Andy Griffith
Encyclopedia
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American
actor
, director
, producer
, Grammy Award
-winning Southern-gospel
singer, and writer
. He gained prominence in the starring role in director
Elia Kazan
's epic film
A Face in the Crowd (1957) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead characters in the 1960–68 situation comedy
, The Andy Griffith Show
, and in the 1986–95 legal drama
, Matlock
. Griffith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
by US President
George W. Bush
on November 9, 2005.
, the only child
of Geneva (née
Nunn) and Carl Lee Griffith. At a very young age, Griffith had to live with relatives until his parents could afford to get a home of their own. Without a crib
or a bed, he slept in drawers
for a few months. In 1929, when Griffith was three years old, his father took a job working as a carpenter
and was finally able to purchase a home in Mount Airy's "blue-collar
" southside.
Like his mother, Griffith grew up listening to music. His father instilled a sense of humor from old family stories. By the time he entered school he was well aware that he was from what many considered the "wrong side of the tracks". He was a shy student, but once he found a way to make his peers laugh, he began to come into his own.
As a student at Mount Airy High School, Griffith cultivated an interest in the arts, and he participated in the school's drama
program. A growing love of music, particularly swing, would change his life. Griffith was raised Baptist
and looked up to Ed Mickey, a minister at Grace Moravian Church, who led the brass band
and taught him to sing and play the trombone
. Mickey nurtured Griffith's talent throughout high school until graduation in 1944. Griffith was delighted when he was offered a role in The Lost Colony
, a play still performed today on Roanoke Island
. He performed as a cast member of the play for several years, playing a variety of roles, until he finally landed the role of Sir Walter Raleigh
, the namesake
of North Carolina's capital.
He began college studying to be a Moravian preacher, but he changed his major to music and became a part of the school's Carolina Play Makers. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
(UNC) in Chapel Hill
, North Carolina, and graduated with a bachelor of music
degree
in 1949. At UNC he was president of the UNC Men's Glee Club and a member of the Alpha Rho Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
, America's oldest fraternity
for men in music.
After graduation, he taught English for a few years at Goldsboro High School
in Goldsboro
, North Carolina, where he taught, among others, Carl Kasell
. He also began to write.
, delivering long stories such as What it Was, Was Football
, which is told from the point of view of a rural backwoodsman trying to figure out what was going on in a football
game. Released as a single in 1953 on the Colonial label
, the monologue was a hit for Griffith, reaching number nine on the charts in 1954.
Griffith starred in a one-hour teleplay
version of No Time for Sergeants
(March 1955)—a story about a country boy in the US Air Force
—on The United States Steel Hour
, a television anthology series. He expanded that role in a full-length theatrical version of the same name (October 1955) on Broadway
in New York City
, New York
. His Broadway career also included the title role in the 1957 musical, Destry Rides Again, co-starring Delores Gray. The show, with a score by Harold Rome, ran for more than a year.
Griffith later reprised his role for the film version (1958) of No Time for Sergeants
; the film also featured Don Knotts
, as a corporal
in charge of manual-dexterity
tests, marking the beginning of a life-long association between Griffith and Knotts. No Time for Sergeants is considered the direct inspiration for the later television situation comedy Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
He also portrayed a US Coast Guard
sailor in the feature film
Onionhead
(1958); it was neither a critical nor a commercial success.
who becomes a television host
and uses his show as a gateway to political power. Co-starring Patricia Neal
, Walter Matthau
, Tony Franciosa, and Lee Remick
(in her film début as well), this now-classic film, directed by Elia Kazan
, showcases Griffith's powerful talents. Written by Budd Schulberg
, and partly based on the on-stage phoniness of both Arthur Godfrey
and Will Rogers
, the film demonstrated, quite early on, the power that television can have upon the masses. This prescient film was seldom run on television until the 1990s.
A 2005 DVD
reissue of A Face in the Crowd includes a mini-documentary
on the film, with comments from Schulberg and surviving cast members Griffith, Franciosa, and Neal. In his interview, Griffith, revered for his wholesome image for decades, reveals a more complex side of himself. He recalls Kazan prepping him to shoot his first scene with Remick's teenaged baton twirler, who captivates Griffith's character on a trip to Arkansas
. Griffith also expresses his belief that the film was far more popular and respected in more recent decades than it was when originally released.
In 1960, Griffith appeared as a county sheriff
(who was also a justice of the peace
and the editor
of the local newspaper) in an episode
of Make Room for Daddy, starring Danny Thomas
. This episode, in which Thomas' character is stopped for speeding in a little town, served as a backdoor pilot for The Andy Griffith Show. Both shows were produced by Sheldon Leonard
.
for the CBS
television network
. The show took place in the fictional town of Mayberry
, North Carolina, where Taylor, a widower, was the sheriff and town sage
. The show was filmed at Desilu Studios, with exteriors filmed at Forty Acres in Culver City, CA.
From 1960 to 1965, the show co-starred character actor
and comedian—and Griffith's longtime friend—Don Knotts
in the role of Deputy Barney Fife
, Taylor's best friend and partner. He was also Taylor's cousin in the show. In the series première episode, in a conversation between the two, Fife calls Taylor "Cousin Andy", and Taylor calls Fife "Cousin Barney". The show also starred child actor
Ron Howard
(then known as Ronny Howard), who played Taylor's only child, Opie Taylor.
It was an immediate hit. Although Griffith never received a writing credit for the show, he worked on the development of every script. While Knotts was frequently lauded and won multiple Emmy Award
s for his comedic performances (as did Frances Bavier in 1967), Griffith was never nominated for an Emmy Award during the show's run.
In 1967, Griffith was under contract with CBS to do one more season of the show. However, he decided to quit the show to pursue a movie career and other projects. The series continued as Mayberry R.F.D.
, with Ken Berry
starring as a widower farmer
and many of the regular characters recurring, some regularly and some as guest appearances. Griffith served as executive producer
(according to Griffith, he came in once a week to review the week's scripts and give input) and guest starred in five episodes (the pilot episode involved his marriage to Helen Crump). He made final appearances as Taylor in the 1986 reunion television film
, Return to Mayberry
, and in two reunion specials in 1993 and 2003.
(1970), The New Andy Griffith Show
(1971), Adams of Eagle Lake
(1975) Salvage 1
(1979), and The Yeagers (1980).
After spending time in rehabilitation for leg paralysis
from Guillain–Barré syndrome in 1986, Griffith returned to television as the title character, Ben Matlock, in the legal drama Matlock
(1986–1995) on NBC and ABC. Matlock was a country lawyer
in Atlanta, Georgia
, who was known for his Southern drawl
and for always winning his cases. Matlock also starred unfamiliar actors (both of whom were childhood fans of Andy Griffith) Nancy Stafford
as Michelle Thomas (1987–1992) and Clarence Gilyard
Jr. as Conrad McMasters (1989–1993). By the end of its first season it was a ratings powerhouse on Tuesday nights. Although the show was nominated for four Emmy Awards, Griffith once again was never nominated. He did, however, win a People's Choice Award in 1987 for his work as Matlock.
During the series' sixth season, he served as unofficial director, executive producer and writer of the show.
, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
, The Mod Squad
, Hawaii Five-O
, The Doris Day Show
, Here's Lucy
, The Bionic Woman
, Fantasy Island
, among many others. He also reprised his role as Ben Matlock on Diagnosis: Murder
in 1997, and his most recent guest-starring role was in 2001 in an episode of Dawson's Creek
.
