LOS ANGELES (AFP)
Actor Andy Griffith, 86, a beloved icon of US television for
programs including "The Andy Griffith Show" in the 1960s and the
popular legal drama "Matlock," died Tuesday, US media reported.
Griffith, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by
then president George W. Bush in 2005, died at his North Carolina
home, according to media reports.
He became a household name for his eponymous series. He also
played the sheriff in "Mayberry RFD," set in the same fictional
town as "The Andy Griffith Show," said to be modeled on his
hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina.
Griffith sang in church as a child, and joined a university drama
club before becoming a teacher after graduating, according to
industry daily Variety.
He got his big break in the 1950s when Ed Sullivan began
featuring him on his national television show.
His most notable big screen role was in Elia Kazan's "A Face in
the Crowd" (1957), playing a country boy who rises to TV stardom
in a performance described as "stunning" by industry database
IMDb.
After a stint on Broadway he launched "The Andy Griffith Show,"
along with a young Ron Howard, who was later Richie Cunningham in
"Happy Days" before a successful film career.
Griffith formed his own production company in 1972, making
several films and TV series, and was nominated for an Emmy award
in 1981 for for his portrayal in the 1981 television show "Murder
in Texas."
Apart from the "The Andy Griffith Show" his other most famous
role came as as attorney Ben Matlock in the TV series "Matlock,"
which ran originally ran from 1985 to 1986.
In 2010, Griffith appeared in TV ads supporting the Health Care
Reform bill proposed by President Barack Obama. The ads were
withdrawn after he received hundreds of death threats from
opponents of the bill, IMDb said.
Flowers were to be placed on his sidewalk star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame to honor him, organizers said.
He is survived by his third wife, Cindi Knight, and an adopted
daughter from his first marriage. An adopted son died in 1996.
