It's Me, it's Me...it's Ernest T!!

I would be very remiss if I didn't mention the passing of Howard Morris, one of the great character actors of the golden age of TV sitcoms. Howard played the amazing Ernest T. Bass on the Andy Griffith Show and was the bane of Sheriff Andy and Deputy Barney Fife. One of Barney's classic recurring lines concerning Ernest T was...."He's a nut". And he was whether tossing bricks thru windows or pining for his beautiful mountain dreamboat "Romena".

Most people are shocked to know that Ernest T. appeared in only five episodes of the Andy Griffith Show, so powerful was his character that many think he was one of the regular cast members. Howard Morris bore little resemblence to the moronic Ernest T. He started out on broadway and had been a featured star on the original TV comedy, Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar and later directed a variety of TV comedies including later episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. He appeared in numerous movies and did voice overs including the starring role in Atom Ant. His peers described him as a genius. It took a genius to play the deranged Ernest T, and he will be missed.