Maggie Peterson obit

Maggie Peterson, known to ‘Andy Griffith Show’ fans as Charlene Darling, has died

 She was not on the list.

To paraphrase Charlene Darling, this’n makes us cry. The family of Maggie Peterson Mancuso, who played Charlene Darling on “The Andy Griffith Show,” announced on Monday that the actress and singer died on Sunday, May 15. The news was posted on the Andy Griffith Show Museum Facebook and on Mancuso’s Facebook page on Monday. A family member wrote on Mancuso’s page that she “passed peacefully in her sleep with her family present.” The post stated that Mancuso’s health had declined after the death of her husband, Gus, and that a private service would be held in the next few weeks.

Maggie wanted this community to know how much you meant to her over the past three years,” the message to fans read. “Despite being in Las Vegas and away from her family, your love and devotion helped her to not feel alone. She made many mentions to us about how she couldn’t believe how generous you all were. You truly made a positive impact on her life and helped her during some very difficult times.” Visits from the Darlings Mancuso played the only daughter in the Darling family, a musical family of North Carolina “mountain people” who often showed up in nearby Mayberry, NC. The plots surrounding a Darling visit would often involve Charlene Darling’s love life. She even once set her sights on Sheriff Andy Taylor (“Pa, can’t I just look at the pretty man?” she asked her father), played by Mount Airy native Andy Griffith. (Charlene, for the record, eventually married “Dud” Wash, to whom she had been betrothed since childhood.) The show’s setting of Mayberry is said to have been based loosely on Mount Airy.

In one particularly memorable episode, Charlene comes to town and asks Andy for his help. He walks with her into the woods where she buries a bag, recites an incantation and announces she is divorced from Dud Wash. That leaves her free to marry Andy, who’s fond of Charlene but not interested in matrimony. To discourage Charlene, her brothers and father from forcing Andy into the wedding, Barney gets a folklore book from the library and finds a curse that will help the Darlings realize Andy is the wrong man for their Charlene. All it will take is a rider dressed in black riding a white horse, traveling east to west. Darling visits also meant lots of music on an “Andy Griffith Show” episode, with Mancuso’s Charlene Darling often on vocals. Charlene’s brothers, played by members of the accomplished bluegrass group the Dillards (Doug and Rodney Dillard, Dean Webb and Mitch Jayne) played guitar and banjo and also sang. Father Briscoe, played by Denver Pyle, played the jug. Among the most popular Darling family numbers voiced by Mancuso were “Salty Dog” and “There Is a Time,” the latter of which Charlene noted always made her Pa cry. (Conversely, nearly every other song the group sang, including “Never Hit Your Grandma With a Big Ol’ Stick,” made Charlene cry.) “Dooley,” another Darling classic, was sung by one of Charlene’s brothers. Charlene Darling and her Darling family appeared in six episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show,” from 1963 to 1966.

According to IMDb, Mancuso (credited as Maggie Peterson) also appeared in episodes of “Green Acres,” “Gomer Pyle, USMC,” “Love, American Style” and “The Odd Couple.” Interestingly, she appeared in an 1968 episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” as the character Doris. She also appeared in the 1969 film “The Love God?” with Don Knotts, who played Deputy Barney Fife on “The Andy Griffith Show.” In recent years, Mancuso was a frequent guest at the annual Mayberry Days Festival in Mount Airy. Another beloved member of “The Andy Griffith Show” cast, Betty Lynn, who played Barney Fife’s girlfriend Thelma Lou, passed away in October 2021.

In 1954 at a Capitol Records convention, Dick Linke (manager of Andy Griffith and Jim Nabors) heard Peterson singing and was so impressed with her, he encouraged her to come to New York. So in 1958 after graduating high school Peterson and the group did just that. They landed a number of stints on the Perry Como Show and the Pat Boone Show, and in 1959 they released their album "It's the Most Happy Sound."[citation needed] Soon after, the band broke up and went back home.

A short time later, Peterson joined another group, The Ernie Mariani Trio (later renamed Margaret Ann and the Ernie Mariani Trio). The group traveled for several years and had stints in resort areas such as Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno, where Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack were often seen in the audience while Peterson performed. It was while she was on tour that Maggie was discovered by The Andy Griffith Show director Bob Sweeny and producer Aaron Ruben.

For The Andy Griffith Show, Peterson initially read for the role of of Ellie Walker, a love interest for Sheriff Andy Taylor, but the role went to Elinor Donahue. Soon after, she was selected to play the role of Charlene Darling. The only daughter of Briscoe Darling, she had a crush on Sheriff Taylor ("Pa, can't I even just look at the pretty man?"). Peterson would later return to The Andy Griffith Show in its final season, in "A Girl For Goober," as Doris who was the dating interest to Ken Berry's character.

