RIP MAGGIE PETERSON-MANCUSO

1941-2022

Margaret Ann Peterson (aka Maggie Mancuso) was best known for playing Charlene Darling on “The Andy Griffith Show”, which was filmed on the Desilu backlot. In one episode she played opposite Howard McNear, who also played Mr. Crawford, Little Ricky’s music instructor on “I Love Lucy.”  “The Andy Griffith Show” was actually a spin-off of “Make Room for Daddy” aka “The Danny Thomas Show”.  

She also played the character of Doris in the final episode filmed “A Girl for Goober” in 1968, the same year Lucille Ball sold Desilu Studios to Paramount. 

While at Desilu, concurrently with her appearances on “The Andy Griffith Show”, she was hired to play Susie the Waitress on another Desilu-filmed series, “The Bill Dana Show”, yet another spin-off of “The Danny Thomas Show.”  In 1958, “The Danny Thomas Show” did a cross-over episode with “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” and vice-versa.  In her eight episodes as Susie (all in 1964), Peterson co-starred with such “Lucy” favorites as Charles Lane (Mr. Barnsdahl on “The Lucy Show”), Sandra Gould (Nancy Johnson in “Oil Wells”), and Tristram Coffin (Harry Munson on “I Love Lucy”). 

Staying in the Desilu / Mayberry family, Peterson also did a 1965 episode of “Gomer Pyle: USMC”, filmed on the Desilu backlot. She played a blind date for Gomer on the episode “The Blind Date”. 

In 1966, “The Lucy Show” did a cross-over episode with “Gomer Pyle: USMC” that featured Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle and Lucille Ball as Lucy Carmichael (aka Lou C. Carmichael). 

In 1967 she joined Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and The Back Porch Majority on the music special “The Andy Griffith Uptown-Downtown Show” playing herself. 

Now considered one of the Mayberry favorites, Peterson also appeared on “Mayberry RFD” in 1970. She played Edna, who was sweet on Sam (Ken Berry). Berry was ‘discovered’ by Lucille Ball, and also appeared on “The Lucy Show” in 1968.  

In 1986 Peterson was invited to reprise her role as Charlene Darling in “Return To Mayberry”. She was re-united with many of her co-stars, including The Dillards, the country band who played her family on “The Andy Griffith Show.” 

In 1996 she played Charlene one last time on “Nashville Now”, performing a song with The Dillards on a Mayberry Reunion Show. 

In 1978, she married Gus Mancuso, who died in 2021. Margaret’s health steadily declined and she died on May 15, 2022 at age 81.