In addition to the regular and recurring cast members of The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968), the show had many guest stars. Some were known prior to their appearance, while others became well-known later.
Note: Episode titles are followed by the season and episode no., e.g. 2.24 means the 24th episode of the second season.
| Guest star | Role(s) | Episode(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julie Adams | Nurse Mary Simpson | "The County Nurse" (2.24) | ||
| Jack Albertson | Bradford J. Taylor | "Aunt Bee's Cousin" (8.13) | Later known for Chico and the Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and The Fox and the Hound | |
| Norman Alden | Tom Strongbow Hank | "The Battle of Mayberry" (6.29) "Howard, the Bowler" (8.02) | Known for voice work including as Aquaman in Super Friends and The All-New Super Friends Hour | |
| Leon Ames | Mr. Hampton | "The Senior Play" (7.09) | Known for the role of Col. Gordon Kirkwood on Mister Ed | |
| David Alan Bailey | Fred Simpson | "Opie's First Love" (8.01) | Played the recurring role of Opie's friend Trey Bowden during season 4 | |
| Jack Bannon | Announcer | "The Mayberry Chef" (8.17) | Later known for portraying Art Donovan on Lou Grant | |
| James Best | Jim Lindsey | "The Guitar Player" (1.03) "The Guitar Player Returns" (1.31) | Best known for playing Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard | |
| Bill Bixby | Ronald Bailey | "Bailey's Bad Boy" (2.15) | Later starred in My Favorite Martian, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and The Incredible Hulk | |
| Whitney Blake | Lee Drake | "Andy's Trip to Raleigh" (8.04) | Known for playing Dorothy Baxter on Hazel (1961–65) | |
| Morgan Brittany | Mary Alice Carter | "Opie's First Love" (8.01) | Known for playing Katherine Wentworth on Dallas | |
| Edgar Buchanan | Henry Wheeler | "Aunt Bee's Brief Encounter" (2.09) | Known for playing Joseph "Uncle Joe" Carson on Petticoat Junction | |
| Richard Bull | Bill Lindsay Mr. Jackson | "Goober Makes History" (7.14) "Opie's Piano Lesson" (7.26) | Known for playing Nels Oleson on Little House on the Prairie Bull was not in "Goober Makes History", although he is listed in the end credits. Sandy Kenyon played Bill Lindsay. | |
| Frank Cady | Luke Farley Upchurch | "The Rehabilitation of Otis" (5.18) "The Legend of Barney Fife" (6.18) | Known for playing Sam Drucker on Green Acres (1963–70) | |
| Mary Grace Canfield | Mary Grace Gossage | "A Date for Gomer" (4.09) | Known for portraying Ralph Monroe on Green Acres (1965-1971) | |
| William Christopher | Dr. Peterson Mr. Heathcoat | "A New Doctor in Town" (7.15) "Aunt Bee on TV" (6.18) | Known for portraying Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H | |
| Andy Clyde | Frank Myers | "Mayberry Goes Bankrupt" (2.04) | Long time comedic character actor in cinema Westerns and numerous television family series. | |
| Jackie Coogan | George Stevens | "Barney on the Rebound" (2.05) | Known for The Kid and for playing Uncle Fester on The Addams Family | |
| Ellen Corby | Myrt 'Hubcaps' Lesh | "Barney's First Car" (3.27) | Known for playing Grandma Esther Walton on The Waltons | |
| Gail Davis | Karen Moore | "The Perfect Female" (2.08) | Played the title role in Annie Oakley television series | |
| John Dehner | Colonel Harvey | "Aunt Bee's Medicine Man" (3.24) | Before becoming an actor, he worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios. He played the part of veteran magazine editor Cy Bennett for two seasons (1971–1973) on the weekly sitcom The Doris Day Show | |
