Maggie Peterson

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Maggie Peterson Mancuso (born January 10, 1941) is an American television actress.

She is best known for playing Charlene Darling on The Andy Griffith Show.

She also played the character of Doris in the episode "A Girl for Goober" (1968).

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Life and career

Peterson, the youngest of four children, was born in Greeley, Colorado, to Arthur and Tressa Hill Peterson. Her father was a surgeon and her mother was a homemaker. Peterson appeared on several television shows including Love American Style, Green Acres, Gomer Pyle USMC, and The Odd Couple, in addition to The Andy Griffith Show. She appeared in an episode of Mayberry R.F.D. Edna, a cafe waitress, appears in the 1986 film Return to Mayberry, as the innocent Rose Ellen in the 1969 film The Love God?, starring Don Knotts; and Angel in My Pocket, 1968.

Peterson landed a role on The Bill Dana Show, another spin-off from The Danny Thomas Show, which aired from September 1963 to January 1965.

Peterson grew up in a musical family. She has said that her earliest memories of music when growing up in Colorado. The Ja-Da Quartet, Peterson, Jim's uncle, and two of Jim's acquaintances formed a small group called the Ja-Da Quartet. They'd ride around in the back of a pickup truck singing to others.

Dick Linke, the manager of Andy Griffith and Jim Nabors, heard Peterson perform and was so impressed with her, he invited her to New York. So in 1958, Peterson and the company did exactly that. They appeared on the Perry Como Show and the Pat Boone Show, as well as a compilation entitled "It's the Most Happy Sound" in 1959. The band broke up and went back home shortly after.

Peterson formed The Ernie Mariani Trio a short time later (later renamed Margaret Ann and the Ernie Mariani Trio). Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack were often seen in the audience while Peterson performed for many years and spent time in resort areas such as Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Reno. Maggie was discovered by Andy Griffith Show producer Bob Sweeny and producer Aaron Ruben while on tour.

Peterson began reading for the role of Ellie Walker, a love interest for Sheriff Andy Taylor, but Elinor Donahue took the lead. Charlene Darling was chosen to play Charlene Darling shortly after. She had a crush on Sheriff Taylor ("Pa, can't even look at the pretty guy") as the only daughter of Briscoe Darling ("Pa, can't I even look at the pretty guy?" Peterson would later appear on "A Girl For Goober" as Doris, who was the date interested in Ken Berry's character.

The Darlings, which included Briscoe's four boys (played by The Dillard's bluegrass band), grew up to town on several occasions. When they were in town, they loved listening to Andy's music. "Salty Dog" is one of Charlene's favorite songs. "Slimy River Bottom," "Boil the Cabbage Down," and "Keep Your Money in Your Shoes and it Won't Get Wet." Ernest T. Bass had his sights on Charlene and figured he had courted rights because her marriage to Dud Wash had been carried out by Sheriff Andy Taylor, not by a preacher. On the day they were supposed to be remarried by a priest, he tried to lure her away. He threatens the crowd with a heavy rifle before he begins with the fully unveiled "bride." Although Charlene and Dud were hurriedly married by Ernest T., Ernest T. learns the individual in the veil is really Barney Fife. Andilina and Charlene have been together for a daughter. They tried to betroth Andilina to Opie as it was customary in their family. When Opie and Andilina discovered there was witchery in the Taylor family, Briscoe called off their involvement.

The three songs on which Charlene performed on the show can be found on the album Songs That Make Me Cry, according to Jim Clark of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club.

Peterson met jazz musician Ronald Bernard "Gus" Mancuso, who was performing bass in a lounge act in 1968 while she was opening act for Andy Griffith at a lake Tahoe casino. The two met in 1978 and were together until his death in 2021. The pair lived in Los Angeles, where Peterson worked as a location scout for film and television, before deciding on Las Vegas, where Peterson worked as a location scout for film and television.

The Darlings were inducted into the Missouri Walk of Fame in Marshfield, Missouri, in April 2008. The Darlings' Peterson and Darlings/Dillards band members Dean Webb and Mitch Jayne were on hand to represent The Darlings.

Peterson appeared as a guest of honor at the Mayberry In The Midwest Festival in Danville, Indiana, in May and also May 2019.

According to a note from a family relative who identifies her as "Aunt Maggie" Peterson, she died in her sleep on May 15, 2022, aged 81. Following the death of her husband Gus, she had been in declining health.

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