What does your reputation precedes you mean? To me, the phrase simply means that you are exactly what other people say about you, as the real you.
Mayberry is the name of a real community in Patrick County, Virginia; located 22 miles northeast of Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina.riffith, however, told Larry King in 2003 that Artie Stander is the person who thought of the name Mayberry; Stander was one of the show's creators and writers. Mayberry is a real community in Patrick County, Virginia, located 22 miles northeast of Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina.
Many of Mayberry's older residents have been long gone, such as Floyd the barber (Howard McNear) in 1969 and Otis the drunk (Hal Smith) in 1994. But fans of The Andy Griffith Show can take heart that the streets of Mayberry haven't gone completely empty.