| Bob Denver | Dudley "Dud" Wash | "Divorce, Mountain Style" (4.25) | Known for playing Gilligan on Gilligan's Island | |
| Buddy Ebsen | Dave Browne | "Opie's Hobo Friend" (2.06) | Known for his role as Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies | |
| Barbara Eden | Ellen Brown | "The Manicurist" (2.16) | Eden starred in I Dream of Jeannie (1965–70) | |
| Robert Emhardt | Malcolm Tucker Willard Foster | "Man in a Hurry" (3.06) "The Foster Lady" (6.26) | Frequent type-A personality character actor in movies and television. Was the psychiatrist opposite Andy Griffith in the 1955 United States Steel Hour version of No Time for Sergeants | |
| Jamie Farr | Sylvio | "The Gypsies" (6.23) | Known for the role of Max Klinger on M*A*S*H | |
| Dabbs Greer | Mr. Sims, Naylor, Sales Clerk, Councilman Dobbs | 4 episodes | Portrayed Reverend Robert Alden on Little House on the Prairie | |
| Ann Morgan Guilbert | Ella | "Aunt Bee's Cousin" (8.13) | Known for playing Millie Helper on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Yetta on The Nanny | |
| Jean Hagen | Elizabeth Crowley | "Andy and the Woman Speeder" (2.35) | Played the ditzy Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain and Marjorie Williams on The Danny Thomas Show | |
| Alan Hale, Jr. | "Big Jeff" Pruitt | "The Farmer Takes a Wife" (2.13) | Known for playing the Skipper on Gilligan's Island and had his own earlier series playing famed railroad engineer Casey Jones | |
| Howard Hesseman | Counterboy Harry | "Goober Goes to an Auto Show" (8.22) "Sam for Town Council" (8.27) | Credited as Don Sturdy. Best known roles are Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati and Charles P. Moore on Head of the Class | |
| Bob Hastings | Governor's Aide | "Barney and the Governor" (3.15) | Best known for portraying Lt. Elroy Carpenter, a bumbling yes-man on the 1960s sitcom McHale's Navy | |
| Pat Hingle | Fred Gibson | "Wyatt Earp Rides Again" (6.20) | Played Commissioner James Gordon in Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin | |
| Sterling Holloway | Burt Miller | "The Merchant of Mayberry" (2.22) | A veteran of numerous films, Holloway was also the voice of Winnie the Pooh | |
| Bo Hopkins | George | "Goober the Executive" (8.16) | Played "Little Joe Young" in both American Graffiti (1973) and More American Graffiti (1979); His final role was as "Papaw Vance" in Hillbilly Elegy (2020) | |
| Larry Hovis | Gilly Walker | "Goober Takes a Car Apart" (5.17) "The Case of the Punch in the Nose" (3.14) | Played Pvt. Larry Gotschalk on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. as well as Sgt. Andrew Carter on Hogan's Heroes | |
| Rance Howard | Bus driver Governor's chauffeur Treasury agent Party guest | "Cousin Virgil" (2.30) "Barney and the Governor" (3.15) "A Black Day for Mayberry" (4.07) "The Rumor" (4.29) | Howard is the father of Ron Howard and Clint Howard | |
| George Kennedy | George | "The Big House" (3.32) | Among his movie credits are Cool Hand Luke, Airport '77 and The Naked Gun | |
| Charles Lane | Mr. Frisby | "Aunt Bee the Crusader" (4.15) | Lane portrayed J. Homer Bedloe on Petticoat Junction | |
| Sue Ane Langdon | Nurse Mary | "Three's A Crowd" (2.27) | ||
| Gavin MacLeod | Gilbert Jamel Bryan Bender | "TV or Not TV (5.23) "The Taylors in Hollywood" (6.08) | Portrayed Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Capt. Merrill Stubing in The Love Boat | |
| Florence MacMichael | Hilda Mae | "Ellie for Council" (1.10) "Andy Saves Barney's Morale" (1.20) | ||
