Andrew S. Griffith hit stardom in the late 1950’s, acting in film, TV and Broadway productions, while also creating an album of comedic monologues in which he explained the game of football. He rose to immense popularity as the character Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show, which ran from 1960-68. He later returned to TV in the lawyer drama Matlock and also recorded several gospel albums.

For many years, I have addressed the topic of the notable deaths from the year before. Every year I am surprised by who I find in the list, some of whom I failed to hear about when they actually died in the previous year.

There is no way any of us was unaware of Andy Griffith’s death. He was like a close neighbor or even a favorite uncle. Both Andy and Barney gave us a lifetime of familiarity. It was their gift — we felt like we knew them.

Andy’s Early Career
Born on June 1, 1926 in Mount Airy, North Carolina, Andy Griffith’s first career ambition was to be an opera singer. Later, he was a pre-divinity student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1944. While in college, he became involved in drama and musical theater, and graduated in 1949 with a degree in music.

Griffith taught high school music for three years before setting out with his new wife, Barbara Edwards, a fellow actor at UNC, on a career as an entertainer. The couple developed a traveling routine, featuring singing, dancing and monologues performed by Griffith. One of these monologues, called “What It Was, Was Football,” was released commercially in 1953 and became one of the most popular comedic monologues of all time. You can see it on You Tube, if by chance you have never heard it.

Griffith and his wife moved to New York, where he made his television debut as a guest on the Ed Sullivan show in 1954. That same year, he won the role of Will Stockdale in the Broadway version of No Time for Sargeants, in 1955, it became a hit, and Griffith was nominated for a Tony Award for outstanding supporting actor. Like his co-star and fellow southerner, Don Knotts, Griffith went on to reprise his role in the 1958 film version of No Time for Sergeants, which met with a mixed critical reception.