(1972), Go Ask Alice
(1973), Winter Kill
(1974), and Pray for the Wildcats
(1974), which marked his first villainous role. Griffith appeared again as a villain in Savages
(1974), a television film based on the novel Deathwatch (1972) by Robb White
. Griffith received his only Primetime Emmy Award
nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie for his role as the father of a murder victim in the television film Murder In Texas
(1981) and won further acclaim for his role as a homicidal
villain
in the television film Murder in Coweta County
(1983), co-starring music legend Johnny Cash
as the sheriff. He also proved to be a good character actor and appeared in several television mini-series
, including the television version of From Here to Eternity
(1979), Roots: The Next Generations
(1979), Centennial
(1978), and the Watergate scandal
-inspired Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977), playing a former president loosely based on Lyndon B. Johnson
.
Most of the TV movies Griffith starred in were also attempts to launch a new series. 1974's Winter Kill
launched the short lived Adams of Eagle Lake
which was canceled after only two episodes in 1975. A year later, he starred as a New York City attorney for the DA's office in Street Killing which also failed to launch a new series. Two television films for NBC in 1977, The Girl in The Empty Grave and Deadly Game, were attempts for Griffith to launch a new series featuring him as Police Chief Abel Marsh, a more hard-edged version of Andy Taylor; despite strong ratings for both films, both were unsuccessful.
While appearing in television films and guest roles on television series over the next 10 years, Griffith also appeared in two feature films, both of which flopped at the box office. He co-starred with Jeff Bridges
as a crusty old 1930s western actor in the comedy Hearts of the West
(1975), and he appeared alongside Tom Berenger
as a gay villainous colonel
and cattle baron in the western comedy spoof Rustlers' Rhapsody
(1985).
He also appeared as an attorney in the NBC mini-series Fatal Vision
in 1984, which is considered a precursor to his role in Matlock
.
Griffith stunned many unfamiliar with his A Face in the Crowd work in the television film Crime of Innocence (1985), where he portrayed a callous judge who routinely sentenced juveniles to hard prison time. He further stunned audiences with his role as a dangerous and mysterious grandfather in 1995's Gramps
, co-starring the late John Ritter
. He also appeared as a comical villain in the spy movie spoof Spy Hard
(1996) starring Leslie Nielsen
. In the television film A Holiday Romance
(1999), Griffith played the role of "Jake Peterson." In the film Daddy and Them
(2001), Griffith portrayed a patriarch of a dysfunctional southern family.
In the feature film Waitress (2007), Griffith played a crusty diner
owner who takes a shine to Keri Russell
's character. His latest appearance was the leading role in the romantic comedy
, independent film
Play The Game (2009) as a lonely, widowed grandfather re-entering the dating world after a 60-year hiatus. The cast of Play The Game also included Rance Howard
, Ron Howard's real-life father, who made appearances in various supporting roles on The Andy Griffith Show, and Clint Howard
, Ron's younger brother, who had the recurring role of Leon (the kid offering the ice cream cone or peanut butter sandwich) on TAGS.
hymn
s for Sparrow Records
. His most successful was the 1996 release I Love to Tell the Story: 25 Timeless Hymns, which was certified platinum by the RIAA.
Griffith appeared in country singer Brad Paisley
's music video
"Waitin' on a Woman
" (2008).
, Wisconsin
, legally changed his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith and ran unsuccessfully for sheriff of Grant County
in November 2006. Subsequently, actor Griffith filed a lawsuit against Griffith/Fenrick, asserting that he violated trademark, copyright
, and privacy
laws by changing his name for the "sole purpose of taking advantage of Griffith's notoriety in an attempt to gain votes". On May 4, 2007, US District Court
Judge
John C. Shabaz
ruled that Griffith/Fenrick did not violate federal
trademark law because he did not use the Griffith name in a commercial transaction but instead strove "to seek elective office, fundamental First Amendment protected speech."
. They met when Armstrong was one of Griffith's and his first wife's students at UNC, where Armstrong majored in drama. After graduating from college, Armstrong went on to become a versatile character actor while attending The Actors Studio
in New York City.
In the 1960s, they were reunited in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, with Armstrong playing a farmer who was the father of a tomboy
. In the 1980s, Armstrong made a guest appearance in a two-part episode of Matlock, which was filmed in Wilmington
, North Carolina (Griffith's place of residence), playing the role of a sheriff who introduces Matlock to a young, hotshot private investigator. Griffith and Armstrong keep in contact.
They kept in contact until Knotts' death in early 2006. Griffith traveled from his Manteo, North Carolina
home to Los Angeles
, California
, to visit a terminally ill Knotts in the hospital just before Knotts died from complications of lung cancer
.
series, Mayberry R.F.D., in an episode where Griffith's character married his long-time girlfriend. They also appeared in the episode Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain, in which Howard's character, Opie, runs away from home and attempts to enlist in the US Marines
. Howard and Griffith starred together in most of "The Andy Griffith Show" episodes. They costarred in the television special Return to Mayberry (1986), in which the now-adult Opie is about to become a father, and they later appeared together in CBS reunion specials in 1993 and 2003.
Griffith made a surprise appearance as the ghost of Andy Taylor when Howard hosted Saturday Night Live
in 1982. Howard did not make any cameo appearance
s on Matlock, but his mother, Jean Speegle Howard
, had a small role in one episode. Howard attended the People's Choice Awards in 1987, where Griffith was honored.
Howard and Griffith keep in contact sharing news about family and personal activities. Howard and his family attended Waitress (2007), which they reportedly enjoyed. To this day, Griffith still calls Howard by his childhood nickname, "Ronny".
In October 2008, Griffith and Howard briefly reprised their Mayberry roles in an online video
Ron Howard’s Call to Action. It was posted to comedy video website Funny or Die
. The video encouraged people to vote and endorsed Democratic Party
US presidential candidate Barack Obama
, and US vice-presidential
candidate Joe Biden
.
, and a daughter, Dixie Nan. They were divorced in 1972. Sam died in 1996 after years of alcoholism
.
In 1975 Griffith and Solica Cassuto were married; they were divorced in 1981.
He and Cindi Knight were married on April 12, 1983; they had met when he was filming Murder in Coweta County.
s endorsing North Carolina Governor
s Mike Easley
and Bev Perdue
. He spoke at the inauguration
ceremonies of both. In 1984, he declined an offer by Democratic party officials to run against Jesse Helms
, a US Senator
from North Carolina.
In July 2010, he also starred in ads about Medicare.
and could not walk for seven months because of paralysis from the knees down.
On May 9, 2000, he underwent quadruple
heart
-bypass surgery
at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
in Norfolk
, Virginia
.
After a fall, Griffith underwent hip surgery on September 5, 2007, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
in Los Angeles.
A statue of the Mayberry characters, Andy and Opie, was constructed in Pullen Park
in Raleigh, North Carolina
, and at the Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mount Airy.
C.F. Martin & Company, guitar
manufacturers, offers an Andy Griffith signature model guitar. Limited edition in 2004 of the D-18 Model with 311 units total production. Patterned after Andy's own 1956 D-18.
Griffith received a Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album
for I Love to Tell the Story — 25 Timeless Hymns in 1997.
In 1999 Griffith was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame with fellow artists Lulu Roman
, Barbara Mandrell
, David L. Cook
, Gary S. Paxton
, Jimmy Snow, Loretta Lynn
, and Jody Miller
.
