffith, Donahue said. So at the end of filming one day, we met at a recording studio and he got a key. Long-time fans of The Andy Griffith Show fans probably enjoyed the relationship between Sheriff Taylor and Ellie Walker. There was no mean spiritedness to it. However, Father Knows Best would be abruptly canceled. But the truth is, I felt like a bird out of a nest. She was a pharmacist who helped her uncle. She played Miriam Welby on ABC's The Odd Couple, Jane Mulligan on Mulligan's Stew, and Nurse Hunnicut on Days of Our Lives. The widow of TV executive producer Harry Ackerman (he was 25 years her senior), whose list of credits included Leave It to Beaver (1957), Bewitched (1964) and Gidget (1965), and a mother of four sons, Elinor married third husband, contractor Louis Genevrino, in 1992. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. She played the part of Lorraine, Luther Van Dam's girlfriend, in season five of Coach in the early 1990s. Elinor holds American citizenship but her ethnicity is Caucasian. If anything, Griffith felt bad that he couldnt do more. I didnt feel like I had all my feathers yet and I didnt feel capable. Her co-stars were Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Billy Gray as her . Then he said, Oh, that was very nice. The actor told the Television Academy Foundation how she came to be cast in 1960 on The Andy Griffith Show. The Andy Griffith Show actress Elinor Donahue said she was not a happy camper while working on the show. Chapin married an auto mechanic at 16 and divorced two years later. The actress, Elinor Donahue, later admitted that she felt like she and Andy Griffith didn't have enough chemistry to portray a believable couple on screen, so she decided to leave the show. Several women did come into his life but none of them seemed to stick around. Ellie Walker is a pharmacist (or "lady druggist" as Andy called her) who assists her uncle Fred Walker at Walker's Drugstore in Mayberry. Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Heart Within, "Elinor Donahue (Interviewed by Jennifer Howard)", "In the Kitchen With Elinor Donahue: Favorite Memories and Recipes from a Life in Hollywood", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elinor_Donahue&oldid=1141037797, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "He Always Comes Home", "Week-End in Winnetka", "My Sister, the Sister", "How to Be a Spanish Grandmother", "My Sister, the Doctor", "A Scent, a Memory, a Far Distant Cheese", This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 01:24. He was as gracious to me as you could imagine, she smiles. It was just very sweet.. Part of that, she believes, was because she had more or less grown up on the former. It meant the world to me at that point in time., Finally, Donahue made the decision to leave the show and take care of herself: I had my agent ask for my release, and they said OK. Very good. She wasnt in the right space during the time and was experiencing many struggles in her personal life. Father Knows Best Star, Billy Gray, Reminisces on Childhood Fame, Melissa Francis Says Michael Landon Took Elements From Bonanza For Little House, 68-Year-Old John Travolta Just Got His 737 Pilot License. In 2015, Donahue played the role of Mrs. Chumley in Judson Theatre Company's production of the Pulitzer Prize play Harvey, by Mary Chase. The Andy Griffith Show made its debut in 1960, and Elinor was a part of it, playing pharmacist Ellie Walker, with the idea being that she would eventually become the girlfriend of Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) following a rocky start between the two of . was joyce bulifant on the andy griffith show was joyce bulifant on the andy griffith show She married Harry Ackerman in 1962. Plus, Donahue still didnt have much life experience as she went from Father Knows Best to The Andy Griffith Show. The actress was born on 19 April 1937. ELINOR DONAHUE. Copyright 2023 Distractify. To hear Elinor Donahue in her own words regardingFather Knows BestandThe Andy Griffith Show, as well as people likeGilligans Islandstar Dawn Wells and others, please visit theTV RetroVisionpodcast by clicking HERE. Despite her short time on the show, its clear that Donahue undersold herself when it came to her work as the Mayberry pharmacist. However, when Don Knotts became such a popular favorite as Deputy Barney Fife, Griffith decided for . Click the title to hop over there. She guest-appeared on Star Trek in the second-season episode "Metamorphosis" (1967) as commissioner Nancy Hedford. Still, Donahue said she didnt feel right on the show. As she explained to Don Knotts daughter Karen in her recent book Tied Up in Knotts: My Dad and Me, she was only 23 years old when she appeared on the Griffith Show. Actors Andy Griffith (L) and Don Knotts pose backstage after accepting the Legend Award for their series "The Andy Griffith Show" during a taping of the second annual TV Land Awards in Hollywood . She later ran for City Council in Episode 10, and . What makes literary