Iconic TV star Andy Griffith has died. According to his close friend Bill Friday, Griffith passed away Tuesday morning around 7 o’clock at his Manteo, North Carolina home. The cause of death is unclear. Griffith was 86.
Griffith worked as a monologist before moving to TV. His earliest TV work includes the 1955 adaptation of Mac Hyman’s best-selling novel No Time For Sergeants. Griffith made his silver screen debut in 1957’s A Face in the Crowd. The following year he starred alongside Don Knotts in the film adaptation of No Time for Sergeants. Griffith and Knotts’ collaboration on that film led to a lifelong friendship. The pair starred together on Griffith’s hit TV show The Andy Griffith Show. Griffith played Mayberry Sheriff Andy Taylor while Knotts played his best friend and partner, Deputy Barney Fife. The show ran on CBS from 1960 to 1968. Griffith appeared in numerous TV movies throughout the 70s. In 1986, he landed the starring role in the legal drama Matlock. Matlock ended in 1995. Griffith also enjoyed a successful career as a gospel singer; his 1996 album I Love to Tell the Story: 25 Timeless Hymns went platinum.
Griffith battled serious health problems in his later years. In 1983 he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder of the nervous system. He later underwent quadruple heart-bypass surgery and hip surgery. Griffith is survived by his third wife, Cindi Knight, and his daughter, Dixie.
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