Question: Who played Opie on the show named after the actor who played Ben Matlock on the original TV series?

full_context: Document 1: Howard Hesseman: Howard Hesseman (born February 27, 1940) is an American actor best known for playing disc jockey Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati, Captain Pete Lassard in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment and schoolteacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class.
Document 2: The Andy Griffith Show: The Andy Griffith Show is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half - hour episodes spanning over eight seasons -- 159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series partially originated from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show.
Document 3: Barney Fife: Bernard ``Barney ''P. Milton Oliver Fife is a fictional character in the American television program The Andy Griffith Show, portrayed by comic actor Don Knotts. Barney Fife is a deputy sheriff in the slow - paced, sleepy southern community of Mayberry, North Carolina. He appeared in the first five seasons (1960 -- 65) as a main character, and, after leaving the show at the end of season five, made a few guest appearances in the following three color seasons (1965 -- 68). He also appeared in the first episode of the spin - off series Mayberry R.F.D. (1968 -- 1971), and in the 1986 reunion telemovie Return to Mayberry. Additionally, Barney appeared in the Joey Bishop Show episode,`` Joey's Hideaway Cabin'' and, unnamed, in the first episode of The New Andy Griffith Show.
Document 4: The Last Picture Show: Set in a small town in north Texas from November 1951 to October 1952, it is about the coming of age of Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) and his friend Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges). The cast also includes Cybill Shepherd (in her film debut), Ben Johnson, Eileen Brennan, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman, Clu Gulager, Randy Quaid and John Hillerman. For aesthetic reasons it was shot in black and white, which was unusual for the time. The film features many songs of Hank Williams and other recording artists played throughout.
Document 5: Mayberry: Mayberry, North Carolina is a fictitious community that was the setting for two popular American television sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reunion television movie titled Return to Mayberry. Mayberry is said to be based on Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina. Mount Airy is also known as Mayberry and this town is known by both names to the people who reside there.
Document 6: Blueberry Hill (song): In the popular 1970s sitcom Happy Days, set in the 1950s, lead character Richie Cunningham, played by Ron Howard, would often sing ``I found my thrill... ''(the first line of Domino's 1950s version of`` Blueberry Hill'') in reference to pretty girls he dated or wanted to date.
Document 7: The Andy Griffith Show: The Andy Griffith Show Play media Opening sequence including ``The Fishin 'Hole ''Genre Sitcom Created by Sheldon Leonard Starring Andy Griffith Ronny Howard Don Knotts Frances Bavier Narrated by Colin Male (1960 -- 64) Theme music composer Earle Hagen and Herbert W. Spencer Opening theme`` The Fishin' Hole'' Country of origin United States Original language (s) English No. of seasons 8 No. of episodes 249 (list of episodes) Production Executive producer (s) Sheldon Leonard Danny Thomas Production location (s) Desilu Culver (1960 -- 67) Paramount Studios (1967 -- 68) Camera setup Single - camera Running time 25 -- 26 minutes Production company (s) Danny Thomas Enterprises Mayberry Enterprises Distributor Viacom Enterprises (1971 -- 1994) Paramount Domestic Television (1994 -- 2006) CBS Paramount Domestic Television (2006 -- 2007) CBS Television Distribution (2007 -- present) Release Original network CBS Picture format Black - and - white (1960 -- 65) Color (1965 -- 68) 35 mm film Original broadcast: 4: 3 480i (SDTV) Remastered: 4: 3 1080i (HDTV) Audio format Monaural Original release October 3, 1960 (1960 - 10 - 03) -- April 1, 1968 (1968 - 04 - 01) Chronology Followed by Mayberry R.F.D. Related shows The Danny Thomas Show Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Document 8: Matlock (TV series): Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal - defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by Intermedia Entertainment Company (first season only), The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, and Viacom Productions, originally aired from March 3, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; and from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.
Document 9: List of The Andy Griffith Show episodes: This is a list of episodes from the CBS television comedy The Andy Griffith Show. The first episode aired on October 3, 1960 and the final episode aired on April 1, 1968. There were 249 episodes in all, 159 in black and white (seasons 1 -- 5) and 90 in color (seasons 6 -- 8). The series was spun off from The Danny Thomas Show, where Sheriff Andy Taylor was introduced in the episode, ``Danny Meets Andy Griffith '', which first aired on February 15, 1960.
Document 10: Howard Morris: Howard Jerome Morris (September 4, 1919 -- May 21, 2005) was an American actor, voice actor and director who was best known for his role in The Andy Griffith Show as Ernest T. Bass, and as ``Uncle Goopy ''in one of the most celebrated comedy sketches in history, on Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (1954).
Document 11: Ron Howard: Howard first came to prominence playing young Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years and later playing teenager Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for seven years. He appeared in the musical film The Music Man (1962), the comedy film The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963), the coming of age film American Graffiti (1973), the western film The Shootist (1976), and the comedy film Grand Theft Auto (1977), which he also directed.
Document 12: The Ghost and Mr. Chicken: This film was produced by Universal Studios, which produced countless classic horror films. Knotts was best known at the time of the film's production for his Emmy Award-winning five seasons on the sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show" as small town deputy sheriff Barney Fife. Andy Griffith, Knotts' co-star on "The Andy Griffith Show", suggested expanding on an episode from the television series involving a deserted house (the old Rimshaw house in the episode "Haunted House" aired October 1963) in which Barney, Gomer, and Andy retrieve a baseball of Opie and his friend from the house. Another "Andy Griffith Show" connection is a small role played by Hal Smith, who had a recurring role on the show. Knotts left the television series at the end of the 1964–65 season in order to pursue a film career. He had already starred in "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" (1964). Knotts' popularity prompted a multiple-movie deal with Universal, starting with this movie, and followed by "The Reluctant Astronaut" (1967), "The Shakiest Gun in the West" (1968), "The Love God?" (1969), and "How to Frame a Figg" (1971). "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" was directed by Alan Rafkin with a screenplay by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum; all three men had been associated with the success of "The Andy Griffith Show". Several players from the television series also appear in the film including Lurene Tuttle, Burt Mustin, Hal Smith and Hope Summers. Viewers will also recognize several actors and actresses who had appeared or were then appearing on other sitcoms of the time. The movie boasts one of the largest collection of character actors/actresses assembled in a single movie.
Document 13: You're Sixteen: ``You're Sixteen ''is a song written by the Sherman Brothers (Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman). It was first performed by American rockabilly singer Johnny Burnette, whose version peaked at number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in December 1960 and number 3 in the U.K. in 1961. The original 1960 version of`` You're Sixteen'' by Johnny Burnette is featured prominently on the 1973 motion picture soundtrack of the film American Graffiti.
Document 14: Howard McNear: Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 -- January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as Floyd Lawson, the barber in The Andy Griffith Show (1960 - 1968).
Document 15: James Best: The Andy Griffith Show (TV series, 1960 -- 1968) as Jim Lindsey (``The Guitar Player '', Season 1, Episode 31 and`` The Guitar Player Returns'', 1961)
ground_truth: Howard
sub_queries: who played the role of ben matlock in the original tv series Answer: Andy Griffith
who played opie on the Andy Griffith show Answer: Howard