Although he’ll mostly be remembered for his television work as Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show and Andy of Mayberry, and attorney Ben Matlock in Matlock, Andy Griffith’s finest acting was as itinerant-drifter-turned-cynical-rightie-TV-host Lonesome Rhodes in Elia Kazan’s 1957 film, A Face in the Crowd. A native North Carolinian, Griffith campaigned for liberal causes during his life, including making a video with Ron ‘Opie’ Howard in 2008 supporting Obama for president. RIP, Andy Griffith. Here’s the CNN obit:
Actor Andy Griffith dead at 86
By Michael Pearson, CNN
July 3, 2012(CNN) — Actor Andy Griffith, who played folksy Sheriff Andy Taylor in the fictional town of Mayberry, died Tuesday at the age of 86, his family said.
Griffith died at about 7 a.m. at his home on Roanoke Island, according to Dare County, North Carolina, Sheriff J.D. “Doug” Doughtie.
He passed away after an unspecified illness and “has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoake Island,” the family said in a statement.
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