Movies - TV
Andy Griffith Had Dark Matlock Ideas That Didn’t Make It Into The Series
By JEREMY SMITH
Dean Hargrove was a genius at turning TV dads into unassuming seekers of justice on many classic TV shows, including “Perry Mason,” "Diagnosis: Murder, "and “Matlock.”
Andy Griffith was great as the titular character, but there was just one problem: Matlock had integrity. It turns out Griffith wanted him to have a dark side.
In "Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American Television Show," Griffith wanted Matlock to go to jail resulting from drinking or temper issues occasionally.
Griffith lobbied Hargrove to sharpen Matlock's edges, but the producer knew his audience and kept the character as an upright barrister with an atrocious fashion sense.