Beloved Hollywood actor, director and producer, Andy Griffith died today at the age of 86.
Born Andrew Samuel Griffith, he was an Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer.
Griffith is most known for two roles--the lead characters in the 1960–68 situation comedy, "The Andy Griffith Show," and in the 1986–95 legal drama, Matlock. However, it was his role in "A Face in the Crowd" in 1957 that launched his career.
Griffith maintained a strong relationship with actor Don Knotts, which began in 1955 when they co-starred in the Broadway play "No Time for Sergeants." Their camaraderie carried onto the "The Andy Griffith Show" and even on the set of "Matlock," where Knotts had a recurring role from 1988 to 1992.
They kept in contact until Knotts' death in early 2006.
Griffith died today at about 7 a.m. (EDT) at his home on Roanoke Island in Dare County, North Carolina.
Younger generations may remember Griffith from his Ritz cracker commercial. He pitched for the cracker in a hometown Southern accent. Watch below:
