Ronda Jeter portrayed several characters on 'The Andy Griffith Show'

Ronda Jeter was a young actress who portrayed four different characters in six episodes over three years on The Andy Griffith Show. The powers that be must have liked her work because they continued to call her back.

Jeter['s first appearance was in the season 3 episode Andy Discovers America, which aired on March 4, 1963. She portrayed Karen Burgess, a student in Opie Taylor's (Ron Howard) class.

Due to a misunderstanding from Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), the boys challenged Miss Helen Crump's (Aneta Corsaut) method of teaching history, but it was later all straightened out.

On April 8 of that same year, Jeter returned as Karen in The Rivals. During this episode, Opie was smitten but was unable to obtain the young girl's interest. Thelma Lou (Betty Lyn) decided to help him, and Barney Fife (Don Knotts) became jealous over his girlfriend spending time with Opie.

In season 4, the actress returned in A Black Day for Mayberry, which aired on November 11, 1963. This is one of the funniest and most popular episodes because of Barney's blunder.

A gold truck was coming through Mayberry, and it was supposed to remain secret. The truck was actually a decoy, and the real gold went by another vehicle and a different route.

Jeter was standing in the crowd who were waving signs welcoming the decoy truck to town. She was not named in this episode, so the assumption is that she was still portraying Karen.

On April 27, 1964, Ronda Jeter portrayed Ethel in the season 4 episode The Rumor. In this episode, Barney sees Andy and Helen in a Jewelry store and runs through the town telling everyone that the couple is engaged. He caught a lot of flak when it turned out he was wrong.

On September 21, 1964 (season 5), Jeter was back in Opie Loves Helen as Sharon McCall. Sharon had been ignoring Opie, who later set his sights on his teacher Miss Crump.

Sharon becomes jealous when Opie begins ignoring her, but after Andy explained that Helen was his girl, Opie and Sharon are later seen walking down Main Street holding hands.

On October 12, 1964, Jeter was once again in Miss Crump's classroom as Sharon McCall. In the episode titled The Education of Ernest T. Bass, the students were humored by the adult male who wanted to go back to school. He cut up in the class, and Miss Crump had to give him a lick on the hand with her ruler.

Opie's Job aired during season 6 on September 13, 1965. This was a colorized episode where Opie and another boy were competing for the job of delivering groceries. This time around, Jeter portrayed Sharon Porter.

Jeter's last credited role on The Andy Griffith Show was on February 14, 1966. In Look Paw, I'm Dancing, she appeared as Sharon Porter. This was the episode where Opie did not know how to dance, and Aunt Bea (Francis Bavier) taught him steps that young people were no longer doing.

Once Opie got on the dance floor with Sharon, she shook her head at his dancing style. He followed her lead and realized that he could dance like the other kids.

The above photo is one of the last taken of Karen Jeter. There is no information available regarding her personal life, whether she stayed in contact with her former co-star, or whether she had other acting roles.

Even so, fans of The Andy Griffith Show will maintain fond memories of the actress and continue enjoying her episodes on retro channels and streaming services.