Statue of Andy, Opie unveiled

Andy and Opie are on a permanent fishing trip -- immortalized in a bronze statue unveiled Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C., by Andy Griffith, whose portrayal of a genial Southern sheriff became a TV staple.

The sculpture depicts the scene in the opening credits of “The Andy Griffith Show” in which Sheriff Andy Taylor walks to a fishing hole with his son, Opie.

The cable network TV Land agreed to build and maintain the statue at no cost to the city, similar to deals over the past two years that placed a Mary Tyler Moore statue in Minneapolis and a statue of Jackie Gleason’s “Honeymooners” character in New York City.