In the Andy Griffith Show the character of Ellie, played by Elinore Donahue, helped her uncle Fred at Walker’s Drugstore in Mayberry. She eventually starts dating Andy Taylor. She was last seen in the episode “The Guitar Player Returns.” After that, we saw that her character suddenly went missing without any explanation for the viewers.
Mrs. Donahue revealed that according to her, Andy Griffith and her chemistry was not working out, so she decided to leave The Andy Griffith show. Later, Andy took the blame and said he is not very good at showing affection while filming. So we are not sure if she left on her own accord, or if the producers decided to write her out of the show. Mrs. Donahue says she has nothing but good memories of her time on the show.
The writers for the show have said that it was difficult to write romantic lines and situations for the Andy Taylor character as, according to them, ” Andy Griffith had a lot of trouble in a romantic setting.”
The series gave it a try with other actresses like Helen (Aneta Corsaut) and Peggy (Joanna Moore). Despite all of this, it was tough to make a relationship with Andy Taylor look natural on-screen.
Awkward!