In October 2002, an 11 miles (17.7 km) stretch of US Highway 52
that passes through Mount Airy was dedicated as the Andy Griffith Parkway.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush on November 9, 2005.
A few weeks earlier, he had helped preside over the reopening of UNC's Memorial Hall
and donated a substantial amount of memorabilia from his career to the university.
In 2007, he was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning Southern-gospel
Southern Gospel
Southern Gospel music—at one time also known as "quartet music"—is music whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
singer, and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. He gained prominence in the starring role in director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
's epic film
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
A Face in the Crowd (1957) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead characters in the 1960–68 situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, and in the 1986–95 legal drama
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
, Matlock
Matlock (TV series)
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar...
. Griffith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
by US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on November 9, 2005.
Early life and education
Griffith was born in Mount Airy, North CarolinaMount Airy, North Carolina
Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,388.-History:Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem and Galax, Virginia. It was named for a nearby plantation...
, the only child
Only child
An only child is a person with no siblings, either biological or adopted. In a family with multiple offspring, first-borns, may be briefly considered only children and have a similar early family environment, but the term only child is generally applied only to those individuals who never have...
of Geneva (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Nunn) and Carl Lee Griffith. At a very young age, Griffith had to live with relatives until his parents could afford to get a home of their own. Without a crib
Infant bed
An infant bed is a small bed specifically for infants and very young children, generally up to 3 years old....
or a bed, he slept in drawers
Chest of drawers
A chest of drawers, also called a dresser or a bureau, is a piece of furniture that has multiple parallel, horizontal drawers stacked one above another...
for a few months. In 1929, when Griffith was three years old, his father took a job working as a carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
and was finally able to purchase a home in Mount Airy's "blue-collar
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
" southside.
Like his mother, Griffith grew up listening to music. His father instilled a sense of humor from old family stories. By the time he entered school he was well aware that he was from what many considered the "wrong side of the tracks". He was a shy student, but once he found a way to make his peers laugh, he began to come into his own.
As a student at Mount Airy High School, Griffith cultivated an interest in the arts, and he participated in the school's drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
program. A growing love of music, particularly swing, would change his life. Griffith was raised Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
and looked up to Ed Mickey, a minister at Grace Moravian Church, who led the brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
and taught him to sing and play the trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
. Mickey nurtured Griffith's talent throughout high school until graduation in 1944. Griffith was delighted when he was offered a role in The Lost Colony
Lost Colony (play)
The Lost Colony is a historical play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green about Roanoke, the first English colony in North America. The play is based on the historical accounts of Sir Walter Raleigh's failed attempts to establish a permanent settlement in the 1580s in part of what was...
, a play still performed today on Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County near the coast of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English exploration....
. He performed as a cast member of the play for several years, playing a variety of roles, until he finally landed the role of Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
, the namesake
Namesake
Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another....
of North Carolina's capital.
He began college studying to be a Moravian preacher, but he changed his major to music and became a part of the school's Carolina Play Makers. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
(UNC) in Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
, North Carolina, and graduated with a bachelor of music
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in 1949. At UNC he was president of the UNC Men's Glee Club and a member of the Alpha Rho Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...
, America's oldest fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
for men in music.
After graduation, he taught English for a few years at Goldsboro High School
Goldsboro High School
Goldsboro High School is a public high school located in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Goldsboro High School was classified as a 2-A school with an enrollment of 858 students , but now is classified as a 1-A school....
in Goldsboro
Goldsboro, North Carolina
Goldsboro is a city in Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 37,597 at the 2008 census estimate. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The nearby town of Waynesboro was founded in 1787 and Goldsboro was...
, North Carolina, where he taught, among others, Carl Kasell
Carl Kasell
Carl Kasell is an American radio personality, most widely known as a newscaster for National Public Radio and as the official judge and scorekeeper of the weekly news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!.-Early life:...
. He also began to write.
From rising comedian to film star
Griffith's early career was as a monologistMonologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
, delivering long stories such as What it Was, Was Football
What it Was, Was Football
"What it Was, Was Football" is a monologue by comedian Andy Griffith. It was recorded in Raleigh, NC for the Colonial label in 1953. Soon, Colonial had sold nearly 50,000 copies of the record and then sold the masters to Capitol Records...
, which is told from the point of view of a rural backwoodsman trying to figure out what was going on in a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game. Released as a single in 1953 on the Colonial label
Colonial Records
Colonial Records was a record label located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The records were distributed by ABC-Paramount Records until 1959-1960 when it was distributed by London Records. The label was owned by Orville Campbell. Some of Colonial Records artist were Andy Griffith, Bill Craddock,...
, the monologue was a hit for Griffith, reaching number nine on the charts in 1954.
Griffith starred in a one-hour teleplay
Teleplay
A teleplay is a television play, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a television plays from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films...
version of No Time for Sergeants
No Time for Sergeants
No Time for Sergeants is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was later adapted into a teleplay on The United States Steel Hour, a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chronicles the misadventures of a country bumpkin named Will...
(March 1955)—a story about a country boy in the US Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
—on The United States Steel Hour
The United States Steel Hour
The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation....
, a television anthology series. He expanded that role in a full-length theatrical version of the same name (October 1955) on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His Broadway career also included the title role in the 1957 musical, Destry Rides Again, co-starring Delores Gray. The show, with a score by Harold Rome, ran for more than a year.
Griffith later reprised his role for the film version (1958) of No Time for Sergeants
No Time for Sergeants (1958 film)
No Time for Sergeants is a 1958 American comedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy starring Andy Griffith and featuring Myron McCormick, Don Knotts and most of the original Broadway cast. Warner Brothers contract player Nick Adams joined the cast as Stockdale's fellow military draftee Benjamin B....
; the film also featured Don Knotts
Don Knotts
Jesse Donald "Don" Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards...
, as a corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
in charge of manual-dexterity
Fine motor skill
Fine motor skills are the coordination of small muscle movements which occur e.g., in the fingers, usually in coordination with the eyes. In application to motor skills of hands the term dexterity is commonly used....
tests, marking the beginning of a life-long association between Griffith and Knotts. No Time for Sergeants is considered the direct inspiration for the later television situation comedy Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
He also portrayed a US Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
sailor in the feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
Onionhead
Onionhead
Onionhead is a 1958 movie, set on a U.S. Coast Guard cutter during World War II, starring Andy Griffith and featuring Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau, and Erin O'Brien....
(1958); it was neither a critical nor a commercial success.
Dramatic role in A Face in the Crowd (1957)
In 1957 Griffith made his film début, starring in the film A Face in the Crowd. Although he plays a "country boy", this country boy is manipulative and power-hungry, a drifterVagabond (person)
A vagabond is a drifter and an itinerant wanderer who roams wherever they please, following the whim of the moment. Vagabonds may lack residence, a job, and even citizenship....
who becomes a television host
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and uses his show as a gateway to political power. Co-starring Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her film roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still , wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany's , middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud , for which she won...
, Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
, Tony Franciosa, and Lee Remick
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
(in her film début as well), this now-classic film, directed by Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
, showcases Griffith's powerful talents. Written by Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his 1941 novel, What Makes Sammy Run?, his 1947 novel The Harder They Fall, his 1954 Academy-award-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront, and his 1957 screenplay for A Face in the...
, and partly based on the on-stage phoniness of both Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...
and Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
, the film demonstrated, quite early on, the power that television can have upon the masses. This prescient film was seldom run on television until the 1990s.
