RIP Josie Lloyd

 Remembering Josie Lloyd, who played both the mayor's daughter and Goober's gal in Mayberry

 

Her famous father opened the door to Hollywood. She later led a very private life.

 

ME TV

June 7, 2021

Last month, Norman Lloyd passed away. At the age of 106, he was the oldest living television star. You might encounter Lloyd while watching Alfred Hitchcock. The New Jersey native appeared in several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents — and directed even more episodes of Presents and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Decades later, Lloyd portrayed Dr. Daniel Auschlander on St. Elsewhere. In his early 70s at the time, he was a mentor to cast members like Helen Hunt and Mark Harmon.

Lloyd's obituaries understandably focused on his age and his well-known roles. But there was one piece of information that went overlooked in the news stories.

The Washington Post reported, "His daughter, Susanna Baird, who had acted under the name Josie Lloyd, died in 2020."

We knew Baird as Josie Lloyd, as that is how she was billed on The Andy Griffith Show. The younger Lloyd appeared four times on the beloved sitcom — as two different characters. Her two characters both had some major inconsistencies.

She first turned up in Mayberry as Mayor Pike's daughter, Juanita Pike, in "Mayberry Goes Hollywood." Wearing glasses, the bookish young woman sings "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton." A few weeks later, Ms. Pike appeared again in "The Beauty Contest," only this time her name was "Josephine."

The lovely J. Pike was never seen again, mostly because Dick Elliott, who played Mayor Pike, died in 1961. But Lloyd would return — as a date for both Andy and Goober.

In season three, the actress was cast as Lydia Crosswaithe, a friend of Thelma Lou. Barney sets her up with Andy in "Barney Mends a Broken Heart." Lydia would return two years later for "Goober and the Art of Love," only this time she was dating Goober Pyle. In another case of broken continuity, Lydia does not seem to be friends with Thelma Lou.

The important thing, though, is that Lloyd is charming in her handful of Mayberry appearances. She serves up silly lines like, "I hate the outdoors. When I go out into the sun, I get the herpes."

Elsewhere, Lloyd unsurprisingly guest-starred on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, thanks to her dad's connection. After a couple more TV gigs, she disappeared from acting in 1967. 

Information about her life is hard to come by after that point, aside from her marriage in the Baird family of puppeteers. We were unable to pinpoint the day of her passing, other than the "2020" that was reported. But at least she lives on in Mayberry.

LLOYD, Josie (Susanna Josephine Lloyd)

Born: 5/28/1939, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Died:  8/30/2020, U.S.A.

 

Josie Lloyd’s western – actress:

Have Gun – Will Travel (TV) – 1962 (cowboy’s wife)