Just what did 'Andy Griffith's' Thelma Lou do, anyway?

A recent question and answer about the old "Andy Griffith Show" apparently prompted a slew of other questions about the comedy. I've combined the questions and answers below.

Q: In all the shows I've watched I have not seen a single mention of Opie's mom or whatever happened to her. Am I missing one where this is explained?

Before Barney started dating Thelma Lou, he had some sort of girlfriend named Juanita. Did she ever make it on to the screen, or just appear off camera by phone?

All the characters had a job of sorts. What about Thelma Lou? She just seems to hang out with Barney, Andy and Helen!

A: With help including "The Andy Griffith Show Book" by Ken Beck and Jim Clark, here are some answers:

It was on "The Danny Thomas Show," which included the pilot for Griffith's show, that we learned that Andy's wife — Opie's mom — died when Opie was a "speck of a baby."

Barney was fond of Juanita Beasley, a local waitress, who was never seen onscreen. (Viewers did see Juanita Pike, one of Mayor Pike's daughters.)

According to Beck and Clark, Thelma Lou "works in an office in town (we're never told exactly where she works or what she does)."

Q: Will the phenomenal show "Council of Dads" return this fall?

A: No. NBC has dropped the show after a single season. While it seemed designed to draw the "This Is Us" audience, ratings were reportedly low.

Q: I believe Barbara Stanwyck had a son, Stephen. What happened to him?

A: From what I can find, the acclaimed actress Stanwyck had only an adopted son, Dion Anthony Fay, from her marriage to actor Frank Fay. (The marriage ended in divorce, as did a later one to actor Robert Taylor.) Mother and son did not have a happy time. Stanwyck's obituary in the New York Times in 1990 said they had been "estranged for decades." Dion Anthony Fay died in 2006. As for Stephen, you may be thinking of Stephen Bogart, the son of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart.

E-mail brenfels@gmail.com.