July 3, 2012 was a very sad day for fans when the much loved star Andy Griffith passed away, and what’s worse, they didn’t have much time to mourn him. He passed away in his home in North Carolina.
Andy Griffith’s family requested that his body be immediately buried in Roanoke Island, North Carolina. 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.
Andy’s House Address is Still a Mystery
The Taylors live in the same house in every episode of The Andy Griffith Show , but over the course of the series, several different addresses were given for the location of Andy’s home. While the Taylors have never moved, in one episode, Aunt Bee tells someone that their address is 332 Maple Road, while in a different episode Barney tells an investigator that Andy’s address is 24 Elm Street.
At some point, Andy notes the address as 14 Maple Road. Some say that last one must be correct, because that's the only one that Andy actually gives himself.
One of The Show’s Principal Directors Was on the 50's Blacklist
In the 1950’s, Coby Ruskin was charged with being a Communist sympathizer, and he was banned from Hollywood. That accusation was made by the later-discredited “Red Channels” publication which fed on American fears caused by the Cold War. For a short time, Ruskin had to work in England to make a living.
Coby Ruskin directed eighteen episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and 92 episodes of Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. He also directed episodes of The Bob Newhart Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Julia, The Bill Cosby Show, The Doris Day Show, Love, American Style, Here's Lucy and Sanford and Son.
Griffith Was a Southern Gospel Singer
Andy Griffith studied music, so it might not surprise many of his fans to learn that he was a southern gospel singer. Griffith sang as part of some of his acting roles, most notably in A Face in the Crowd and in many episodes of both The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock . In addition to his recordings of comic monologues in the 1950s, he made an album of upbeat country and gospel tunes during the run of The Andy Griffith Show , which included a version of the show's theme sung by Griffith under the title " The Fishin' Hole ". In recent years, he recorded successful albums of classic Christian hymns for Sparrow Records .
His most successful was the release I Love to Tell the Story: 25 Timeless Hymns (1996), which was certified platinum by the RIAA. The album won Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album at the 1997 Grammy Awards . Griffith also appeared in country singer Brad Paisley 's music video " Waitin' on a Woman " in 2008.
Andy Griffith sued Andy Griffith
The actor Andy Griffith sued another man named Andy Griffith in 2006! William Fenrick of Platteville, Wisconsin , legally changed his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith and ran, unsuccessfully, for sheriff of Grant County in November 2006. Subsequently, actor Griffith filed a lawsuit against Fenrick, asserting that he violated trademark, copyright , and privacy laws by changing his name for the "sole purpose of taking advantage of Griffith's fame in an attempt to gain votes."
On May 4, 2007, US District Court Judge John C. Shabaz ruled that Fenrick did not violate federal trademark law because he did not use the Griffith name in a commercial transaction, but instead in order "to seek elective office”, a fundamental First Amendment protected speech.