A 2005 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
reissue of A Face in the Crowd includes a mini-documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
on the film, with comments from Schulberg and surviving cast members Griffith, Franciosa, and Neal. In his interview, Griffith, revered for his wholesome image for decades, reveals a more complex side of himself. He recalls Kazan prepping him to shoot his first scene with Remick's teenaged baton twirler, who captivates Griffith's character on a trip to Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. Griffith also expresses his belief that the film was far more popular and respected in more recent decades than it was when originally released.
Early television roles
Griffith's first appearance on television had been in 1955 in the one-hour teleplay of No Time for Sergeants on The United States Steel Hour. That was the first of two appearances on that series.In 1960, Griffith appeared as a county sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
(who was also a justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
and the editor
Copy editing
Copy editing is the work that an editor does to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy of text. Unlike general editing, copy editing might not involve changing the substance of the text. Copy refers to written or typewritten text for typesetting, printing, or publication...
of the local newspaper) in an episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
of Make Room for Daddy, starring Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
. This episode, in which Thomas' character is stopped for speeding in a little town, served as a backdoor pilot for The Andy Griffith Show. Both shows were produced by Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard was a pioneering American film and television producer, director, writer, and actor.-Biography:...
.
The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
Beginning in 1960, Griffith starred as Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
for the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. The show took place in the fictional town of Mayberry
Mayberry
Mayberry is a fictional community in North Carolina that was the setting for two American television sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reunion television movie titled Return to Mayberry...
, North Carolina, where Taylor, a widower, was the sheriff and town sage
Wise old man
The wise old man is an archetype as described by Carl Jung, as well as a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character...
. The show was filmed at Desilu Studios, with exteriors filmed at Forty Acres in Culver City, CA.
From 1960 to 1965, the show co-starred character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
and comedian—and Griffith's longtime friend—Don Knotts
Don Knotts
Jesse Donald "Don" Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards...
in the role of Deputy Barney Fife
Barney Fife
Bernard "Barney" Fife is a fictional character in the American television program The Andy Griffith Show, portrayed by comic actor Don Knotts. Barney Fife is a deputy sheriff in the slow paced, sleepy southern community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, Taylor's best friend and partner. He was also Taylor's cousin in the show. In the series première episode, in a conversation between the two, Fife calls Taylor "Cousin Andy", and Taylor calls Fife "Cousin Barney". The show also starred child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
(then known as Ronny Howard), who played Taylor's only child, Opie Taylor.
It was an immediate hit. Although Griffith never received a writing credit for the show, he worked on the development of every script. While Knotts was frequently lauded and won multiple Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for his comedic performances (as did Frances Bavier in 1967), Griffith was never nominated for an Emmy Award during the show's run.
In 1967, Griffith was under contract with CBS to do one more season of the show. However, he decided to quit the show to pursue a movie career and other projects. The series continued as Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D. is a spin-off and direct continuation of The Andy Griffith Show under a new title, for the same sponsor, General Foods...
, with Ken Berry
Ken Berry
Kenneth Ronald "Ken" Berry is an American dancer, comedic actor and singer. He began on stage as a dancer and later starred in television sitcoms.-Life and career:...
starring as a widower farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
and many of the regular characters recurring, some regularly and some as guest appearances. Griffith served as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
(according to Griffith, he came in once a week to review the week's scripts and give input) and guest starred in five episodes (the pilot episode involved his marriage to Helen Crump). He made final appearances as Taylor in the 1986 reunion television film
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
, Return to Mayberry
Return to Mayberry
Return to Mayberry is an American television reunion movie for the 1960s American sitcoms The Andy Griffith Show and, to an extent, Mayberry R.F.D. as well. The movie premiered on April 13, 1986 on NBC, and was the highest-rated telemovie of 1986. Sixteen of the original cast members reunited for...
, and in two reunion specials in 1993 and 2003.
Matlock (1986–1995)
After leaving his still-popular show in 1968, and starting his own production company (Andy Griffith Enterprises) in 1972, Griffith starred in less-successful television series such as HeadmasterThe Headmaster (TV series)
Headmaster is a half-hour television comedy-drama starring Andy Griffith and broadcast by CBS in the United States during the 1970-71 season....
(1970), The New Andy Griffith Show
The New Andy Griffith Show
The New Andy Griffith Show is an American situation comedy broadcast in the United States by the CBS television network in 1971.-History:...
(1971), Adams of Eagle Lake
Adams of Eagle Lake
Adams of Eagle Lake is an American hour-long police series that aired on ABC in 1975. Andy Griffith starred as Sheriff Sam Adams and the episodes presented his attempts to maintain the law in a small resort town...
(1975) Salvage 1
Salvage 1
Salvage 1 is an American science fiction series that aired for 16 episodes on ABC during 1979. The pilot film, Salvage, aired on January 20, 1979 to high ratings....
(1979), and The Yeagers (1980).
After spending time in rehabilitation for leg paralysis
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
from Guillain–Barré syndrome in 1986, Griffith returned to television as the title character, Ben Matlock, in the legal drama Matlock
Matlock (TV series)
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar...
(1986–1995) on NBC and ABC. Matlock was a country lawyer
Country Lawyer
In the United States, a country lawyer, or county-seat lawyer, is an attorney who has completed little or no formal legal training and has become a member of a county bar or a state bar after "reading law"; traditionally, these lawyers practiced general law in a rural setting, or on the frontier...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, who was known for his Southern drawl
Southern American English
Southern American English is a group of dialects of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from Southern and Eastern Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky to the Gulf Coast, and from the Atlantic coast to most of Texas and Oklahoma.The Southern dialects make...
and for always winning his cases. Matlock also starred unfamiliar actors (both of whom were childhood fans of Andy Griffith) Nancy Stafford
Nancy Stafford
Nancy Elizabeth Stafford is an American prolific character actress of stage, speaker and author, known for her roles in soap operas and television. She came to prominence in the 1980s as Ben Matlock's law partner and friend, Michelle Thomas, on Matlock , before she played Judge Bell on Judging Amy...
as Michelle Thomas (1987–1992) and Clarence Gilyard
Clarence Gilyard
Clarence Darnell Gilyard, Jr. is a former American actor and a current college professor who has been featured in movies and television since 1980. He is sometimes credited as Clarence A...
Jr. as Conrad McMasters (1989–1993). By the end of its first season it was a ratings powerhouse on Tuesday nights. Although the show was nominated for four Emmy Awards, Griffith once again was never nominated. He did, however, win a People's Choice Award in 1987 for his work as Matlock.
During the series' sixth season, he served as unofficial director, executive producer and writer of the show.
Other television appearances
Griffith has also made other character appearances through the years on Playhouse 90Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
, The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, and Tige Andrews...
, Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run...
, Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...
, The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman is an American television series starring Lindsay Wagner that aired for three seasons between 1976 and 1978 as a spin off from The Six Million Dollar Man. Wagner stars as tennis pro Jaime Sommers who is nearly killed in a skydiving accident. Sommers' life is saved by Oscar Goldman ...
, Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, among many others. He also reprised his role as Ben Matlock on Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
in 1997, and his most recent guest-starring role was in 2001 in an episode of Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
.
Films (including television films)
For most of the 1970s, Griffith starred or appeared in many television films including The Strangers In 7AThe Strangers In 7A
The Strangers in 7A is a television movie drama/thriller starring Andy Griffith, Ida Lupino, and Michael Brandon that aired on CBS in November 1972. It is the first real dramatic role for Griffith following his eight year run on The Andy Griffith Show, and his two unsuccessful series follow-ups...
