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The Andy Griffith Show

March 1, 2012 by · Comments Off on The Andy Griffith Show 

The Andy Griffith Show, Who knows where Todd Beckett would be if he had just nipped it in the bud. While tooling around Massillon several years ago, a bystander suggested Beckett looked like everybody’s favorite deputy, Barney Fife.

Beckett — who at the time was driving a restored 1963 Ford Galaxie that resembled Fife’s squad car from “The Andy Griffith Show” — shrugged it off at first.

But when the comments kept coming, Beckett ran to a mirror to check his reflection. He became a believer after shaving his beard and slicking his hair back.

“I had a beard for 18 years. When I shaved that off, it really set the ball in motion as far as looking like Barney,” said Beckett, who owns Total Car Improvements in Tuscarawas Township. “It’s just something that I fell into.”

Beckett has embraced Don Knotts’ lovable character right down to the bullet Fife kept in the front pocket of his khaki deputy uniform. The Massillon resident has picked up some of Fife’s mannerisms, but the deputy’s high-pitched tones poses a bit of a challenge for Beckett, who has a bass voice.

“I’m still working on that,” he said. Still, when Beckett dons his badge and uniform and straps on his holster with his replica .38-caliber handgun, he almost always gets a warm reception.

“Everybody loves Barney. I’ve yet to find anyone who takes offense to him,” he said.

Beckett also has fun introducing younger generations to Fife.

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