![]() As a New York Broadway actress, she was trained that way, while her compatriots on TV were not. She took her acting jobs seriously and was a complete perfectionist. ![]() It was typical in her day, for stage actresses to have difficulty transitioning to television roles. She spent the majority of her acting career(which spanned nearly sixty years) on the stage. She was an actress, she lived her life for her craft and it left very little time for a personal life. Bavier was not the mean-spirited person she was often "rumored" to be after the series ended. My cousin has a wacky Aunt Bee video on his blog Her headstone is emblazoned with the name of her most famous role, "Aunt Bee" and reads, "To live in the hearts of those left behind is not to die." She was discharged on Decemand died at her home two days later of a heart attack.īavier was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Siler City. She was suffering from both heart disease and cancer, and was kept in the coronary care unit for two weeks. On Novem(the day before Thanksgiving), Bavier was admitted to Chatham Hospital. Overly zealous fans however, often invaded both her property and privacy, and Bavier became reclusive.īavier's medical condition prevented her from taking part in the 1986 television movie Return to Mayberry. According to a 1981 article by Chip Womick, a staff writer of The Courier Tribune, Bavier enthusiastically promoted Christmas and Easter Seal Societies from her Siler City home, and often wrote inspirational letters to fans who sought autographs. ![]() While Bavier seemed awkward in one-on-one relationships, she seemed to be charitable to the needs of organizations and fans. On choosing to live in North Carolina instead of her native New York, Bavier stated in an interview that, "I fell in love with North Carolina, all the pretty roads and the trees." She briefly returned to acting in 1974 in the family film Benji. In 1972, Bavier retired from acting and bought a home in Siler City, North Carolina. According to Griffith (Larry King Live, April 24, 1998), Bavier phoned him four months before she died, and said she was deeply sorry for being "difficult" during the series' run. Series star Andy Griffith addressed the fact that the two sometimes clashed during the series' run. In contrast to her affable character Aunt Bee, Bavier was easily slighted and the production staff would often appease her by "walking on eggshells". At the same time, she played Aunt Bee for ten seasons and was the only original cast member to remain with the series from the original pilot episode to the spin-off Mayberry R.F.D. As a New York actress, she felt her dramatic talents were being overlooked. Barley in the classic 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still.īavier had a love-hate relationship with her most famous role, Aunt Bee. Career highlights include the play Point of No Return, alongside Henry Fonda, and her turn as Mrs. Bavier had roles in more than a dozen films, as well playing a range of supporting roles on television. ![]() She first appeared in vaudeville, later moving to the Broadway stage. from 1960 to 1970, and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Comedy Actress for the role in 1967.īorn in New York City, Bavier attended Columbia University and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before embarking on a career in acting. She played the continuing role of Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. Originally from the New York theatre, Bavier worked in film and television from the 1950s. Former PS 177 student and Smith Project alumni Donald Singletary currently lives about a block awayįrances Elizabeth Bavier (Decem– December 6, 1989) was an American stage and television actress. Above, Frances Bavier, I would guess in the 1930's-40's. ![]()
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