The Andy Griffith Show: The two Arnolds who were Opie's friends

Two boys named Arnold in Mayberry

While watching reruns of The Andy Griffith Show, viewers will notice that Opie Taylor (Ronnie Howard) had many friends during the 10-year run of the series. These include Johnny Paul, Howie, Fred, and Jimmy.

One of his closest buddies was named Arnold. Perhaps like me, when you saw a different actor with that name, you assumed there had been a recast. Who would have assumed that two differnt kids in Mayberry had the same name, but that's what happened?

There were actually two separate characters named Arnold with different last names. The first was a large blonde boy, Arnold Winkler, played by Ronnie Dapo. The second was a small, dark-haired boy, Arnold Bailey, portrayed by Sheldon Collins.

Arnold Winkler

Winkler first appears in the episode Opie and the Spoiled Kid, (Season 3) where he teaches Opie some bad habits to get his father to give in to his demands. Opie begins holding his breath and throwing tantrums, but Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith does not go for it. The episode ends when Arnold's dad takes him behind the jailhouse for an old-fashioned butt-whipping.

In The Haunted House,(Season 4), Opie and Arnold's softball goes through the window of the Rimshaw house, which everyone thinks is haunted. The rest of the episode revolved around the adults on the show busting moonshiners who pretended to haunt the old house

Dapo returned to The Andy Griffith Show two years later as a character named Pete in the episode A Baby in the House. In this saga, in season 6, Aunt Bee is disturbed because her niece's baby seems to like everyone else and only cries when she picks the child up. Arnold is around as Opie admires the infant.

Ronnie Dapo's short career

Dappo's additional television roles include The New Phil Silvers Show, Room for One More, The Munsters, and The Fugitive. He also appeared in the films Kisses for My President, The Music Man, and Ocean's 11.  

He retired from acting at age 14 and later worked as a printing press operator, a touring musician, and in steel framing construction. He and his wife settled in Denver, Colorado, where they loved having a private life away from Hollywood.

The life of Sheldon Collins

Collins was born in New York on January 30, 1955, and also went by the name Sheldon Golomb. He began his career on Broadway at age seven and moved to California to begin acting.

He appeared as Arnold in nine episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, beginning with Opey Finds A Baby, where Dapo became Pete. Sheldon also appeared in two episodes of Mayberry RFD. This makes Arnold Bailey Opie's best friend, and the one who was on the series the longest.

Sheldon Collins away from The Andy Griffith Show

Sheldon Collins had many other roles. He portrayed a young Tony Newman in the Time Tunnel in 1966, and also appeared in television series, including The Mod Squad, Daniel Boone, My Three Sons, Star Trek, and I Dream of Jeannie. His last credited role was in 1972 in The Smith Family. The former actor is also a big fan of Star Trek.

Like Dapo, Collins also left the entertainment industry at an early age. He later became a dentist. So, fans of The Andy Griffith Show, do you prefer Arnold Bailey or Arnold Winkler? Perhaps you enjoyed watching both Sheldon Collins and Ronnie Dapo in their respective roles.

You can catch episodes of the popular series on MeTV, TV Land, and streaming services like Pluto and Peacock. Be watching for the two Arnolds as they appear in Mayberry.