(1972), Go Ask Alice
Go Ask Alice
Go Ask Alice is a controversial 1971 book about the life of a troubled teenage girl. The book continues its claim to be the actual diary of an anonymous teenage girl who became addicted to drugs, but this has been dismissed as false. Beatrice Sparks is listed as the author of the book by the United...
(1973), Winter Kill
Winter Kill
Winter Kill is a 1974 U.S. made-for-tv movie directed by Jud Taylor and written by John Michael Hayes and David Karp. It stars Andy Griffith as Sam McNeill, the sheriff in a small resort town in the mountains of northern California...
(1974), and Pray for the Wildcats
Pray for the Wildcats
Pray for the Wildcats is a 1974 U.S. television film that originally aired as an ABC Movie of the Week. It is a thriller-drama about a psychopathic business executive chasing his workers on dirtbikes through the desert after he killed a young man. The film was directed by Robert Michael Lewis and...
(1974), which marked his first villainous role. Griffith appeared again as a villain in Savages
Savages (1974 film)
Savages is an American TV movie based on the book Deathwatch by Robb White. It stars Andy Griffith as Madec and Sam Bottoms as Ben. -Plot:A successful Los Angeles lawyer and hunter, Madec, receives a rare permit to hunt Bighorn Sheep in the nearby Mojave Desert...
(1974), a television film based on the novel Deathwatch (1972) by Robb White
Robb White
Robb White was a writer of screenplays, television scripts, and adventure novels; most of the latter had a maritime setting — often the Pacific Navy during World War II. White was best known for juvenile fiction, though he has proven popular with adults as well...
. Griffith received his only Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie for his role as the father of a murder victim in the television film Murder In Texas
Murder in Texas
Murder in Texas is a 1981 television film that starred Katharine Ross, Sam Elliott, Farrah Fawcett, and Andy Griffith. The film was directed by William Hale, and was based on a true story; that was written for the TV screen by John McGreevey.-Plot:...
(1981) and won further acclaim for his role as a homicidal
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
in the television film Murder in Coweta County
Murder in Coweta County
The murder in Coweta County was an April 1948 act of murder committed in Coweta County in the U.S. state of Georgia and involving the sheriff of neighboring Meriwether County...
(1983), co-starring music legend Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
as the sheriff. He also proved to be a good character actor and appeared in several television mini-series
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
, including the television version of From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity (TV series)
From Here to Eternity was a six-hour 1979 television mini-series, followed by a thirteen episode 1980 television series.The mini-series was a remake of the 1953 film From Here to Eternity and based on the 1951 novel of the same name...
(1979), Roots: The Next Generations
Roots: The Next Generations
Roots: The Next Generations is a 1979 television miniseries that continues the story of the family of Alex Haley from the 1880s, and their life in Henning, Tennessee, to the 1960s, with Haley researching his family history and his travels to Africa to learn of his ancestor, Kunta Kinte...
(1979), Centennial
Centennial (miniseries)
Centennial is a 12-episode American television miniseriesthat aired on NBC from October 1978 to February 1979. It was based on the novel of the same name by James A. Michener. The miniseries was produced by John Wilder....
(1978), and the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
-inspired Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977), playing a former president loosely based on Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
.
Most of the TV movies Griffith starred in were also attempts to launch a new series. 1974's Winter Kill
Winter Kill
Winter Kill is a 1974 U.S. made-for-tv movie directed by Jud Taylor and written by John Michael Hayes and David Karp. It stars Andy Griffith as Sam McNeill, the sheriff in a small resort town in the mountains of northern California...
launched the short lived Adams of Eagle Lake
Adams of Eagle Lake
Adams of Eagle Lake is an American hour-long police series that aired on ABC in 1975. Andy Griffith starred as Sheriff Sam Adams and the episodes presented his attempts to maintain the law in a small resort town...
which was canceled after only two episodes in 1975. A year later, he starred as a New York City attorney for the DA's office in Street Killing which also failed to launch a new series. Two television films for NBC in 1977, The Girl in The Empty Grave and Deadly Game, were attempts for Griffith to launch a new series featuring him as Police Chief Abel Marsh, a more hard-edged version of Andy Taylor; despite strong ratings for both films, both were unsuccessful.
While appearing in television films and guest roles on television series over the next 10 years, Griffith also appeared in two feature films, both of which flopped at the box office. He co-starred with Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
as a crusty old 1930s western actor in the comedy Hearts of the West
Hearts of the West
Hearts of the West is a 1975 comedy film directed by Howard Zieff, and starring Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Blythe Danner, and Alan Arkin. The story revolves around a wannabe 1930s writer who finds himself cast as a leading man in several B-movie westerns....
(1975), and he appeared alongside Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
as a gay villainous colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and cattle baron in the western comedy spoof Rustlers' Rhapsody
Rustlers' Rhapsody
Rustlers' Rhapsody is an American comedy-Western film. It is a parody of many Western conventions, most visibly of the singing cowboy films that were prominent in the 1930s and the 1940s...
(1985).
He also appeared as an attorney in the NBC mini-series Fatal Vision
Fatal Vision
Fatal Vision is a best-selling true crime book published in 1983 by journalist and author Joe McGinniss. The following year it was made into an NBC television miniseries under the same name. Fatal Vision is the real-life story of Captain Jeffrey MacDonald, M.D., who in 1979 was convicted of the...
in 1984, which is considered a precursor to his role in Matlock
Matlock (TV series)
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar...
.
Griffith stunned many unfamiliar with his A Face in the Crowd work in the television film Crime of Innocence (1985), where he portrayed a callous judge who routinely sentenced juveniles to hard prison time. He further stunned audiences with his role as a dangerous and mysterious grandfather in 1995's Gramps
GRAMPS
The core export file format of Gramps is named Gramps XML and uses the file extension .gramps. It is extended from XML. Gramps XML is a free format. Gramps usually compresses Gramps XML files with gzip. The file format Portable Gramps XML Package uses the extension .gpkg and is currently a .tar.gz...
, co-starring the late John Ritter
John Ritter
Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
. He also appeared as a comical villain in the spy movie spoof Spy Hard
Spy Hard
Spy Hard is a 1996 American spy comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond films and other action films. The introduction to the song is sung by comedy artist "Weird Al" Yankovic-Plot:...
(1996) starring Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
. In the television film A Holiday Romance
A Holiday Romance
A Holiday Romance is a 1999 film directed by Bobby Roth and starring Naomi Judd, Andy Griffith, and Gerald McRaney. This film has been released on DVD.-Cast:*Naomi Judd - Lily Waite*Andy Griffith - Jake Peterson*Gerald McRaney - Cal Peterson...
(1999), Griffith played the role of "Jake Peterson." In the film Daddy and Them
Daddy and Them
Daddy and Them is a 2001 American film written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton.Jim Varney died before the movie's release. It was the last movie he appeared in.-Plot:...
(2001), Griffith portrayed a patriarch of a dysfunctional southern family.
In the feature film Waitress (2007), Griffith played a crusty diner
Diner
A diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
owner who takes a shine to Keri Russell
Keri Russell
Keri Lynn Russell is an American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002, and for which she won a Golden Globe...
's character. His latest appearance was the leading role in the romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
, independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
Play The Game (2009) as a lonely, widowed grandfather re-entering the dating world after a 60-year hiatus. The cast of Play The Game also included Rance Howard
Rance Howard
Rance Howard is an American actor who has starred in film and on television.-Life and career:Howard was born Harold Rance Beckenholdt in Oklahoma, the son of Ethel Cleo and Engel Beckenholdt, a farmer. He changed his name to "Rance Howard" when he became an actor. He married Jean Speegle Howard...