| Laurie Main | Robling Flask | "Helen, the Authoress" (7.24) | Known for hosting and narrating for Welcome to Pooh Corner, as well as narrating for many "Disney Read-Along" records and cassettes | |
| Sid Melton | Pat Michaels | "The Hollywood Party" (6.09) | Melton was "Uncle Charley" Halper on The Danny Thomas Show and Alf Monroe on Green Acres | |
| Allan Melvin | Clarence 'Doc' Malloy; Hotel Detective Bardoli; Neal; Jake (Myrt's Accomplice); Recruiting Sergeant; Escaped Prisoner; Fred Plummer; Clyde Plaunt | "Jailbreak" (2.18) "Andy and Barney in the Big City" (2.25) "Lawman Barney" (3.7) "Barney's First Car" (3.27) "Ernest T. Bass Joins the Army" (4.3) "Andy's Vacation" (4.22) "Barney's Uniform" (5.8) "Howard's Main Event" (8.6) | On Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., he was Sgt. Carter's rival, Sgt. Hacker, the mess cook; also noted for his roles as Sam Franklin on The Brady Bunch and Barney Hefner on All in the Family | |
| Alvy Moore | Kitchenware salesman | "A Baby in the House" (6.25) | Played Hank Kimball on Green Acres | |
| Burt Mustin | Jud Fletcher, Jubal, Sam Benson and Mr. Crowley | 14 episodes | Played Gus the fireman on Leave It to Beaver | |
| George Nader | Dr. Robert Benson | "The New Doctor" (1.24) | Played a handsome new doctor in Mayberry, he was starred in the movie Robot Monster | |
| Jack Nicholson | Baby's father Defendant | "Opie Finds a Baby" (7.10) "Aunt Bee the Juror" (8.07) | ||
| Hank Patterson | Hobo | "If I Had a Quarter-Million" (5.22) | Known for playing farmer Fred Ziffel on Green Acres | |
| Roger Perry | George Jones | "Don't Miss a Good Bet" (7.16) | Known for playing Mr. Parker on The Facts of Life | |
| Barney Phillips | Eddie Brooke | "Barney Gets His Man" (1.30) | Known for playing "Haley the Bartender" in The Twilight Zone | |
| Michael J. Pollard | Virgil | "Cousin Virgil" (2.30) | Played C.W. Moss in Bonnie and Clyde | |
| Rob Reiner | Joe | "Goober's Contest" (7.30) | Played Michael Stivic on All in the Family | |
| Don Rickles | Newton Munroe | "The Luck of Newton Munroe" (5.29) | ||
| Hayden Rorke | A.J. Considine | "The Taylors in Hollywood" (6.08) | Known for his portrayal of Col. Alfred E. Bellows, M.D. on I Dream of Jeannie | |
| Bing Russell | Mr. Burton | "The Loaded Goat" (3.18) | Portrayed Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza | |
| William Schallert | Quiet Sam Becker | "Quiet Sam" (1.29) | Portrayed Martin Lane (Patty's father) on The Patty Duke Show | |
| Fred Sherman | H. Fred Goss (dry cleaner/tailor) | "Jailbreak" (2.18) "Wedding Bells for Aunt Bee" (2.26) | Suffered a stroke following his 2nd appearance as Mr. Goss, forcing his retirement from the show. | |
| Karl Swenson | Mr. McBeevee | "Mr. McBeevee" (3.01) | Played Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie (1974–78) | |
| Mary Treen | ||||
| Lee Van Cleef | Skip | "Banjo-Playing Deputy" (5.32) | Played the villain Angel Eyes in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly | |
| Jerry Van Dyke | Jerry Miller | "Banjo-Playing Deputy" (5.32) | He later portrayed Luther Van Dam on Coach | |
| Joyce Van Patten | Laura Hollander | "Opie Steps Up in Class" (8.05) | Van Patten is the sister of actor Dick Van Patten | |
| Doodles Weaver | George Bricker Regis | "Aunt Bee's Brief Encounter" (2.09) "A Black Day for Mayberry" (4.07) | Weaver was the brother of former NBC president Pat Weaver and the uncle of actress Sigourney Weaver | |
| Clarence White | The Country Boys member | "Mayberry on Record" (1.19) | White was lead guitarist for The Kentucky Colonels, and later, The Byrds. |