The Darlings, including Briscoe's four boys (played by The Dillards bluegrass band), lived in the mountains and came to town on many occasions. When in town, they enjoyed playing music with Andy. One of Charlene's favorite songs is "Salty Dog." The ones that made her cry were "Slimy River Bottom," "Boil that Cabbage Down" and "Keep Your Money in Your Shoes and it Won't Get Wet." Ernest T. Bass had his eyes on Charlene and believed he had courting rights because her marriage to Dud Wash had been performed by Sheriff Andy Taylor acting as a justice of the peace, not by a preacher. He tried to steal her away on the day they were to be remarried by a preacher. Threatening the gathering with a high-powered rifle, he runs off with the fully veiled "bride." While Charlene and Dud are hurriedly married by the preacher, Ernest T. discovers the person in the veil is really Barney Fife. Charlene and Dud had a daughter together, Andilina. They tried to betroth Andilina to Opie as it was customary in their family. Briscoe called off the engagement of Opie and Andilina when he discovered there was witchery in the Taylor family.

According to Jim Clark of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club, the three songs on which Charlene performed on the show can be found on the album Songs That Make Me Cry.

In 1968, while she was singing as an opening act for Andy Griffith at a casino in Lake Tahoe, Peterson met jazz musician Gus Mancuso who was playing bass in a lounge act. The two married and have been together ever since. The couple spent a number of years in Los Angeles, where Peterson worked doing commercials, until they decided to settle in Las Vegas where Peterson worked as a location scout for film and television.

In April 2008 The Darlings received a star on the Missouri Walk of Fame in Marshfield, Missouri. Peterson and Darlings/Dillards band members Dean Webb and Mitch Jayne were on hand representing The Darlings.

Actress (17 credits)

 1987 The Magical World of Disney (TV Series)

Jennifer

- You Ruined My Life (1987) ... Jennifer (as Maggie Peterson)

 1986 Return to Mayberry (TV Movie)

Charlene Darling (as Maggie Peterson-Mancuso)

 1985 Stark (TV Movie)

Dispatch Operator (as Maggie Peterson)

 1980 Pleasure Palace (TV Movie)

First Woman (as Maggie Peterson)

 1977 Odd Man Out (TV Series)

Woman in Chip Shop

- A Chip Off the Old Block (1977) ... Woman in Chip Shop (as Maggie Petersen)

 1974 The Odd Couple (TV Series)

Ann / Stewardess

- The Bigger They Are (1974) ... Ann (as Maggie Peterson)

- The Flying Felix (1974) ... Stewardess (as Maggie Peterson)

 1970 Mayberry R.F.D. (TV Series)

Edna

- Howard, the Dream Spinner (1970) ... Edna (as Margaret Ann Peterson)

 1967-1970 Green Acres (TV Series)

Linda / Cynthia Appelby

- The Picnic (1970) ... Linda (as Maggie Peterson)

- Eb Returns (1967) ... Cynthia Appelby (as Maggie Peterson)

 1970 Love, American Style (TV Series)

Marna (segment "Love and the Good Samaritan")

- Love and Las Vegas/Love and the Good Samaritan/Love and the Marriage Counselor (1970) ... Marna (segment "Love and the Good Samaritan") (as Maggie Peterson)

 1969 The Over-the-Hill Gang (TV Movie)

Ellie, Crawford's Daughter (as Maggie Peterson)

 1969 Doc (TV Movie)

Amy Fillmore (as Maggie Peterson)

 1969 The Love God?

Rose Ellen Wilkerson (as Maggie Peterson)

 1969 The Queen and I (TV Series)

Louise Bradford

- The Trousseau (1969) ... Louise Bradford (as Margaret Ann Peterson)

 1969 Angel in My Pocket

Mrs. Toback (as Maggie Peterson)

 1963-1968 The Andy Griffith Show (TV Series)

Charlene Darling Wash / Charlene Darling / Doris

- A Girl for Goober (1968) ... Doris (as Maggie Peterson)

- The Darling Fortune (1966) ... Charlene Darling (as Maggie Peterson)

- The Darling Baby (1964) ... Charlene Darling Wash (as Maggie Peterson)

- Divorce, Mountain Style (1964) ... Charlene Darling Wash (as Maggie Peterson)

- Mountain Wedding (1963) ... Charlene Darling Wash (as Margaret Ann Peterson)

1965 Gomer Pyle: USMC (TV Series)

Eileen Carson

- The Blind Date (1965) ... Eileen Carson (as Maggie Peterson)

 1964 The Bill Dana Show (TV Series)

Susie the Waitress / Susie / Queen Isabella

- Glick the Strongman (1964) ... Susie the Waitress (as Maggie Peterson)

- Tonsils for Two (1964) ... Susie the Waitress (as Maggie Peterson)

- The Suggestion Box (1964) ... Susie (as Maggie Peterson)

- Jose's Inheritance (1964) ... Susie the Waitress (as Maggie Peterson)

- Jose on the Ledge or the Crystal Room (1964) ... Susie (as Maggie Peterson)