Andy Griffith 86, was best known as Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry RFD, which he played for 8 years. He died this morning, in Dare County, North Carolina, around 7 a.m. at his home on Roanoke Island.
Griffith has stared in the TV series”Matlock.” In 1996 his album, “I Love to Tell the Story — 25 Timeless Hymns,” earned him a Grammy Award and he was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007.
He began his career with a traveling act with his first wife, Barbara Edwards. “The Ed Sullivan Show” followed with a Broadway play in 1955 “No Time for Sergeants,” for which he received a Tony nomination. He was nominated for a Tony in 1960 for the play “Destry Rides Again.”
In 2010 his role in a television commercial for the Department of Health and Human Resources generated some political controversy. Griffith praised the Affordable Care Act and its reforms. Republicans said it was partisan propaganda and demanded that it be pulled.
In 1983, Griffith was diagnosed with the muscular disease Guillain-Barre syndrome. In 2000, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery, and had hip surgery following a fall in 2007.
Griffith’s first marriage ended in divorce in 1972. He married again in 1976 but divorced after five years. In 1983, he married Cindi Knight, his current wife. Griffith is survived by two children from his first marriage. A third son died of an overdose at the age of 36.
Griffith will forever be in our hearts as the ultimate sheriff.
Posted by Suzanna Bowling
on July 3, 2012. Filed under ENTERTAIMENT,NEWS,Obituaries,TV.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
You must be logged in to post a comment Login