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Frances Bavier

Frances Bavier

Actor · 1902 – 1989 · Manhattan, New York, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Frances Elizabeth Bavier (December 14, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American stage and television actress. Originally from New York theatre, Bavier worked in film and television from the 1950s. She is best known for her role of Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. from 1960–70. Aunt Bee logged more Mayberry years (ten) than any other character. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Comedy Actress for the role in 1967. Bavier had roles in more than a dozen films, as well as playing a range of supporting roles on television. Career highlights include her turn as Mrs. Barley in the classic 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still. In 1955, she played the rough and tough "Aunt Maggie" Sawtelle, a frontier Ma Barker-type character, in the Lone Ranger episode "Sawtelle's Saga End". In the episode, she fights with Tonto while the Lone Ranger battles with her nephew. At the conclusion, Tonto says that he would like to trade opponents next time. In 1957, she played Nora Martin, mother to Eve Arden's character on The Eve Arden Show, despite the fact that Arden was only 6 or 7 years younger than Bavier. That same year, Bavier guest-starred in the eighth episode of Perry Mason as Louise Marlow in "The Case of the Crimson Kiss". She was in an episode of Make Room for Daddy, which featured Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor and Ron Howard as Opie Taylor. She played a character named Henrietta Perkins. The episode led to The Andy Griffith Show, and Bavier was cast in the new role of Aunt Bee. Bavier had a love-hate relationship with her famous role during the run of the show. As a New York City actress, she felt her dramatic talents were being overlooked, yet after playing Bee for eight seasons, she was the only original cast member to remain with the series in the spin-off, Mayberry R.F.D., for two additional seasons.

Series23

  • TV7.7

    Perry Mason

    1957 · 139 votes

  • TV7.6

    The Andy Griffith Show

    1960 · 175 votes

  • TV7.8

    Alfred Hitchcock Presents

    1955 · 265 votes

  • TV6.5

    Dragnet

    1951 · 36 votes

  • TV7.2

    Rawhide

    1959 · 49 votes

  • TV7.1

    Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

    1964 · 35 votes

  • TV7.8
  • TV6.8

    The Lone Ranger

    1949 · 36 votes

  • TV5.1

    Sugarfoot

    1957 · 8 votes

  • TV7.2

    77 Sunset Strip

    1958 · 26 votes

  • TV6.2

    The Danny Thomas Show

    1953 · 20 votes

  • TV6.2

    Mayberry R.F.D.

    1968 · 5 votes

  • TV7.5

    MGM Parade

    1955 · 2 votes

  • TV7.5

    City Detective

    1953 · 2 votes

  • TV6.6

    Letter to Loretta

    1953 · 7 votes

  • TV6.7

    Lux Video Theatre

    1950 · 7 votes

  • TV4.6

    Cavalcade of America

    1952 · 5 votes

  • TV8.5
  • TV7.6

    The Thin Man

    1957 · 9 votes

  • TV8.0

    Chevron Theatre

    1952 · 2 votes

  • TV8.8

    Hallmark Hall of Fame

    1951 · 8 votes

  • TV6.0

    The Investigators

    1961 · 2 votes

  • TV6.8

Movies14

  • Movie7.5
  • Movie7.1

    The Bad Seed

    1956 · 276 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Bend of the River

    1952 · 223 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Benji

    1974 · 174 votes

  • Movie5.5

    It Started with a Kiss

    1959 · 17 votes

  • Movie6.6

    The Stooge

    1951 · 36 votes

  • Movie5.4

    Man in the Attic

    1953 · 54 votes

  • Movie6.3

    Horizons West

    1952 · 22 votes

  • Movie6.0

    My Wife's Best Friend

    1952 · 6 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Girls About Town

    1931 · 11 votes

  • Movie8.7

    Sally and Saint Anne

    1952 · 3 votes

  • Movie4.8
  • Movie4.6

    The Lady Says No

    1952 · 14 votes

  • Movie5.0

    The Blessed Midnight

    1956 · 1 votes