Andy Griffith

[mleach]

I hope we haven't become so politicized in this country that people suddenly decided to dislike an iconic and talented actor because it turns out he's (gasp!) ...a liberal.

Well, not actors, but trying telling that to the Dixie Chicks.

I'm afraid your worst fears have already come true.

For the most part I believe this is a "generation thing". Not all of course but a good many of younger people DO pay way too much attention on politics when it comes to such things as celebrities, businesses, cities, etc...than the older crowd. For example I have a co-worker who is 27 and very conservative. Last year both her and husband had the chance to attend the Indy 500 but decided against it. Why? Because after a google search on the city of Indianapolis they had found out that city still allows gay bath houses to operate so therefor the city of Indianapolis goes against their conservative values so they felt a need to boycott that city such as not attending the Indy 500. My other co-workers who are in their late 30s and older felt what the 27 year old did was a bit much.

Something tells me had my co-worker been say 47 or 57..I doubt that they would had done that "google search" thing in the first place.

 

[landtuna]

I hope we haven't become so politicized in this country that people suddenly decided to dislike an iconic and talented actor because it turns out he's (gasp!) ...a liberal.

Well, not actors, but trying telling that to the Dixie Chicks.

I'm afraid your worst fears have already come true.

For the most part I believe this is a "generation thing". Not all of course but a good many of younger people DO pay way too much attention on politics when it comes to such things as celebrities, businesses, cities, etc...than the older crowd. For example I have a co-worker who is 27 and very conservative. Last year both her and husband had the chance to attend the Indy 500 but decided against it. Why? Because after a google search on the city of Indianapolis they had found out that city still allows gay bath houses to operate so therefor the city of Indianapolis goes against their conservative values so they felt a need to boycott that city such as not attending the Indy 500. My other co-workers who are in their late 30s and older felt what the 27 year old did was a bit much.

Something tells me had my co-worker been say 47 or 57..I doubt that they would had done that "google search" thing in the first place.

Not to take this thread off Andy but....

I have the direct opposite observation. I know of no one under 30 who vote, none who follow politics, and only a couple who even bothered to register. They don't participate in politics at all. I didn't either at their age. Conversely, virtually everyone I know over 50 not only vote but are also fairly knowledgeable about politics in general - both sides of the aisle. A few let their politics run their lives but most are not as passionate and consider it just another fact of life we all deal with. I think your co-worker is an exception to the rule - except perhaps in certain genre's such as Country music and TV "news" and commentary.

In my experience those folks who follow Country tend to want their artists to live and perform the lifestyle and if they should fall out of it, ala the Dixies, there are severe repercussions. You generally don't see that in other genres.

Likewise, someone taking direction from Talk Radio or Fox commentary/"news" is much the same way and is greatly influenced by what they hear. They are much more likely to disengage from film, TV and radio if the artist/personality does not meet their "lifestyle" expectations.

Personally, there are a few actors whom I will not watch under any circumstances because I don't like them as actors. They may be fine people in real life but I have no contact with them there. Conversely, there are a few whom I can appreciate as actors but would never give them the time of day should I meet them on the street. I can appreciate the difference and think most older people are more like me than your young friend.

People who bypass significant events because of some perceived flaw seem to me to be unbalanced, judgmental and isolationist. Indy's bath houses probably affect many less people than restaurant employees who don't wash their hands but I'm not aware of anyone boycotting the 500 due to cleanliness concerns. Sometimes people just look for reasons.

 

[mleach]

In my experience those folks who follow Country tend to want their artists to live and perform the lifestyle and if they should fall out of it, ala the Dixies, there are severe repercussions. You generally don't see that in other genres.

That is very true among the current and recent crop of country music stars. Some people even today just can't forgive Garth Brooks over leaving his wife in favor of Trisha Yearwood.

On the flip side they tend to be far more forgiving when it comes to the country stars of yesteryear. Hank Williams Sr ( heck even Jr. ), Patsy Cline, Dottie West, Glen Campbell, Buck Owens..all are still loved despite their "issues"..however if any of today's crop of country music stars had done the same things they had done ( some minor..some major )...could be a problem for them.

