Dare County, NC -
(AP) Andy Griffith, a television legend, died in his home this morning according to close friend and former University of North Carolina President Bill Friday. Friday told WITN News that the 86-year-old television icon died around 7 a.m. this morning, while WAVY-TV confirms that emergency medical crew responded to Griffith's home in Roanoke Island this morning. WAVY also explains that Griffith's secretary had called Friday with the news of Griffith's death.
Griffith, an only child, was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina on June 1 1926, and was, is, and always will be an entertainment icon. The 86-year-old was an actor, director, producer, and even has a Grammy award to his name, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom which he received from George W. Bush in 2005.
It's television where Griffith made his indelible mark. Griffith was best known for The Andy Griffith Show which debuted in 1960 and ran for eight seasons, where he played an eccentric sheriff in the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina. Despite the show's success, Griffith never earned an Emmy nomination for his role, though he finally earned one in 1981 for a TV movie, Murder in Texas.
Griffith is also known for Mayberry RFD, and Matlock and for playing Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes in Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd.
