Age, Biography, and Wiki
Andy Griffith was born on June 1, 1926, and passed away on July 3, 2012, at the age of 86. He rose to fame in the 1950s with his unique blend of humor and acting talent, becoming a household name through his iconic roles in television and film. Griffith's career spanned over six decades, leaving an enduring impact on American entertainment.
| Occupation | Gospel Singer |
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| Date of Birth | 1 June 1926 |
| Age | 99 Years |
| Birth Place | Mount Airy, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 3 July, 2012 |
| Died Place | Manteo, North Carolina, U.S. |
Height, Weight & Measurements
While specific details about his height and weight are not widely documented, Andy Griffith was known for his tall stature and amiable presence on screen.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Griffith was married three times: to Barbara Bray Edwards from 1949 to 1972, to Solica Cassuto from 1973 to 1981, and to Cindi Knight from 1983 until his death in 2012.
As a baby, Griffith lived with relatives until his parents could afford to buy a home. With neither a crib nor a bed, he slept in dresser drawers for several months. In 1929, when Griffith was three, his father began working as a helper or carpenter and purchased a home in Mount Airy's "blue-collar" south side. Griffith grew up listening to music. 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 out of his shell and come into his own.
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 comedy partner. He was also Taylor's cousin in the show at first, though later they dropped that cousin relationship and talked simply of knowing one another since boyhood. In the series premiere 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. Griffith never received a writing credit for the show, but he worked on the development of every script. Knotts was frequently lauded and won multiple Emmy Awards for his comedic performances, as did Frances Bavier in 1967, while Griffith was never nominated for an Emmy Award during the show's run.
For most of the 1970s, Griffith starred or appeared in many television films, including The Strangers in 7A (1972), Go Ask Alice (1973), Winter Kill (1974) and Pray for the Wildcats (1974), which marked his first villainous role since A Face in the Crowd. Griffith appeared again as a villain in Savages (1974), a television film based on the novel Deathwatch (1972) by Robb White. He appeared as The Father in a 1976 PBS television adaptation, directed by Stacy Keach, of Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author. 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 appeared in several television miniseries, including the television version of From Here to Eternity (1979), Roots: The Next Generations (1979), Centennial (1978), and Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977)—inspired by the Watergate scandal—playing a former president loosely based on Lyndon B. Johnson.
In the feature film Waitress (2007), Griffith played a crusty diner owner who takes a shine to Keri Russell's character. His last 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 had 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 The Andy Griffith Show.
Griffith's friendship with child actor Ron 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 the same year. For eight seasons, they starred together in most of the show's episodes, portraying father and son.
They guest-starred together in the show's spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D. They appeared in an episode during which Griffith's character married his long-time girlfriend, Helen Crump, and in the Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. episode "Opie Joins the Marines", in which Howard's character, Opie, runs away from home and attempts to enlist in the US Marines. They co-starred in the TV special Return to Mayberry (1986), in which the now-adult Opie is about to become a father. They later appeared together in CBS reunion specials in 1993 and 2003. Griffith also made a comedy cameo on the Saturday Night Live program of October 9, 1982, hosted by Howard, who was, by then, in the early years of his directing career.
Griffith and Barbara Bray Edwards were married on August 22, 1949, and they adopted two children: a son named Andy Samuel Griffith Jr. (born in 1957 and better known as Sam Griffith) and a daughter named Dixie Nann Griffith. They divorced in 1972. Sam, a real-estate developer, died in 1996 after years of alcoholism. The senior Griffith's second wife was Solica Cassuto, a Greek actress. They were married from 1973 to 1981. Griffith and Cindi Knight married on April 12, 1983, after they met while she was a cast member of The Lost Colony. They remained married until Griffith's death. Griffith also had three granddaughters through his daughter Dixie.
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| Husband | Barbara Bray Edwards (m. 1949-1972) Solica Cassuto (m. 1973-1981) Cindi Knight (m. 1983) |
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Net Worth and Salary
At the time of his death in 2012, Andy Griffith's net worth was estimated at $25 million, which is equivalent to approximately $33.13 million in today's dollars. However, some sources have incorrectly reported a higher figure of $65 million.
