Andy Griffith

Born on June 1, 1926, in Mount Airy, North Carolina, Andrew Samuel Griffith rose to prominence as an actor chiefly identified with the 1960s sitcom that carried his name. At the University of North Carolina he first prepared for the ministry before redirecting his energies toward drama and music. His pronounced Southern accent opened doors to parts written for Southern characters, and he appeared in the 1955 Broadway mounting of No Time for Sergeants. The most widely praised of his screen performances arrived in the 1957 feature A Face in the Crowd. Moving to television, he debuted The Andy Griffith Show in 1960, supported by Don Knotts and the young Ron Howard, who later achieved renown as a director. The series concluded in 1968 and generated the sequel Mayberry R.F.D. In the late 1980s Griffith headlined the popular legal drama Matlock. Although his recorded output never matched the acclaim of his acting, he released numerous albums and singles that encompassed comedy material and television soundtracks. His lone chart entry, the 1955 Capitol Records single “Make Yourself Comfortable,” reached number 26 on the U.S. charts. During the 1990s he returned to the studio to produce several successful albums of religious and seasonal music. Griffith died at his home on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, on July 3, 2012, at the age of 86.