‘The Andy Griffith Show’: Pamelyn Ferdin Recalled Making ‘Quite the Impression’ By Crying on Cue

A short scene from The Andy Griffith Show ended up being the start of one actor’s enviable career.

Pamelyn Ferdin was one of the most in-demand child stars of her time. Throughout the years, she starred in over 300 commercials and had appearances on hit shows like Star Trek, The Monkees, My Three Sons, and Gunsmoke.

And according to a 2020 post on Facebook, the actress credits a scene from The Andy Griffith Show for her momentous success.

In an episode titled The Bazaar, a six-year-old Fadin wowed Andy Griffith and the show’s producers with her crying skills. And because of that, she earned a reputation in the industry that gave her endless opportunities.

As the actress penned in her post, the show was her first cry-on-demand job. And the tears came naturally for her.

“The crying was fake in rehearsals,” she wrote. “But when it came time to shoot the scene, my mother told me I had to cry for real. That wasn’t true, but I managed it and then some.”

When her big moment came, Pamelyn Ferdin gave her bosses Oscar-worthy tears. In fact, she did such a flawless job that her on-screen dad felt compelled to comfort her.

“My sobbing impressed Andy Griffith and director/producer Sheldon Leonard [to] no end and launched my reputation among casting directors as ‘that girl who can cry.’ Moved, I think, in a more personal way was actor Joe di Reda, playing my father, who whispered to me throughout the scene, ‘It’s all right, it’s all right.’”

Don Knotts Daughter Reveals That Her ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ Father Was Smooth With the Ladies

According to his daughter, Barney Fife’s actor Don Knotts was quite the ladies’ man.

“He was very loved by women all the time,” Karen Knotts told Page Six.

“There was something about my dad,” she continued. “Even I noticed like there was something about him that drew you in. Like you could just be sitting and having a normal conversation with him and you would just be staring into his eyes, like trying to figure out what he was really thinking. There was something magnetic about his personality and women definitely responded to that.”

Karen lived with Don as a high schooler. By that time, he was a divorced bachelor. So Karen had a front-row seat to her father’s healthy dating life. And she noted that despite the fact that so many women fell in love with the iconic actor, the break-ups were never dramatic. So, that was interesting.

“There was never a woman who was angry at him,” she said. “Like nobody said, ‘Oh, your dad didn’t come through with the relationship’ or anything. Everybody loved him and if the relationship was over, they became his friend.”