FRANCIS BAVIER
A graduate of Columbia University and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Bavier began acting in 1925 as a member of various stage productions, and later toured overseas with the USO. In 1951, she began a 365-performance run on Broadway in Point of No Return, starring Henry Fonda. Not long after, she made the jump to the silver screen in The Day the Earth Stood Still. Several features followed, as well as regular roles on television's The Great Life (1954) and The Eve Arden Show (1957), and appearances on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason and Wagon Train.

Fussy, matronly, lovable Aunt Bee became Bavier's signature role. She has the unique distinction of being the only player to endure the entire run of The Andy Griffith Show, beginning with the pilot and remaining through part of Mayberry, R.F.D. Bavier retired to Siler City, North Carolina after leaving Mayberry, though she did subsequently appear in several commercials and the children's movie Benji in 1974. She died on December 6, 1989 at the age of 87.