Andy Griffith dead at 86

[Penny Lane]

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/07/03/legendary-television-actor-andy-griffith-dead-at-86-report-says/

[Penny Lane]

Update from USA Today:(
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2012/07/andy-griffith-dies-at-age-86/1#.T_McYPXl-BY

[Family Ties Forever!]

RIP

link (http://www.click2houston.com/entertainment/Actor-Andy-Griffith-dead-at-86/-/1735500/15387744/-/1h8penz/-/index.html)

Actor Andy Griffith dead at 86
TV icon played Sheriff Andy Taylor, Matlock
Author: By Michael Pearson CNN
Posted: Jul 3 2012 11:14 AM CDT Updated: Jul 3 2012 2:56 PM CDT

(CNN) - Actor Andy Griffith, who played folksy Sheriff Andy Taylor in the fictional town of Mayberry, died Tuesday at the age of 86, his family said. Griffith died at about 7 a.m. at his home on Roanoke Island, according to Dare County, North Carolina, Sheriff J.D. "Doug" Doughtie. He passed away after an unspecified illness and "has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoake Island," the family said in a statement. "Andy was a person of incredibly strong Christian faith and was prepared for the day he would be called Home to his Lord," his wife, Cindi Griffith, said in the statement issued through the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy, North Carolina.

Best known for his role on "The Andy Griffith Show," the University of North Carolina music graduate also starred as a murder-solving Southern attorney in the television series "Matlock" during the 1980s and 1990s. He was also known for his roles in movies and on the stage, as a producer and as a Grammy Award-winning gospel singer. "North Carolina has lost its favorite son," Gov. Beverly Perdue said. "Throughout his career, he represented everything that was good about North Carolina: a small town boy and UNC graduate who took a light-hearted approach to some of the attributes he grew up with and turned them into a spectacularly successful career," she said. "And regardless of where that career took him, he always came back to North Carolina and spent his final years here."

Actor and director Ron Howard, who played Griffith's son, Opie Taylor, on "The Andy Griffith Show," said he is "forever grateful" to the actor. "His pursuit of excellence and the joy he took in creating served generations & shaped my life," Howard said on Twitter. President Barack Obama also noted Griffith's death, saying the actor had "warmed the hearts of Americans everywhere." "A performer of extraordinary talent, Andy was beloved by generations of fans and revered by entertainers who followed in his footsteps," Obama said. President George W. Bush honored Griffith in 2005 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for "demonstrating the finest qualities of our country and for a lifetime of memorable performances that have brought joy to millions of Americans of all ages."

A member of the Televison Hall of Fame, Griffith also was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007. His 1996 album, "I Love to Tell the Story -- 25 Timeless Hymns," netted him a Grammy Award. Born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, in 1926, Griffith graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1949 with a degree in music. He originally wanted to be a preacher, he told American Profile magazine in a 2005 piece. "I went to the bishop and said, 'Can I major in music and still be a minister?' and he said no," the magazine quoted him as saying. "I went back and prayed over it for a couple of weeks, and I went back to the bishop and said, 'I'm going to major in music.' So that was it."

After teaching high school music for a few years, he began his entertainment career with a traveling act with his first wife, Barbara Edwards, according to biography.com. After regular appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show," Griffith appeared in the 1955 Broadway play "No Time for Sergeants," for which he received a Tony nomination. He later appeared in a film version of the play. He was again nominated for a Tony in 1960 for the play "Destry Rides Again." He made his film debut in the critically acclaimed "A Face in the Crowd," but it was the 1960 debut of "The Andy Griffith Show" that brought his greatest fame.

In the show, Griffith played the amiable sheriff of an small, idyllic town modeled on his own birthplace of Mount Airy. The gentle comedy continues to be broadcast and retains a following, including "Rerun Watchers Club" chapters around the country and on Facebook. After his eight-year run as Taylor, the actor tried to break out of his mold as a genial father figure with mixed success. "I wanted to prove that I could play something else, but there were 249 episodes out there of 'Mayberry,' and it was aired every day. It was hard to escape," Griffith said, according to a quote on IMDb.