 

[FreddyE1977]

I hope we haven't become so politicized in this country that people suddenly decided to dislike an iconic and talented actor because it turns out he's (gasp!) ...a liberal.

I'm more or less a liberal, and I like Tom Selleck, Bruce Willis and Jon Voight. They're actors, not my Congressmen, or my friends.

People seriously need to lighten up.

Same here. I am quite conservative but always enjoyed Andy's performance on TV.
I also really liked Peter Boyle on Everybody Loves Raymond....and his politics were far-out 60's leftist!

 

[searadiofreak]

The current ads with Andy are a little painfull, for sure. He really does look old and his speech is troubled. My best guess is the intent is to go after older voters who will relate to Andy. All and all, this whole campaign is depressing on a number of levels.

 

[KyDXIn]

The current ads with Andy are a little painfull, for sure. He really does look old and his speech is troubled. My best guess is the intent is to go after older voters who will relate to Andy. All and all, this whole campaign is depressing on a number of levels.

I agree totally. I could be totally wrong but these ads give me the feeling that people are taking advantage of Griffith's popularity to sell political trash. Griffith probably enjoys the attention, and probably could use the money for the endorsement (who couldn't, BTW!). This is our federal money at work-- $700,000--for something that's already a law! The ads just lowers my admiration for Griffith. It also lowers my opinion of Obama's people. Have you no shame?

This clip sums up many people's opinion on federal spending. "Later on it would be something bigger, and something bigger than that. He's got to learn to stand on his own two legs now. Gotta keep that youngun straight!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO4N9B1g3Do&feature=related

 

[Al Timiter]

Lkeller: Thank you.

 

[bpatrick]

I'm going to avoid stating my own political opinions and
just say that Andy has been rather visible in politics in
the last couple of years or so. Our gubernatorial election
is the same year as the presidential one, and in 2008, he
appeared on-camera with Bev Perdue to endorse her; she
won and became North Carolina's first female governor.
Then, however, he was still coherent and didn't look as bad
as he does now.

Apparently, people around this part of North Carolina haven't
let Andy's politics stop them from watching him; he's still number
one at 5:30 on WFMY, and they're even running him twice a day,
with a second (usually color) episode at 10 AM.

 

[FreddyE1977]

That's why I am virtually certain that if you are a performer your agent is daily begging you
to keep your political opinions to yourself. Whatever they are they will alienate half the audience,
and damage your Q ratings. And your paycheck.

 

[bpatrick]

Johnny Carson once said virtually the same thing, and it
should be written in stone and given to every performer:
A reporter once asked him why, given his status and popularity,
he never expressed his political beliefs. "If I did, I'd lose half
my audience," he answered. But, he continued, he was in a
position to make his views heard by people who could do something;
he simply preferred to keep those views between them and himself.
And you'll note that, like Bob Hope, his monologues targeted politicians
in both parties and usually zeroed in on their personal foibles (like LBJ's
pulling his dogs' ears) rather than their policies. Today, OTOH, people
like Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert have more impact on their viewers'
political preferences.

 

[LKellerIII]

Johnny Carson once said virtually the same thing, and it
should be written in stone and given to every performer:
A reporter once asked him why, given his status and popularity,
he never expressed his political beliefs. "If I did, I'd lose half
my audience," he answered. But, he continued, he was in a
position to make his views heard by people who could do something;
he simply preferred to keep those views between them and himself.
And you'll note that, like Bob Hope, his monologues targeted politicians
in both parties and usually zeroed in on their personal foibles (like LBJ's
pulling his dogs' ears) rather than their policies. Today, OTOH, people
like Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert have more impact on their viewers'
political preferences.

Yes - Carson and Hope were both careful to skewer all politicians, and both parties. That makes for good comedy. In the 90s, most talk hosts skewered Bill Clinton and his foibles regardless of their political beliefs.

But even though it didn't enter their comedy - Hope was very open in other arenas (serious interviews on TV and in print) about his conservative political views. Carson was a bit more guarded, but was generally considered liberal.

