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Host: Allan Newsome
Running time: 0:16:02
Two Chairs No Waiting
This episode we’re going to celebrate Betty Lynn’s 85th birthday. Why, you may ask? Well, the day I’m recording is August 29, 2011 which just happens to be Betty’s birthday and I though it would be fitting to tell “Thelma Lou” we all said “hey” on this, her special day.
The interview with Betty can be found on YouTube and was done several years ago at Mayberry Days by “Charles.” I don’t know Charles who but hopefully somebody listening to Two Chairs will be able to let us know so I can give proper credit.
Born Elizabeth Ann Theresa Lynn on August 29, 1926 in Kansas City, Missouri, Betty began acting in radio. She was later discovered in a Broadway production and signed to 20th Century Fox. She made her film debut in the 1948 film Sitting Pretty opposite Robert Young. That same year, she appeared in June Bride with Bette Davis followed by roles in Mother Is a Freshman (1949), Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), and Payment on Demand (1951).
In the 1953-1954 television season, Betty was cast as June Wallace, the fictitious sister-in-law of the Ray Bolger character in the ABC sitcom Where’s Raymond?
After guest starring on various television series Betty won the role of Thelma Lou on The Andy Griffith Show. She portrayed the role regularly from 1961 until 1965 and made a final guest appearance in one episode during the sixth season(1965–1966).
Following the end of The Andy Griffith Show, Betty continued appearing in various television and film roles. In 1986, she reprised the role of Thelma Lou in the reunion television movie Return to Mayberry in which Thelma Lou and Barney Fife were finally married. In 2006, Lynn retired from acting and relocated to Mount Airy, North Carolina, the hometown of Andy Griffith and the town on which Mayberry was loosely based.
Betty Lynn currently makes monthly appearances at the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy to sign autographs and meet with her fans.
Follow me on Twitter if you use twitter. I’ve been posting all kinds of Mayberry things there as another way to let folks know about The Andy Griffith Show.
Don’t forget to leave comments or ask questions on the TwoChairsNoWaiting.com website or using the contact information given in the podcast. We’d love to have you be a part of our next feedback episode. Call the Two Chairs No Waiting Hot-line at (888) 684-8415 and leave a voice mail to be part of the show.
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Related Links:
- Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou) from the Andy Griffith Show (YouTube) – Interview with Betty Lynn best known as Thelma Lou from The Andy Griffith Show. Recorded at “Mayberry Days” in Mount Airy, NC. Produced by Jimmy Wentz.
- Betty Lynn (From Wikipedia) – Much of the show notes came from this article.
- Andy Griffith Museum – The museum opened on September 26, 2009 with an official ribbon cutting during the 20th celebration of Mayberry Days. The items on display have been collected over nearly a lifetime by Emmett Forrest, who grew up in Mount Airy with Andy Griffith.
- Andy Griffith Museum (Follow on Facebook)
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I love Betty Lynn, Allan! She’s a sweetie. Thanks so much for showing that interview with her. I had the privilege of meeting her at a Mayberry event nine years ago. I hope someday to see her again.
Allan, I just wanted to say thank you for the Betty Lynn podcast. I met her this year at the Andy Griffith museum and she was so nice to everyone. She took the time to talk to all of us. Looking forward to seeing her again.
Ah, thank you so much for posting the interview with Betty Lynn! She seems like such a sweet lady. I enjoyed the broadcast very much!
Allan, I so much enjoyed your podcast of Betty Lynn, she is the sweetest and down to earth Lady. As you know my wife is a Thelma Lou impersonator and Betty Lynn asks my wife every year, that she sees her, if she is still impersonating her. And my wife is very honored to do so. I wish all actors were as sweet as Betty Lynn!!
Priceless. This was a very nice interview. I love to hear her talk about the show and some of the things she remembers and likes about the show. I have met her once, hope to meet her again someday. She is a Sweet lady who really seems sincere to us fans. It is is fitting that she retired to Mayberry uhhh Mt Airy. Enjoyed this.