Career, Business, and Investments
- Early Career: Griffith began his career with the monologue "What It Was, Was Football" and gained prominence with the film "A Face in the Crowd" (1957).
- The Andy Griffith Show: He is perhaps most famous for his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor in "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960-1968), a sitcom set in the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina.
- Matlock: Griffith found renewed success with the legal drama "Matlock" (1986-1995), where he played the title character, a clever Southern lawyer.
- Business Ventures: Griffith started his own production company, Andy Griffith Enterprises, in 1972. He also invested in real estate, contributing to his wealth.
Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy-friendly personality, as well as his gruff but friendly voice, Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's film A Face in the Crowd (1957) and No Time for Sergeants (1958) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968) and Ben Matlock in the legal drama Matlock (1986–1995).
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 by Paul Green, a play about Roanoke Island still performed today. 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, for whom North Carolina's capital is named.
Griffith's early career was as a monologist. Assuming the character of an affable country parson, "Deacon Andy Griffith" delivered long stories such as "What It Was, Was Football", in which he tried to figure out what was going on in a football game. The monologue was released as a single in 1953 on the Colonial Records label. The much larger Capitol Records acquired the master recording and reissued the record in December 1953. It became a hit, reaching number nine on the charts in 1954. The B-side of the single was the deacon explaining Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in the same rural dialect. Griffith made appearances on television variety shows, where he would deliver either the football monologue or the Shakespeare monologue.
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. During the last season of The Andy Griffith Show, new cast member Ken Berry was worked into the storylines as a principal character, grooming him as Griffith's replacement. Producer Sheldon Leonard shrewdly introduced the new, revamped Griffith show Mayberry R.F.D. as a summer-replacement series in the Griffith time slot, attracting Griffith's established audience. The series continued into the fall, with Ken Berry as a widower farmer and many of the regular Griffith Show 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).
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 Headmaster (1970), The New Andy Griffith Show (1971), Adams of Eagle Lake (1975), Salvage 1 (1979) and The Yeagers (1980). After spending seven months in rehabilitation for leg paralysis from Guillain–Barré syndrome in 1983, 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, struggling 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.
Social Network
During his lifetime, Andy Griffith was not actively involved in modern social media platforms, as they were not prevalent during his career.
Griffith starred in Ira Levin's one-hour teleplay, No Time for Sergeants (March 1955) — a story about a country boy in the United States Air Force — on The United States Steel Hour, a television anthology series. He expanded that role in Ira Levin's full-length theatrical version of the same name (October 1955) on Broadway in New York City. The role earned him a Tony Award nomination for "Distinguished Supporting or Featured Dramatic Actor" nomination at the 1956 Tony Awards, losing to Ed Begley. He did win the 1956 Theatre World Award, however, a prize given for debut roles on Broadway. "Mr. Griffith does not have to condescend to Will Stockdale" (his role in the play), wrote Brooks Atkinson in The New York Times. "All he has to do is walk on the stage and look the audience straight in the face. If the armed forces cannot cope with Will Stockdale, neither can the audience resist Andy Griffith."
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 later years, he recorded successful albums of classic Christian hymns for Sparrow Records. His most successful was the release I Love to Tell the Story: 25 Timeless Hymns (1996), which was certified platinum by the RIAA. The album won Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album at the 1997 Grammy Awards.
Education
Griffith attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied music and drama, laying the foundation for his future in entertainment.
He attended the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1949. 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 Playmakers. At UNC, he was president of the UNC chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, America's oldest fraternity for men in music. He also played roles in several student operettas, including The Chimes of Normandy (1946), and Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers (1945), The Mikado (1948) and H.M.S. Pinafore (1949). After graduation, he taught music and drama for a few years at Goldsboro High School in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he taught, among others, Carl Kasell. He also began to write.
In 1945, while a student at the University of North Carolina, Griffith was initiated as a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a national social music fraternity for men.
