Known for his southern drawl, his folksy-friendly characters, and his gruff, gregarious voice, Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles, and gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan ‘s film A Face in the Crowd (1957) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor and Ben Matlock .
Griffith received many awards throughout his lifetime, including being inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. To this day, Andy remains one of the most beloved stars of his generation.
A Sad Time for Fans
In 1983, Andy became ill with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, but made a full recovery. Nearly 30 years later, Andy Griffith died on July 3, 2012, from a heart attack at the age of 86. He passed away at his coastal home in Manteo, Roanoke Island, in Dare County, North Carolina. Sadly, Andy’s fans didn’t have much time to grieve.
Andy Griffith’s family requested that his body be immediately buried there, and within hours of his death, the famed TV and movie star was interred. Memorials were given but only after he had already been laid to rest.
The Nirvana Connection
Did you know that iconic grunge musician Kurt Cobain wrote a song called Floyd the Barber for the band's ‘Bleach’ album? The people mentioned in this song are all based on characters from The Andy Griffith Show . Kurt Cobain wrote the song thinking, "What if all these people were mad, sadistic, killers?" The guy in the song went into the barber shop for a shave, but instead gets urinated on by Floyd, cut up by Opie and Aunt Bea, and suffocated by Andy Griffith. The song was much darker than the show; many of the residents of Mayberry (including Floyd) murder Cobain in it.
The band was known as Skid Row when they first started playing this in 1987. They recorded it for the first time at KAOS, the student-run radio station of Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.
The Only Speaking Role
While there were many African Americans who appeared in the background scenes of The Andy Griffith Show, they were all only extras with non-speaking roles. However, Rockne Tarkington broke that streak when he appeared on the episode “Opie’s Piano Lesson.” With his spoken lines, he became the first and only black actor to do so during the series’ entire run.
He also played recurring roles on the TV series "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour" and "Matt Houston". His film appearances include Major Dundee , The Great White Hope , Beware the Blob , National Lampoon's Movie Madness , The Ice Pirates and Wyatt Earp .
Andy and Opie’s Characters Were Around Before the Show Premiered
The Andy Griffith Show did not debut until October 1960. Nonetheless, the characters of Andy and Opie first appeared on Make Room for Daddy in February, 1960. Both shows were produced by Danny Thomas.
The 7th Season episode of Make Room for Daddy served as the pilot for its spin-off series The Andy Griffith Show. In the episode, Danny went past a stop sign in the small town of Mayberry, because there was no crossroad. Sheriff Andy Taylor comes and arrests Danny. He said the town council had decided to make a crossroad there, but there was only enough money for a stop sign. Danny demands to see the Justice of the Peace. In response, Andy takes out a sign and says he's the Justice of the Peace.