The Andy Griffith Show & Desilu Locations

If the "40 acre backlot" had not been demolished and redeveloped it would have become the most famous piece of TV history and today would have been such a big visitor attraction and would have been used for many more productions. It's a sad that it's not around today.

This amazing video simultaneously brought me feelings of great happiness and great sadness. Part of me wants to believe that Mayberry, or maybe just the Mayberry set, still exists somewhere, fully intact and the characters still live there frozen in time.

You did a WONDERFUL JOB, I am 61 and to this day I can watch Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy, Gomer Pyle, and get so much enjoyment and laughter out of watching these classics. I will never get to go to those places myself, so thank you for taking me.

Very well done. I worked at Desilu and MGM back in the day, 1964-1965 in the lighting and electrical department on many of the shows you mentioned. I grew up and lived in Alhambra, CA. Went to Mark Keppel High School. This was a very nice trip down memory lane. I also love StarTrek! Thank you.

Desi and Lucy were so smart and I’m amazed how much they bought and owned. Desi must have been a very smart financial man along with Lucy.

Growing up watching all these shows was far better than anything today. As mentioned below, it is sad that most all of these places are now gone, but they were very real to me and still exist when I watch these shows. Thank you for such a well put together history.

On the air from 1960 to 1968- still on in 2022. That tells you what you need to know about how good that show was. I went to college in Raleigh NC in the mid 80’s and had a group of friends that would recant the last night’s syndicated episode almost every day at lunch. We would laugh and talk about all the great lessons that show would teach and how funny it was. In 1988, I moved to the DC area and actually saw the Darlings (Dillards) at a venue called the Birchmere. After the show, I was able to go backstage and actually meet them. I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful that moment was.

I’m watching The Andy Griffith Show now!!! It’s my favorite show of all time.😁 Thank you for sharing this with us. 🙏🏻👍🏻

In 1972 a few of my classmates (me included) were lucky enough to visit Paramont Studios. We got to play in the prop dept. look inside for the labels of costumes to see who wore them. We saw part of an episode of Mission Impossible. Very tall men. We saw Jack Dodson (Howard Sprague) and got his autograph. At the end of the day we had a late lunch where we saw a few actors and actresses but our teacher would not let us interupt their meals. What a great memory

You did an amazing job!! No filler, and your formatting was EXCELLENT!!!!!

Franklin Lake was a popular site for many different TV shows and movies. It is instantly recognizable to anyone who watched the ABC WWII show, Combat! I can still see Sergeant Saunders and his patrol walking down the different paths through the Franklin Lake area. Truly nostalgic.

watched them all as a kid, now 61 I still watch them, they never get old

Exceptional video!! I shared it to the TAGS Andy Griffith Show group, I know they’ll love it like I do! 😁👍🏻 I’m such a nerd for classic tv and film locations!

This is by far THE best video I’ve seen regarding the “then & now” areas of The Andy Griffith Show. The editing, narration, and everything that went into this is “First Class” all the way. There’s no nonsense or wordiness and it gets right to all of the interesting features people clicked on this link to see in the first place. Great historical footage (and obvious knowledge) to compare to current day conditions, as well as some great Star Trek humor. I wish more “YouTubers” used this as their standard when making videos. Truly an awesome job…well done!!

A friend of mine asked me to work on an independent film she was making. Imagine my surprise when I pulled into the old Desilu studio. It was an honor to just walk around the lot and take in all of it's history.

I work in the industry and I have worked at every one of these major studios at one time or another, including Warner Bros. Every time I step foot onto these lots, I always take a moment to reminisce on all of these great movies and shows of a classic and wholesome time and place from which they were conceived and flourished. Albeit they were reruns, I watched every single one you mentioned. Andy Griffith was probably my favorite, but really it's hard to pick just one because they were all great. Excellent video, thank you.

As a lifelong SoCal resident and historic preservation activist (as well as an Andy Griffith Show fan), it makes me sad to see the changes Greater Los Angeles has undergone over the course of my 63-year old life. Because high real estate values here attract developers and Wall Street/foreign investors, many of what made LA a tourist attraction and source of local pride has disappeared. Thanks for your video. Well done!

Thank you for bringing back so many pleasant memories. As a child of the 1960's, I remember " The Andy Griffith show" and the characters of Mayberry. Most of them have passed on as have so many of my family members. We didn't know how good we had it back then. I wish I could get in a time machine and travel back to those days!!!

Awesome video! My dad worked at Desilu as a set medic, told stories of patching up Lucy's knee after a fall on stage. He also works at Ziv Television and various other production companies. I love learning about the history of all this, I was too young at the time he worked there to appreciate it all.

This is one of the best documentaries on YouTube. It should receive an award.