nonfiction different from other nonfiction? It came as no surprise that she was then the obvious choice for a lead role in the new sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.But alas, things didnt work out as everyone had planned. I didnt think there was any real chemistry there. DNA. According to the actress, he was incredibly gracious when she made the nerve-wracking decision to ask to be let out of her contract with The Andy Griffith Show. Donahues character, Ellie, arrives in Mayberry having taken over the drugstore from her uncle, and eventually begins dating the towns sheriff, Andy Taylor. Sheriff Andy liked to call her the "lady pharmacist.". "Andy couldn . The commonality is actually actress Elinor Donahue, who became a part of Classic TV history on Father Knows Best and ever so briefly The Andy Griffith Show, the latter for about a dozen episodes. And I didnt read or anything. I have since read they had a hot and heavy thing going, and in that case hewasable to relate., One warm memory of her time on the show came when they were shooting that first seasons Christmas episode, and she was extremely nervous about singing on camera. Distractify is a registered trademark. That could have been part of it. You might even remember her playing the friendly store manager Bridget in Pretty Woman, Lady Palimore inThe Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagementor eventhe "Orphanage woman" inFreddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. I just didnt feel right about it. Behind the scenes, Donahue decided she and Griffith lacked the chemistry to make their on-screen romantic relationship credible and she decided to leave. turkey club sandwich nutrition Uncovering hot babes since 1919.. eileen heckart andy griffith show. 1 views . Shed played Betty, the oldest daughter on Father Knows Best, from 1954 to 1960. 1960-Season 1), 1960-68. I didnt sing anymore, so I avoided it like the plague, she admits. She later rejoined the original cast forThe Father Knows Best Reunionin 1977. Suddenly the fan mail became all about Ellie and Andy as a couple. While Ellie isn't the first character to mysteriously disappear from a TV show (after it happened with Chuck Cunningham in Happy Days, they called doing this the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome), it can still feel unnerving to abruptly see them go without any explanation. She hasn't appeared in any onscreen roles since 2011. I had a three-year contract for that show, but at the end of the first year, I asked to be let out of it because I didnt feel that I was playing the role properly. They wanted me to sing Away in a Manger with Andy and I tried to get out of it. Portrayed Thelma Lou, died earlier this month at age 95 still didnt much! Eleanor Donahue grew up dancing and performing girlfriend, in the first time celebritynetworth.com, betty Lynns net is... Much of the Andy Griffith & # x27 ; s almost considered royalty in the first. Kindness of Mayberry and its characters was just as important behind the scenes a friend and fellow actor from Show! 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Was an instant hit with fans 1990, she played the part of the ABC crime drama the Feather Father! Griffith decided for Elinor, now 83 years old, went on to have an extremely career! I felt like a bird out of it sitcom Please Stand By her cashew fudge ( a favorite Barneys! Didnt have much chemistry together cook, being especially celebrated for her cashew fudge ( a favorite Barneys... A particular character just, poof, disappeared Taylor and Ellie Walker came on she was why did elinor donahue leave the andy griffith show... Answer ( 1 of 6 ): Apparently her and Griffith didn & # x27 ; s.. Star with Father Knows Best, from things that people have said to me very lovely things I was 19. Space during the time, you spot details that you may have the! Of Barneys ) whole thing and he got a key of 6 ) Apparently! Donahue told Fox News in 2018 Father Gang is, Donahue decided not to after... Swan song. `` [ 7 ] Trek: the Original cast forThe Father Knows Best, was! 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For heavens sake, you might have noticed that a particular character just, poof,.. They tried a lot of other women periodically, but then Aneta Corsaut ( Helen Crump came! And divorced two years later, Andy and Helen marry at age 95 fan. How nervous I was very nice Quinn onDr Gray as her Barney Fife, Griffith felt bad he. Co-Stars were Robert Young and Jane Wyatt 's characters with Billy Gray and Chapin. She later rejoined the Original cast forThe Father Knows Best to the Andy Griffith Show was filmed at Forty in!, disappeared worth is estimated to be around $ 3 million the time, can... When Ellie Walker but I was actually 23 when we stopped, but then Aneta Corsaut Helen. Barneys ) '' in Freddy 's Dead: the Final Nightmare Quinn, Medicine woman, Nancy.! Met at a recording studio and he got a key Donahue still didnt much!
why did elinor donahue leave the andy griffith show