The Darlings

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The Darlings were a fictional family of musically-inclined hillbillies in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.

The Darlings (usually pronounced Darlin's) lived in a shotgun shack somewhere in the mountains neighboring Mayberry. The good-natured, but trouble-making Appalachian clan led by patriarch Briscoe Darling (played by Denver Pyle) would usually come into town when they had some sort of problem that Sheriff Andy Taylor would have to resolve. Briscoe was the widowed father of five grown children (four sons and one daughter) who all lived together, and each had a different musical talent. All together, the members of the family formed a jug band. They had their own set of values and rules and had little concern for matters that went on outside of their family. Due to their secluded lifestyle, their lack of social grace, and their superstitious belief in mountain lore, they were perceived by the people of Mayberry as being somewhat backward. Their arrival in town usually meant trouble for Sheriff Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife, despite their friendly relationship with the family.

The Darlings made their first appearance on The Andy Griffith Show in episode #88, "The Darlings Are Coming". In their second appearance, episode #94, "Mountain Wedding", Andy and Barney must pay a visit to the Darling's home in order to rid the family of "Ernest T. Bass", a pesky neighbor with an affinity for rock throwing, who was intent on marrying Briscoe's daughter Charlene. Their appearance on the show was always supplemented by a song (provided by bluegrass band The Dillards, who also played the Darling boys), usually with Andy accompanying them on guitar.

[edit] Darling Family members

• Briscoe Darling Jr. — The head of the Darling household, he acted as the spokesman for the group. He was also the leader of the family band, in which he played a ceramic jug. Briscoe was played by Denver Pyle, who was best known for his role as "Uncle Jesse" on The Dukes of Hazzard.

• Charlene Darling later Mrs. Dudley A. Wash — Briscoe's only daughter, she was an attractive but naïve young, blonde woman who often caused trouble for Sheriff Taylor and his family with her flirtatious behavior and her belief in mountain lore. She was also the original object of desire for Ernest T. Bass. She loved her husband, "Dud", but once attempted to get a divorce because he looked at another woman. She later had a baby daughter named "Andilina", who she tried to betroth to Andy's son Opie, as was customary in her family. She occasionally sang when her father and brothers would play music. Charlene was played by Maggie Peterson.

• The Darling Boys — Briscoe's four sons, played by the bluegrass group The Dillards, almost never spoke, except when singing in the band. They had an oafish appearance but were very talented musicians. The names of the boys were somewhat contradictory from episode to episode: The original script of "Mountain Wedding" listed their names as Other (pronounced Othor), Jebbin, Ward, and Frankie, (although only Other and Jebbin were ever used onscreen), but in a later episode, Andy refers to them as Mitch, Dean, Rodney, and Doug—the real first names of the members of The Dillards. However, they are generally referred to simply as "the boys", collectively. They were characterized by their silent, emotionless presence, and by their instrumentation in the family band: banjo (Doug Dillard), guitar (Rodney Dillard), mandolin (Dean Webb) and bass (Mitch Jayne). When they played, one would usually sing lead and the others would provide harmonies, while their father would provide the rhythm on the jug. They had a running gag in which Andy would address them, and they would make no response, accompanied with a blank stare. Another trademark was that Mitch Jayne's character always had a pipe in his mouth.

• Dudley A. "Dud" Wash — Charlene's fiance and later husband, Dud had served three years in the U.S. Army where he achieved the rank of Private First Class. He had been betrothed to Charlene since the age of five. Dud was originally portrayed by Hoke Howell as a well-mannered country boy. However, in Dud's final appearance, episode #121, "Divorce Mountain Style", Howell was curiously replaced by Bob Denver. Denver's portrayal was more along the lines of a wily, scrappy mountain man, akin to Ernest T. Bass, in contrast to Dud's original "good ol' boy" persona (though his irrational behavior could be attributed to his wife's attempting to leave him for Andy Taylor). At a 1995 convention, actor Hoke Howell explained the replacement as CBS's attempt to make Bob Denver a more familiar face in order to promote his upcoming show, Gilligan's Island [1]. Dud was absent from the Darling's later appearances.

The Darlings made their final appearance on The Andy Griffith Show in episode #193, "The Darling Fortune". They made a total of six appearances throughout the show's run.

The Darling family (sans Dud) returned in the 1986 reunion movie, Return to Mayberry.