the premiere episode of "the andy griffith show" begins with andy telling opie he was raised by aunt bee, who is about to return to mayberry after a five-year sojourn in morgantown, west virginia (the real-life hometown of don knotts, the actor who portrayed barney fife). being raised by aunt bee suggests that andy was orphaned at an early age, though there is very little evidence offered on the show about andy's childhood or his family. in one or two instances, old timers remember andy as a boy. he seems to have no close relatives in mayberry other than his aunt, his son, and his cousin barney. in the first two episodes it is stated that barney is his cousin.