, Ron Howard's real-life father, who made appearances in various supporting roles on The Andy Griffith Show, and Clint Howard
Clint Howard
Clinton "Clint" Howard is an American film and television actor. He is a character actor with numerous brief appearances on television and films. He has played many bit parts in movies directed by his brother, actor-turned-director Ron Howard. He is also the uncle of actress Bryce Dallas Howard...
, Ron's younger brother, who had the recurring role of Leon (the kid offering the ice cream cone or peanut butter sandwich) on TAGS.
Singing and recording career
Griffith sang as part of some of his acting roles, most notably in A Face In The Crowd and in many episodes of both The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock. In addition to his recordings of comic monologues in the 1950s, he made an album of upbeat country and gospel tunes during the run of The Andy Griffith Show, which included a version of the show's theme sung by Griffith under the title "The Fishin' Hole". In recent years, he has recorded successful albums of classic ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s for Sparrow Records
Sparrow Records
-Background:Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then A&R director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by EMI in 1992, it is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group, and has been named by Billboard Magazine as "America's Best Christian Music Record Label"...
. His most successful was the 1996 release I Love to Tell the Story: 25 Timeless Hymns, which was certified platinum by the RIAA.
Griffith appeared in country singer Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley
Brad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....
's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
"Waitin' on a Woman
Waitin' on a Woman
"Waitin' on a Woman" is the title of a song written by Don Sampson and Wynn Varble, and recorded three times by American country music artist Brad Paisley. His first recording of the song was included on his 2005 album Time Well Wasted. Three years later, Paisley re-recorded the song for inclusion...
" (2008).
Name dispute
William Harold Fenrick of PlattevillePlatteville, Wisconsin
Platteville is the largest city in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin. The population was 11,224 at the 2010 census, growing 12% since the 2000 Census. Much of this growth is likely due to the enrollment increase of the University of Wisconsin–Platteville...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, legally changed his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith and ran unsuccessfully for sheriff of Grant County
Grant County, Wisconsin
Grant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 49,597. Its county seat is Lancaster. Estimates for 2008 show a population of 49,238...
in November 2006. Subsequently, actor Griffith filed a lawsuit against Griffith/Fenrick, asserting that he violated trademark, copyright
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
, and privacy
Privacy law
Privacy law refers to the laws which deal with the regulation of personal information about individuals which can be collected by governments and other public as well as private organizations and its storage and use....
laws by changing his name for the "sole purpose of taking advantage of Griffith's notoriety in an attempt to gain votes". On May 4, 2007, US District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
John C. Shabaz
John C. Shabaz
-Background:Shabaz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He went to University of Wisconsin–Madison. He received an LL.B. from Marquette University Law School in 1957. He served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956...
ruled that Griffith/Fenrick did not violate federal
Law of the United States
The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
trademark law because he did not use the Griffith name in a commercial transaction but instead strove "to seek elective office, fundamental First Amendment protected speech."
R.G. Armstrong
The longest association Griffith has had began in 1949 with a then-unknown actor, R.G. ArmstrongR. G. Armstrong
Robert Golden "R.G." Armstrong is an American actor and playwright. A veteran character actor who appeared in dozens of Westerns over the course of his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with director Sam Peckinpah....
. They met when Armstrong was one of Griffith's and his first wife's students at UNC, where Armstrong majored in drama. After graduating from college, Armstrong went on to become a versatile character actor while attending The Actors Studio
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
in New York City.
In the 1960s, they were reunited in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, with Armstrong playing a farmer who was the father of a tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
. In the 1980s, Armstrong made a guest appearance in a two-part episode of Matlock, which was filmed in Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, North Carolina (Griffith's place of residence), playing the role of a sheriff who introduces Matlock to a young, hotshot private investigator. Griffith and Armstrong keep in contact.
Don Knotts
Griffith's relationship with Knotts began in 1955, when they co-starred in the Broadway play No Time for Sergeants. Several years later, Knotts had a regular role on The Andy Griffith Show for five seasons. Knotts left the series in 1965 but periodically returned for guest appearances. He appeared in the pilot for Griffith's subsequent short-lived series, The New Andy Griffith Show, and he had a recurring role on Matlock, from 1988 to 1992.They kept in contact until Knotts' death in early 2006. Griffith traveled from his Manteo, North Carolina
Manteo, North Carolina
Manteo is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, located on Roanoke Island. The population was 1,052 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dare County.-Geography:...
home to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, to visit a terminally ill Knotts in the hospital just before Knotts died from complications of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
Ron Howard
Griffith's friendship with Howard began in 1960, when they guest-starred in the episode of Make Room For Daddy that led to the formation of The Andy Griffith Show that same year. For eight seasons they shared a unique father-son relationship on the set. They guest-starred together in its spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series, Mayberry R.F.D., in an episode where Griffith's character married his long-time girlfriend. They also appeared in the episode Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain, in which Howard's character, Opie, runs away from home and attempts to enlist in the US Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. Howard and Griffith starred together in most of "The Andy Griffith Show" episodes. They costarred in the television special Return to Mayberry (1986), in which the now-adult Opie is about to become a father, and they later appeared together in CBS reunion specials in 1993 and 2003.
Griffith made a surprise appearance as the ghost of Andy Taylor when Howard hosted Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in 1982. Howard did not make any cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s on Matlock, but his mother, Jean Speegle Howard
Jean Speegle Howard
Jean Speegle Howard was an American actress who acted primarily in film and on television. Howard made appearances in over 30 television shows, mostly sitcoms, such as Married.....
, had a small role in one episode. Howard attended the People's Choice Awards in 1987, where Griffith was honored.
Howard and Griffith keep in contact sharing news about family and personal activities. Howard and his family attended Waitress (2007), which they reportedly enjoyed. To this day, Griffith still calls Howard by his childhood nickname, "Ronny".
In October 2008, Griffith and Howard briefly reprised their Mayberry roles in an online video
Video clip
Video clips are short clips of video, usually part of a longer recording. The term is also more loosely used to mean any short video less than the length of a traditional television program.- On the Internet :...
Ron Howard’s Call to Action. It was posted to comedy video website Funny or Die
Funny or Die
Funny or Die is a comedy video website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions with original and user-generated content. Funny or Die contains exclusive material from a number of famous contributors and also has its own Funny or Die Team, which creates...
. The video encouraged people to vote and endorsed Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
US presidential candidate Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, and US vice-presidential
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
candidate Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
.
Marriage and family
Griffith and Barbara Bray Edwards were married on August 22, 1949, and they adopted a son, Andrew Samuel Griffith Jr. (born in 1957 and known as Sam Griffith), a real-estate developerReal estate development
Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...
, and a daughter, Dixie Nan. They were divorced in 1972. Sam died in 1996 after years of alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
In 1975 Griffith and Solica Cassuto were married; they were divorced in 1981.
He and Cindi Knight were married on April 12, 1983; they had met when he was filming Murder in Coweta County.
Political activities
In addition to his online video with Howard in 2008, in politics Griffith has favored Democrats and recorded television commercialAdvertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
s endorsing North Carolina Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s Mike Easley
Mike Easley
Michael Francis "Mike" Easley is an American politician who served as the 72nd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina, from 2001 to 2009. He is member of the North Carolina Democratic Party and became the first North Carolina governor to admit to a felony in a deal that halted a lengthy...
and Bev Perdue
Bev Perdue
Beverly Eaves "Bev" Perdue is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party currently serving as the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina. She is the first female governor of North Carolina....
