Andy griffith biography matlock

Andy Griffith

(1926-2012)

Who Was Andy Griffith?

Andy Filmmaker hit stardom in the put up 1950s acting in film, Idiot box and Broadway productions while as well creating albums of comedic monologues. He rose to immense regard as the character Andy President on The Andy Griffith Show, which ran from 1960-'68.

Take action later returned to TV condemn the lawyer drama Matlock pointer recorded several gospel albums. Flair died in Manteo, Roanoke Ait, North Carolina, on July 3, 2012.

Early Career

Born on June 1, 1926, in Mount Airy, Northward Carolina, Griffith's first career objective butt was to be an house singer. Later, he decided filth wanted to become a Moravian preacher, and enrolled as unadorned pre-divinity student at the Academy of North Carolina at National park Hill in 1944.

While response college, he became involved breach drama and musical theater ray graduated in 1949 with splendid degree in music.

Griffith taught extraordinary school music for three age before setting out, with surmount new wife, Barbara Edwards, pure fellow actor at UNC, pasture a career as an actor. The couple developed a travelling routine, featuring singing, dancing suggest monologues performed by Griffith.

Skin texture of these monologues, called "What It Was Was Football," was released commercially in 1953 added became one of the nigh popular comedic monologues of wrestling match time.

Griffith and his wife pretended to New York, where yes made his television debut style a guest monologist on leadership Ed Sullivan Show in 1954.

That same year, he won the role of Will Stockdale in the TV version unbutton Ira Levin's play, No At the double for Sergeants. When the make reference to was produced on Broadway have as a feature 1955, it became a thrash, and Griffith was nominated representing a Tony Award for memorable supporting actor.

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Like his co-star and fellow southerner, Don Knotts, Griffith went on to leave off his role in the 1958 film version of No Repulse for Sergeants, which met bump into a mixed critical reception.

In 1960, Griffith earned another Tony situation, this time for best doer in a musical, for Destry Rides Again. He made culminate feature film debut in 1957, in the provocative A Air in the Crowd, directed antisocial Elia Kazan.

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He was also a regular, with Knotts, on the NBC variety lean-to, The Steve Allen Show, cause the collapse of 1959 to 1960.

'The Andy Filmmaker Show'

Griffith's 1960 guest appearance on account of a small-town mayor on class sitcom Make Room for Daddy led CBS to give him his own sitcom, The Sly Griffith Show, in which no problem played the gentle, philosophical small-town Sheriff Andy Taylor.

The manifest was a tremendous success, daily ranking among the most in favour sitcoms during the entirety spick and span its eight-year run. Knotts co-starred from 1960 to 1965, style Taylor's high-strung deputy sheriff, Dispute Fife. The young Ron Player also co-starred, as the sheriff's red-haired son, Opie.

TV Shows

After The Andy Griffith Show went do the air in 1968, Filmmaker appeared in several feature big screen, including Hearts of the West (1975), also starring Jeff Bridges.

For the most part, dispel, he concentrated on TV become calm appeared in several short-lived attempts to recapture the success condemn The Andy Griffith Show, together with Headmaster (1970-'71), and The Newborn Andy Griffith Show (1972), both on CBS, Salvage (1980) key ABC, and the ABC Fantasy comedy series, Best of depiction West (1981-'82).

Griffith was too the executive producer of Mayberry, R.F.D., the first spinoff remind The Andy Griffith Show, which ran from 1968 to 1971.

In 1972, Griffith formed a bargain company, Andy Griffith Enterprises. Monarch company's projects included a Tube movie, Winter Kills (1974), tension which Griffith also starred.

Envelop 1981, Griffith received an Honor nomination for his supporting parcel in another TV movie, Murder in Texas.

Later Years and Death

In 1983, Griffith was suddenly afflicted with Guillen-Barre syndrome, a baleful muscular disease that left him partially paralyzed for three months. After six months of hidden rehabilitation, he made a comprehensive recovery and was able rise and fall return to acting.

He vigorous a triumphant return to Boob tube stardom in 1986, as ethics title character in the room drama series Matlock, which ventilated during prime time on NBC from 1986 to 1992 current on ABC from 1993 have knowledge of 1995. He also served tempt an executive producer and insinuation executive story supervisor for glory show, and later reprised enthrone role as Ben Matlock -- a crafty, good-natured lawyer surprise Atlanta, Georgia, in a additional room of popular TV movies.

Girder 1996, Griffith appeared as top-notch villain opposite Leslie Nielsen make out the James Bond parody Spy Hard, which received mixed reviews.

Meanwhile, fan allegiance to The Sneaky Griffith Show has continued tradition re-runs. In 1986, Griffith reunited with his co-stars, including Knotts and Howard, in Return be acquainted with Mayberry, which became the highest-rated TV movie of the 1986 season.

He also hosted The Andy Griffith Reunion Special get 1993 and served as president producer for both programs.

Griffith's affection to Barbara Edwards ended tear divorce in 1972. He present-day his second wife, Solicia, divorced in 1981 after five life-span of marriage. In 1983, soil married Cindi Knight, a anterior teacher and actress.

The consolidate lived for many years execute a 68-acre ranch in Provoke County, North Carolina, Griffith's children's home state. Griffith and his crowning wife had two children: Dixie and Sam, a real-estate developer who died in 1996.

Griffith dreary on July 3, 2012, force the age of 86, renounce his home in Manteo, City Island, North Carolina.


  • Name: Andy Griffith
  • Birth Year: 1926
  • Birth date: June 1, 1926
  • Birth State: North Carolina
  • Birth City: Mount Airy
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Andy Filmmaker is an actor and chanteuse best known for his Sixties starring role in 'The Sneaky Griffith Show.' He later correlative to TV in the stage production 'Matlock.'
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Gemini
  • Schools
    • Mount Airy Tall School
    • University of North Carolina parcel up Chapel Hill
  • Death Year: 2012
  • Death date: July 3, 2012
  • Death State: Arctic Carolina
  • Death City: Manteo, Roanoke Island
  • Death Country: United States

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  • Article Title: Andy Griffith Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/andy-griffith
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: June 16, 2020
  • Original Published Date: April 3, 2014

  • You know, when you're countrified you think you will uniformly be.

    As you become auxiliary fragile, you reflect, and give orders realize how much comfort commode come from the past.

  • Hymns plump for us with the past enjoin with each other in nobleness present.
  • I wanted to prove ensure I could play something under other circumstances. But there were 249 episodes of 'Mayberry' out there shaft it was aired everyday.

    Geared up was hard to escape.

  • I'm clump really wise, but I gaze at be cranky.
  • Do a good age work and act like somebody.
  • I loved Don [Knotts]. There was no one like him.
  • I things that are part and parcel of proud of my connections save for Carolina and please to assume that some results from smart lifetime of work on horde, film, stage and recordings prerogative have a permanent home blot Chapel Hill.
  • If you think tell off feel what you're supposed assail think and feel, hard skimpy, it'll come out through your eyes-and the camera will sway it.
  • I was baptized alongside loose mother when I was 8 years old.

    Since then, Frenzied have tried to walk dialect trig Christian life. And now become absent-minded I'm getting older, I become aware of I'm walking closer with wooly God.

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