That's no different than any of the people we've been talking about. Neither Griffith, Tom Selleck, Patricia Heaton, or any of the others bring politics into their work - they express their views on their own (private) time.

If, for example, Heaton went on The Tonight Show to plug The Middle, she would not be likely to bring up that she's a conservative Republican. That would be stupid, and it would alienate some people.

 

[KyDXIn]

And you'll note that, like Bob Hope, his monologues targeted politicians
in both parties and usually zeroed in on their personal foibles (like LBJ's
pulling his dogs' ears) rather than their policies. Today, OTOH, people
like Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert have more impact on their viewers'
political preferences.

Yes - Carson and Hope were both careful to skewer all politicians, and both parties. That makes for good comedy. In the 90s, most talk hosts skewered Bill Clinton and his foibles regardless of their political beliefs.

But even though it didn't enter their comedy - Hope was very open in other arenas (serious interviews on TV and in print) about his conservative political views. Carson was a bit more guarded, but was generally considered liberal.

That's no different than any of the people we've been talking about. Neither Griffith, Tom Selleck, Patricia Heaton, or any of the others bring politics into their work - they express their views on their own (private) time.

If, for example, Heaton went on The Tonight Show to plug The Middle, she would not be likely to bring up that she's a conservative Republican. That would be stupid, and it would alienate some people.

You mean like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAIpI8IxgFs

 

[LKellerIII]

Hilarious. Thanks for that, KyDXIn. But that kind of joke doesn't offend, because the punchline is just fill-in-the blank. It could just as easily be "You mean like Republicans," ...or "football players," or whatever.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I think the biggest difference between then (pre-1992, let's say) and now was that even though it was understood that most of the big names in showbiz were libs, and their views did infuse their work, it seemed as though the top priority was to deliver a quality product, whereas today, it seems that job 1 is to push the agenda. I'm sure Andy Griffith's politics weren't that much different in 1965 than they are today...they just weren't front and center on his show.

The one time I can really remember Johnny Carson tipping his hand politically was back in 1988 when he did a bit about cleaning out his presidential hopeful joke file after all the primaries were over. He had a "Wheel of Candidates" that he would spin, and whichever candidate the wheel would land on was the subject of the next joke. When the wheel landed on Pat Robertson, Johnny said, "Oh, Goodie!" before telling the joke.

 

[LKellerIII]

I think the biggest difference between then (pre-1992, let's say) and now was that even though it was understood that most of the big names in showbiz were libs, and their views did infuse their work, it seemed as though the top priority was to deliver a quality product, whereas today, it seems that job 1 is to push the agenda. I'm sure Andy Griffith's politics weren't that much different in 1965 than they are today...they just weren't front and center on his show.

The one time I can really remember Johnny Carson tipping his hand politically was back in 1988 when he did a bit about cleaning out his presidential hopeful joke file after all the primaries were over. He had a "Wheel of Candidates" that he would spin, and whichever candidate the wheel would land on was the subject of the next joke. When the wheel landed on Pat Robertson, Johnny said, "Oh, Goodie!" before telling the joke.

I don't want to say you're wrong, so let's just say that in my perception, things are about the same as pre-92 - the year you picked. Yes - Letterman is more politically open than Carson, but Leno isn't. I don't recall Kimmel or Conan pushing any particular political agenda, either.

And there was an occasional star that pushed their agenda in the 'old days,' too. I remember seeing Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon on The Tonight Show when The China Syndrome had just been released - so it must have been 1979. Lemmon and Fonda were both in the film. Lemmon was a liberal, but just wanted to schmooze with Johnny about golf. Fonda seemed to be really annoyed by how trivial they were being and kept trying to inject her political views. Johnny allowed it, up to a point.

So I don't think things have really changed. Most celebrities know that they should separate the expression of their political opinions from the entertainment they provide. Of course, some actors make films or documentaries that express their own political or world view. There's nothing wrong with that. You can read the reviews, and if you don't like the viewpoint, you don't have to see the film.