. He spoke at the inauguration
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
ceremonies of both. In 1984, he declined an offer by Democratic party officials to run against Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
, a US Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from North Carolina.
In July 2010, he also starred in ads about Medicare.
Health
Griffith's first serious health problem was in April 1983, when he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndromeGuillain-Barré syndrome
Guillain–Barré syndrome , sometimes called Landry's paralysis, is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy , a disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. Ascending paralysis, weakness beginning in the feet and hands and migrating towards the trunk, is the most typical symptom...
and could not walk for seven months because of paralysis from the knees down.
On May 9, 2000, he underwent quadruple
Quadruple
Quadruple may refer to:* Tuple, a mathematical structure* Quadruple, a term for winning four association trophies* Quad , a figure skating jump* Home run in baseball* Quadruple-precision floating-point format in computing...
heart
Human heart
The human heart is a muscular organ that provides a continuous blood circulation through the cardiac cycle and is one of the most vital organs in the human body...
-bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital is a hospital in the Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk, Virginia. It is located adjacent to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, Sentara Heart Hospital and Eastern Virginia Medical School for which it serves as the teaching hospital. Norfolk General is home to...
in Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
After a fall, Griffith underwent hip surgery on September 5, 2007, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
in Los Angeles.
Albums
- Andy and Cleopatra on Capitol Records - T 2066, (1964)
- What it Was, Was FootballWhat it Was, Was Football"What it Was, Was Football" is a monologue by comedian Andy Griffith. It was recorded in Raleigh, NC for the Colonial label in 1953. Soon, Colonial had sold nearly 50,000 copies of the record and then sold the masters to Capitol Records...
(as Deacon Andy Griffith) on Capitol Records - EAP 1-498, (1953) - Just for Laughs (1958)
- Shouts the Blues and Old Timey Songs (1959) (album includes a guest appearance by bluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
men Brownie McGheeBrownie McGheeWalter Brown McGhee was a Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...
and Sonny TerrySonny TerrySaunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia...
). - Somebody Bigger Than You and I (1972)
- American Originals (1993)
- I Love to Tell the Story: 25 Timeless Hymns (1996)
- Sings Favorite Old-Time Songs (1997)
- Just as I Am: 30 Favorite Old Time Hymns (1998)
- Wit & Wisdom of Andy Griffith (1998)
- Favorite Old Time Songs (2000)
- Absolutely the Best (remastered) (2002)
- Back to Back Hits (2003)
- The Christmas GuestThe Christmas GuestThe Christmas Guest: Stories and Songs of Christmas is a Country/Gospel/Christian album by Andy Griffith. It was released on September 30, 2003 by Sparrow Records...
(2003) - Bound for the Promised Land: The Best of Andy Griffith Hymns (2005)
- The Collection (2005)
- Pickin' and Grinnin': The Best of Andy Griffith (2005)
Features
- A Face in the Crowd (1957)
- No Time for SergeantsNo Time for SergeantsNo Time for Sergeants is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was later adapted into a teleplay on The United States Steel Hour, a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chronicles the misadventures of a country bumpkin named Will...
(1958) - OnionheadOnionheadOnionhead is a 1958 movie, set on a U.S. Coast Guard cutter during World War II, starring Andy Griffith and featuring Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau, and Erin O'Brien....
(1958) - The Second Time AroundThe Second Time Around (film)The Second Time Around is a 1961 Western comedy film starring Debbie Reynolds as a widow who relocates her family from 1911 New York to the Arizona Territory...
(1961) - Angel in My PocketAngel in my PocketAngel in my Pocket is a 1969 film starring Andy Griffith and directed by Alan Rafkin. The movie was one of three originally planned by Universal Pictures to star Griffith, and also featured Lee Meriwether, Jerry Van Dyke, Kay Medford, Henry Jones, Edgar Buchanan, and Gary Collins. This film has...
(1969) - Hearts of the WestHearts of the WestHearts of the West is a 1975 comedy film directed by Howard Zieff, and starring Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Blythe Danner, and Alan Arkin. The story revolves around a wannabe 1930s writer who finds himself cast as a leading man in several B-movie westerns....
(1975) - Rustlers' RhapsodyRustlers' RhapsodyRustlers' Rhapsody is an American comedy-Western film. It is a parody of many Western conventions, most visibly of the singing cowboy films that were prominent in the 1930s and the 1940s...
(1985)
- Gramps (1995)
- Spy HardSpy HardSpy Hard is a 1996 American spy comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond films and other action films. The introduction to the song is sung by comedy artist "Weird Al" Yankovic-Plot:...
(1996) - Daddy and ThemDaddy and ThemDaddy and Them is a 2001 American film written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton.Jim Varney died before the movie's release. It was the last movie he appeared in.-Plot:...
(2001) - The Very First Noel (2006) (voice)
- Waitress (2007)
- Christmas Is Here AgainChristmas Is Here AgainChristmas Is Here Again is a 2007 animated Christmas film released on DVD by Screen Media Films. The first feature production from the Renegade Animation studio, it was co-written, co-produced and directed by Robert Zappia...
(2007) (voice) - Play the GamePlay the Game (film)Play the Game is a 2009 romantic comedy film starring Andy Griffith, Paul Campbell, Liz Sheridan, Doris Roberts, and Marla Sokoloff, written and directed by Marc Fienberg.- Synopsis :...
(2008)
Short subjects
- Rowan & Martin at the Movies (1968)
- What It Was, Was Football (1997)
- Waitin' on a Woman (music video by Brad PaisleyBrad PaisleyBrad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....
featuring Griffith) (2008)
Television work
- The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
(1960–1968) - The HeadmasterThe Headmaster (TV series)Headmaster is a half-hour television comedy-drama starring Andy Griffith and broadcast by CBS in the United States during the 1970-71 season....
(1970–1971) - The New Andy Griffith ShowThe New Andy Griffith ShowThe New Andy Griffith Show is an American situation comedy broadcast in the United States by the CBS television network in 1971.-History:...
(1971; canceled after 13 episodes) - The Strangers In 7AThe Strangers In 7AThe Strangers in 7A is a television movie drama/thriller starring Andy Griffith, Ida Lupino, and Michael Brandon that aired on CBS in November 1972. It is the first real dramatic role for Griffith following his eight year run on The Andy Griffith Show, and his two unsuccessful series follow-ups...
(1972) - Go Ask AliceGo Ask AliceGo Ask Alice is a controversial 1971 book about the life of a troubled teenage girl. The book continues its claim to be the actual diary of an anonymous teenage girl who became addicted to drugs, but this has been dismissed as false. Beatrice Sparks is listed as the author of the book by the United...
(1973) - Pray for the WildcatsPray for the WildcatsPray for the Wildcats is a 1974 U.S. television film that originally aired as an ABC Movie of the Week. It is a thriller-drama about a psychopathic business executive chasing his workers on dirtbikes through the desert after he killed a young man. The film was directed by Robert Michael Lewis and...
(1974) - Winter KillWinter KillWinter Kill is a 1974 U.S. made-for-tv movie directed by Jud Taylor and written by John Michael Hayes and David Karp. It stars Andy Griffith as Sam McNeill, the sheriff in a small resort town in the mountains of northern California...
