‘The Andy Griffith Show’ Actor Was Typecast in the Same Role Across Several Classic Shows
He was very polite, but he left Barney Fife with snails and brains. He also left “The Andy Griffith Show’s” Andy Taylor with a steak, baked potato, and green beans. However, it wasn’t the waiter’s fault the Mayberry deputy was served the apparently unappetizing food choice. As Andy Taylor tried to tell the deputy, “a little plain talk never hurt anybody.”
The waiter was happy to help Mayberry sheriff Andy Taylor and his deputy Barney Fife while they dined at the fancy restaurant in the hilarious season two episode of the hit series “The Andy Griffith Show.” And, someone has paid very close attention to the busy waiter that served the two visitors. Or rather, they paid close attention to the actor that portrayed the waiter. According to MeTV, Roger Til portrayed a Mairtre D’ on the “Andy Griffith Show” episode “Andy and Barney in the Big City” and made an acting career out of roles similar to the one seen in the hilarious clip that proves the scatterbrained Barney Fife DOES have brains. At least on his plate.
“The Andy Griffith Show” Waiter Is a Favorite Sitcom “Type”
As one might surmise, the actor has popped up in a lot of similar roles. Til can be seen waiting tables on a variety of popular sitcoms that have come out over the decades.
In “Andy and Barney in the Big City,” the episode that MeTV believes to be Roger Til’s first big scene as a waiter, the sheriff, and his deputy meet Til’s character when they decide to dine in a fancy french restaurant while visiting a big city.
In the scene, both Andy and Barney are confused looking at the menus in the fancy restaurant. The audience assumes the items are not written in English. Barney Fife laments about the difficult time he has trying to decipher the menu. Despite Barney’s insistence that Andy will look like a “plain egg,” if he asks for clarification, Andy asks the waiter to decipher the menu.
Barney, however, tries to appear more sophisticated than his friend and points to two fancy french words on his menu. Much to Barney’s dismay, “The Andy Griffith Show” deputy soon learns he had ordered snails and brains!
Til’s French Accent Helped Him Establish Maitre D’ Roles Over the Years
According to MeTV, Roger Til’s accent in the scene is his own. The actor is originally from Paris. He began his acting career in a variety of french productions. However, in the 1950s, the French actor made the transition to Hollywood.
When he first hit the Hollywood scene, Til found bit parts in “The Donna Reed Show,” and “Dragnet.” He also provided the voice of Jimmy Stewart in the overdubbed versions of Stewart’s films.
Since his debut as a maitre d’ on “The Andy Griffith” show, Til continued the role in the popular “The Andy Griffith Show” spin-off “Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.”
Roger Til continued his run as a sitcom waiter for decades to come showing up in “Laverne and Shirley,” “Hart to Hart,” “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose,” and “The Bionic Woman.”
