As most of you know, one of my neighbors when I was growing up was Betty Lynn, an actress who did many things in her long career but was best known for playing Thelma Lou, the girlfriend of Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show. The Lynns were more than neighbors to the Evaniers. They were more like extended family, and Betty was more like my unofficial aunt.
Late in life, Betty moved from West Los Angeles to the town of Mt. Airy, North Carolina — a town that prides itself on resembling and celebrating The Andy Griffith Show. So I didn't see Betty for a long time but in June of 2019, while in North Carolina for a comic book convention, I made a side trip to Mt. Airy and spent the day with Betty. I am oh-so-glad I did because Betty passed away in October of last year. She was 95 years old.
Since 2004, she had been working on her autobiography with two gents — Jim Clark and Tim McAbee — and it was very close to going to press. Jim and Tim finished it up and it has recently been published as Becoming Thelma Lou. It's a very good book that isn't just about The Andy Griffith Show. One of the oddities of becoming famous in show business is that people forget about all the other stuff you've done. The story of how Betty (born in Kansas City, Missouri) found her way to Broadway and then to Hollywood is a fascinating one with much in there about entertaining the troops in World War II, working in radios and movies and on live television…and many other shows on which she appeared.
I heard most of these stories from Betty…and reading the book is like sitting with her and having her tell them to you. There were stories in the book I never heard and many I enjoyed experiencing again. I highly recommend getting it, which you can do by clicking here. I wish she was here to sign it for you. You would have loved her. I certainly did.