(1974) - SavagesSavages (1974 film)Savages is an American TV movie based on the book Deathwatch by Robb White. It stars Andy Griffith as Madec and Sam Bottoms as Ben. -Plot:A successful Los Angeles lawyer and hunter, Madec, receives a rare permit to hunt Bighorn Sheep in the nearby Mojave Desert...
(1974) - Adams of Eagle LakeAdams of Eagle LakeAdams of Eagle Lake is an American hour-long police series that aired on ABC in 1975. Andy Griffith starred as Sheriff Sam Adams and the episodes presented his attempts to maintain the law in a small resort town...
(1975; canceled after two episodes) - Street Killing (1976)
- Six Characters in Search of an AuthorSix Characters in Search of an AuthorSix Characters in Search of an Author is a play by the Italian writer Luigi Pirandello.The play is a satirical tragicomedy. It was first performed in 1921 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, to a very mixed reception, with shouts from the audience of "Manicomio!" .Subsequently the play enjoyed a much...
(1976) - Frosty's Winter WonderlandFrosty's Winter WonderlandFrosty's Winter Wonderland is an animated Christmas television special produced in 1976 by Rankin-Bass. It is a sequel to the 1969 Frosty the Snowman special, also written by Romeo Muller, with narration provided by Andy Griffith...
(1976) (voice) - Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977)
- The Girl in the Empty Grave (1977)
- Deadly Game (1977)
- CentennialCentennial (miniseries)Centennial is a 12-episode American television miniseriesthat aired on NBC from October 1978 to February 1979. It was based on the novel of the same name by James A. Michener. The miniseries was produced by John Wilder....
(1978; miniseries) - Salvage 1Salvage 1Salvage 1 is an American science fiction series that aired for 16 episodes on ABC during 1979. The pilot film, Salvage, aired on January 20, 1979 to high ratings....
(1979; canceled after 20 episodes)
- From Here to EternityFrom Here to Eternity (TV series)From Here to Eternity was a six-hour 1979 television mini-series, followed by a thirteen episode 1980 television series.The mini-series was a remake of the 1953 film From Here to Eternity and based on the 1951 novel of the same name...
(1979; miniseries) - Roots: The Next GenerationsRoots: The Next GenerationsRoots: The Next Generations is a 1979 television miniseries that continues the story of the family of Alex Haley from the 1880s, and their life in Henning, Tennessee, to the 1960s, with Haley researching his family history and his travels to Africa to learn of his ancestor, Kunta Kinte...
(1979; miniseries) - The Yeagers (1980; canceled after two episodes)
- Murder in Texas (1981)
- For Lovers Only (1982)
- Murder in Coweta CountyMurder in Coweta CountyThe murder in Coweta County was an April 1948 act of murder committed in Coweta County in the U.S. state of Georgia and involving the sheriff of neighboring Meriwether County...
(1983) - The Demon Murder Case (1983)
- Fatal VisionFatal VisionFatal Vision is a best-selling true crime book published in 1983 by journalist and author Joe McGinniss. The following year it was made into an NBC television miniseries under the same name. Fatal Vision is the real-life story of Captain Jeffrey MacDonald, M.D., who in 1979 was convicted of the...
(1984) (miniseries) - Crime of Innocence (1985)
- Return to MayberryReturn to MayberryReturn to Mayberry is an American television reunion movie for the 1960s American sitcoms The Andy Griffith Show and, to an extent, Mayberry R.F.D. as well. The movie premiered on April 13, 1986 on NBC, and was the highest-rated telemovie of 1986. Sixteen of the original cast members reunited for...
(1986) - MatlockMatlock (TV series)Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar...
(1986–1995) - Under the Influence (1986)
- The Gift of Love (1994)
- Gramps (1995)
- Scattering Dad (1998)
- A Holiday RomanceA Holiday RomanceA Holiday Romance is a 1999 film directed by Bobby Roth and starring Naomi Judd, Andy Griffith, and Gerald McRaney. This film has been released on DVD.-Cast:*Naomi Judd - Lily Waite*Andy Griffith - Jake Peterson*Gerald McRaney - Cal Peterson...
(1999)
Honors
Mount Airy annually celebrates Griffith and his eponymous television series with "Mayberry Days", named after the fictional community of Mayberry in The Andy Griffith Show.A statue of the Mayberry characters, Andy and Opie, was constructed in Pullen Park
Pullen Park
Pullen Park is a public park in Raleigh, North Carolina west of downtown, adjacent to the campus of North Carolina State University, between Western Boulevard and Hillsborough Street. The park features picnic areas, a concessions stand along with several small rides including the Pullen Park...
in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, and at the Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mount Airy.
C.F. Martin & Company, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
manufacturers, offers an Andy Griffith signature model guitar. Limited edition in 2004 of the D-18 Model with 311 units total production. Patterned after Andy's own 1956 D-18.
Griffith received a Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album
Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album
The Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album was awarded from 1991 to 2011. Originally the award was for southern gospel only, but the criteria were expanded in 1994...
for I Love to Tell the Story — 25 Timeless Hymns in 1997.
In 1999 Griffith was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame with fellow artists Lulu Roman
Lulu Roman
Lulu Roman is a former telephone operator and go-go dancer turned comedian and singer. She is probably best known as a regular on the comedy-music television series Hee Haw....
, Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
, David L. Cook
David L. Cook
David L. Cook is an American Christian country music singer-songwriter, comedian and a multiple Emmy Award and Telly Award winner. Born to Donnell and June Cook , David is the oldest of six children....
, Gary S. Paxton
Gary S. Paxton
Gary S. Paxton, sometimes Pax , is an American record producer, and a Grammy Award and Dove Award winning songwriter and recording artist.-Biography:...
, Jimmy Snow, Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
, and Jody Miller
Jody Miller
Jody Brooks is an American country music singer. Born as Myrna Joy Miller, she was born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised in Oklahoma.-Career:...
.
In October 2002, an 11 miles (17.7 km) stretch of US Highway 52
U.S. Route 52 in North Carolina
U.S. Route 52 is an north–south United States highway that runs for from the South Carolina state line, near McFarlan, to the Virginia state line, near Mount Airy. It serves as a strategic highway through the central North Carolina Piedmont....
that passes through Mount Airy was dedicated as the Andy Griffith Parkway.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush on November 9, 2005.
A few weeks earlier, he had helped preside over the reopening of UNC's Memorial Hall
Dramatic and performing arts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
-Carolina Performing Arts:Carolina Performing Arts is the name adopted by the UNC Office of the Executive Director for the Arts, the department responsible for the planning and promotion of the performing arts program, and for venues such as Memorial Hall, Historic Playmakers Theatre, and Gerrard...
and donated a substantial amount of memorabilia from his career to the university.
In 2007, he was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
External links
- Discography at CMT.com
- Inventory of the Andy Griffith Papers, 1949–1997, in the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
- "Judge: Wis'. 'Andy Griffith' Did Not Harm Actor", news report by The Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
on the May 2007 ruling in favor of William Harold Fenrick. - "What It Was, Was Football", includes links to audio of the routine and MadMad (magazine)Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
magazine treatment. - Fans created replica of Sheriff Andy Taylor's Mayberry home for B&B
- Taylor home replica inn
- Beckwith, Ryan Teague (December 27, 2007). "Andy Griffith", profile at The News & ObserverThe News & ObserverThe News & Observer is the regional daily newspaper of the Research Triangle area of the U.S. State of North Carolina. The N&O, as it is popularly called, is based in Raleigh and also covers Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill. The paper also has substantial readership in most of the state east of...
. Accessed November 12, 2009. - Andy Griffith Archive of American Television Interview