Updated: Legendary TV actor Andy Griffith dies

BY RITA SHERROW World Television Editor
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
7/03/12 at 12:01 PM

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Legendary TV actor Andy Griffith has died in North Carolina, WITN News has reported.

Griffith 86, died Tuesday in his Dare County home, Bill Friday, former University of North Caroline president and a close friend of the actor, told WITN. Earlier, Dare County Sheriff Doug Doughtie had confirmed to the station that an ambulance was sent Griffith's home at 7 a.m.

Born June 1, 1926 in Mount Airy, N.C., and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill where he earned a bachelors in music, Griffith started out his acting career as a regular on the Ed Sullivan show in the 1950s.

He was lauded for his starring role in film director Elia Kazan's epic film, "A Face in the Crowd" (1957) before he became better known for his television roles, according to deadline.com.

He became known as "America's Favorite Sheriff" for playing the much-beloved Andy Taylor on "The Andy Griffith Show" from 1960-68. That series, about small-town life set in fictional Mayberry, spawned several spin-off shows. He also produced and starred in the legal series "Matlock."

Griffith earned a Tony nomination for the Broadway play "No Time for Sergeants" and later starred in the film version. He was nominated for an Emmy for his performance in the film "Murder in Texas" and appeared in numerous TV movies.

He was also a Southern gospel singer and won a Grammy in 1997 for his album "I Love to Tell the Story - 25 Timeless Hymns."

Director/producer Ron Howard, who got his start playing Griffith's son Opie on "The Andy Griffith Show," told deadline.com that he has not heard from the actor's family and cannot confirm his death but was aware that Griffith "has not been well for some time."

Howard talked to the website about his mentor Griffith this morning. "His love of creating, the joy he took in it whether it was drama or comedy or his music, was inspiring to grow up around. The spirit he created on the set of 'The Andy Griffith Show' was joyful and professional all at once. It was an amazing environment.

"And I think it was a reflection of the way he felt about having the opportunity to create something that people could enjoy. It was always with respect and passion for the opportunity and really what it could offer people in a very unpretentious and earthy way. He felt he was always working in service of an audience he really respected and cared about. He was a great influence on me.

"His passing is sad. But he lived and had a great rich life."

Here's a clip of Griffith as Lonesome Rhodes in "A Face From the Crowd":

Associated Images:

This Jan. 31, 1983 file photo shows actor Andy Griffith posing in Los Angeles to promote his upcoming CBS-TV film, "Murder in Coweta County". WALLY FONG/AP File Photo

This March 6, 1987 file photo shows actor Andy Griffith in Toluca Lake, Calif. DOUG PIZAC/AP File Photo

This Nov. 9, 2005 file photo shows President Bush presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to actor Andy Griffith in the East Room of the White House. EVAN VUCCI/AP File Photo

This undated file photo provided by Fox Searchlight Pictures shows actor Andy Griffith on the set of "Waitress." AP File Photo/Fox Searchlight Pictures

Patrice Graham and her grandchildren visit a statue of Andy Griffith at Pullen Park in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday ALLEN BREED/AP Photo

Jim Nabors, left, Don Knotts, Andy Griffith and Ron Howard appear in "The Andy Griffith Show Reunion: Back to Mayberry," in this 2003 publicity photo. Griffith died Tuesday at his home on Roanoke island, N.C.RON TOM/CBS/AP Photo