Andy Griffith, Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction Were 1960's Super Shows

In the first decade of network television, the South was considered an afterthought. The networks were based in New York and the programming was very 'New Yorky'. Lots of boxing, stage plays, uptown talk, and supper club type of entertainment that reflected the New York scene. Of course there were westerns, but westerns were universal, and considered more historic than regional in genre. It was a reflection of our not so distant past, as the Civil War had been waged less than a century prior. Then in 1960 CBS, the 'Tiffany Network' bowed to the talents of two decidedly northern type performers, Danny Thomas and Sheldon Leonard, who were convinced that southern comic and Broadway star Andy Griffith could carry a Southern based show. The Andy Griffith Show was a bombshell and quickly the top show in the nation. Flush with that success, CBS enlisted Paul Hennings, who had made his name with the Red Skelton Show, to bring The Beverly Hillbillies to life. Another smash hit. It was so big they almost immediately spun off Petticoat Junction with Henning to take advantage of the groundswell of support for these rural shows. Who would have imagined that the urbane William Paley, after years of fighting the monster that was NBC with grace and charm, would see these down home shows give him his long awaited victory over NBC. And the run was a long one, with CBS dominating the ratings for more than a decade.