A 2010 role in a television commercial for the Department of Health and Human Resources generated some political controversy. In the commercial, Griffith praised the Affordable Care Act and its reforms. Department officials said the ad was meant to educate the public, but congressional Republicans said it was partisan propaganda and demanded that it be pulled. Griffith came down with the muscular disease Guillain-Barre syndrome in 1983, according to biography.com, but made a full recovery. In 2000, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery, and had hip surgery following a fall in 2007, according to his IMDb profile.

Griffith's first marriage ended in divorce in 1972. He married again in 1976 but divorced after five years, according to biography.com. In 1983, he married Cindi Knight, his current wife. Griffith is survived by two children from his first marriage, according to the biography site. A third son died of an overdose at the age of 36, according to American Profile.

Copyright 2012 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved.

[AB]

Very sad news, may he rest in peace.

[phoebe7165]

Damn, Andy just had a birthday!! I truly thought he was going to outlive them all, even Ron Howard!!!;)

The sis is a huge fan of TAGS, I can watch it, too, just not in marathon style, but I did like Andy. We even went to Mayberry Days one year in Mount Airy, which was alot of fun.

George Lindsey, who played Goober just passed away recently, too.

RIP Andy.

[James28]

It just turns out that all good things come to an end, and 86 years is the finish of Andy Samuel Griffith. :rip:

[[-Kelsey-]]

Thank you for all the laughs Andy Griffith, you will be missed. RIP :(

[80sTrivia]

It's so sad to say goodbye to such a legend as Andy. His rich, wonderful legacy of down home, quality entertainment will live on, however. Rest in Peace, Andy, you will certainly be missed but never forgotten:

http://www.migueldante.com/2012/07/goodbye-mayberry-andy-griffith-passes.html

[Janice]

It seems we're losing all the old-timers. Andy's Mayberry felt so real in our hearts. He was a terrific actor, and he'll be greatly missed.

[Brad]

I was saddened yesterday to read of his passing. Andy Griffith always seemed to me like one of the most kind, genuine men in show business. His legacy is Mayberry, a world and a time for which we all yearn. A place that doesn't exist, but should.

I wonder how many people around the world whistled the famous theme to The Andy Griffith Show yesterday. Here's it is, with lyrics sung by Mr. Griffith, himself.

oE3OBiFflHI

Rest in peace, Mr. Griffith. And thank you.

[Tubehead]

i nvercard for andy griffith show i alsway like matlock better

[phoebe7165]

I wonder how many people around the world whistled the famous theme to The Andy Griffith Show

When I was in high school, our jazz band would play the Andy Griffith theme just for fun!!!

[isiahthomas]

RIP Andy Griffith. I'm a fan of his. I bought his Matlock tv show first season on dvd several months ago. I loved Matlock. It was funny seeing Ron Howard as a kid on his show. Ron's voice as a kid was adorable. I didn't know Don Knotts was on Andy's show before he was on Three's Company tv show. RIP to Don too. He was very funny on Three's Company.

[GARFIELDKOOL]

RIP Andy Griffith. I'm a fan of his. I bought his Matlock tv show first season on dvd several months ago. I loved Matlock. It was funny seeing Ron Howard as a kid on his show. Ron's voice as a kid was adorable. I didn't know Don Knotts was on Andy's show before he was on Three's Company tv show. RIP to Don too. He was very funny on Three's Company.


Damn man, where you been all these years?! You didn't know Don Knotts was on Andy Griffith?! It's been played for decades that all generations should have know that, whether you were a fan of the show or not. Everyone knows Barney Fife! lol

[Reverend Jim]

http://i47.tinypic.com/5afaf8.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/rigg7r.jpg

[MrCleveland]

I found this clip from a Local TV Show called "Big Chuck and Houlihan" which had Andy Griffith....

uSmzveYQngA

[ShamelessFanGirl]

R.I.P Andy Griffith. You will be missed :(

[Tubehead]

if your andy Griffith fanthey didmake amoiveit caled return to maybarry titgotthe orinal cast even ron hoeard as opey. i reocmed checking it out. my grandpapa is big andy gritth fan i also reocmmed pleast villi if you wont to see don knotts in agood role.