ron howard, he is the actor who played opie, is now one of hollywood's top directors. most of the other stars, andy his deputy barney fife, and the actors who played aunt bee and floyd the barber, they've all passed on. after all, it's been 54 years since andy left the show, so it may come as something of a surprise to learn that mayberry is doing just fine. even though it's actual name is mount airy and its only genuine link to "the andy griffith show" is that andy was born and grew up here. >> andy griff i, god bless him, if he hadn't been born in this town, we wouldn't be standing here having this conversation. enjoy your tour today. >> reporter: randy collins is president and ceo of the mount airy chamber of commerce, and he's recalling when north carolina's tobacco and textile industries had the stuffing knocked out of them. >> after the mills closed, i think a lot of the town fathers and business owners got together and said, hey, you know, what about this may burrier thing? maybe we can do something with it. and businesses were born or re-invented. >> reporter: it's a little bizarre, isn't i