Richard O. Linke

Richard O. Linke was a producer and talent manager best known for his partnership with beloved performer Andy Griffith. The two met in 1953, and their working relationship lasted for nearly forty years. Linke served as an associate producer on The Andy Griffith Show, and was the personal manager for Griffith, later becoming his business partner. 

Linke also worked on the Griffith Show spinoffs The New Andy Griffith Show, The Jim Nabors Hour and Mayberry R.F.D., as well as the special The Andy Griffith-Don Knotts-Jim Nabors Show. Linke and Griffith’s relationship continued with the telefilms Winter Kill, The Girl in the Empty Grave, Deadly Game and Return to Mayberry.

While Linke did have other clients, including Nabors and Frankie Avalon, his work in the entertainment industry was primarily with Griffith. The producer also served as a production consultant on nearly 100 episodes of the classic, long-running crime drama Matlock, also starring Griffith. 

After moving to New York City in 1941, Linke got his start working at the Associated Press for two years, before transitioning to public relations. He handled publicity for forty radio stations with the firm Earle Ferris & Co., then moved to a larger firm, where he oversaw The Chesterfield Supper Club, starring Perry Como. Linke later moved to Capitol Records, where he worked with Nat King Cole, Mel Torme and Peggy Lee.

In his later years, Linke became an adjunct professor at Ohio University, where he established the Richard O. Linke Scholarship for the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

Linke died June 15, 2016, in Hawaii. He was 98.