Andy Griffith - banjolele player?

In the most recent issue of People magazine (July 23) there's a tribute to Andy Griffith upon his recent death on July 3rd. On page 68, there's a picture of him playing what looks like a banjolele. I'd never seen or heard of him playing a uke or banjolele but I do seem to recall him playing the guitar on The Andy Griffith Show. It's a nice picture with him looking very relaxed and playing something around the middle of the neck.

Yes I seen him play one on Matlock the other nite.....ha ha

Yep, behind his desk in the corner, there was a ukulele sitting there for easy access.

He was a terrific musician! I loved when he sang and played on his shows. He seemed to enjoy having musicians as guest stars. Randy Travis was on a couple episodes of "Matlock" and that gave them lots of excuses to make some music.

I never watched Matlock so I missed those ukulele sitings. I always loved it when the Darlings appeared and performed on The Andy Griffith Show. I just recently learned that the Darlings were an actual bluegrass group, The Dillards. I think that watching his show as a kid along with The Beverly Hillbillies and their occasional music performances (Flatt & Scruggs was one) planted a seed which grew into my love for bluegrass/country type music.