Andy Samuel Griffith (born June 1, 1926) is an American actor, producer,
writer, director and southern gospel singer. He gained prominence in the
starring role of A Face in the Crowd before he was better known for his
starring roles, playing the title characters in the 1960s sitcom, The Andy
Griffith Show, for CBS and in the 1980s and 1990s legal drama, Matlock,
on NBC and later ABC. Griffith was awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom by President George W. Bush on 9 November 2005. According
to the Internet Movie Database, the octogenarian is still acting and has two
films in pre-production as of 2008

Griffith, an only child, was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, the son of
Geneva (née Nunn) and Carl LeeGriffith. To this day, Mount Airy annually
celebrates Griffith and his eponymous television series with "Mayberry Days"

He began college studying to be a Moravian preacher, but changed his major
to music. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and
earned a bachelor's degree in music in 1949. While at UNC,he was president
of the UNC Men's Glee Club and was a member of the Alpha Rho Chapter
of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, America's oldest fraternity for men in music. After
graduation, he taught English at Goldsboro High School, in Goldsboro, NC,
for a few years.

The sole sponsor of The Andy Griffith Show was General Foods, maker of
Post Cereals, Jell-O and Sanka Coffee, though promotional consideration was
paid for (in the form of all cars) by Ford Motor Company. Griffith and other
members of the cast appeared in commericals for General Foods during the
course of particular episodes. Some of the cast commercials have been released
on various DVD's.

General Foods products were carefully placed on the show. After the first season,
for example, the Taylors began eating more and more cereal for breakfast rather
than eggs and bacon. Aunt Bee often served red gelatin for dessert in the color
episodes, and a brimming coffee pot and coffee cups were often in evidence in the
Taylor home.

Griffith sang as part of some of his acting roles, most notably in A Face In The
Crowd and on some episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. In recent years, he has
recorded successful albums of classic Christian hymns, for Sparrow Records. In 1999
Andy was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame with fellow artists
Lulu Roman, Barbara Mandrell, David L Cook, Gary S. Paxton, Jimmy Snow, Loretta
Lynn and Jodi Miller. In 1986, the reunion telemovie Return to Mayberry was broadcast.
Many cast members appeared in their original roles. Absent, however, was Frances
Bavier. She had retired from acting, was in poor health, living in North Carolina, and
declined to participate. In the telemovie, Aunt Bee is dead and Andy visits her grave.

C.F. Martin & Company guitar manufacturers offer an Andy Griffith signature model guitar.
Griffith was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007.

Griffith's first appearance on television was as the star in the original (1955) adaptation of
No Time forSergeants on The United States Steel Hour, the first of 2 appearances on the
show. Griffith has also made other character appearances on Playhouse 90, Gomer Pyle,
U.S.M.C., Mayberry R.F.D., The Mod Squad, Hawaii Five-O, The Doris Day Show,
Here's Lucy, The Bionic Woman, Fantasy Island, among many others. He also reprised his
role as Ben Matlock on Diagnosis: Murder in 1997, and his final guest-starring role to date
has been an episode of Dawson's Creek.

Griffith's first serious health problem started in April 1983, when he was diagnosed with
Guillain-Barre syndrome, and couldn't walk for 7 months due to paralysis from the knees
down. On May 9, 2000, Griffith underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery at Sentara
Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. After a fall, Griffith underwent hip surgery
on September 5, 2007, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.