Andy Griffith

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Andy Griffith in 2005, when he Presidential Medal of Freedom was awarded
Andy Griffith, 1984

Andrew Samuel Griffith (* 1. June 1926 in Mount Airy , North Carolina ; † 3. July 2012 in Manteo , Roanoke Iceland ) was an American actor and country- and gospel - singer . In Germany he was best known for the title role in the television series Matlock .

Career

Griffith started his career as a stand-up comedian . His first success was in 1953 when he recorded live a story he told, What it was, was football ("What it was, was football"). It was about a country boy and his first football game, about the "big orange drinks and the boys running up and down the cow pasture in the most terrible fight I've ever seen" and "those lively girls who these tiny little ones Wear skirts and dance around ”. The single What It Was, Was Football first hit the US singles charts in January 1955 and peaked at number 9. In the same year, he recorded Number One Street , the story of a rural family traveling to Florida on US Highway 1 . In 1954 he went to Broadway and appeared in the play No Time for Sergeants , which is about a country boy in the United States Air Force . In 1959 the play was made into a film and was also the template for the later television series Gomer Pyle, USMC (1964-1969).

Griffith made his movie debut in the 1957 film A Face in the Crowd . Once again he played the country boy and an entertainer who uses a seemingly idiot demeanor to gain political power. This film showed Griffith's talent as a dramatic actor. Elia Kazan's film dealt critically with the then still young medium of television and showed its possibilities for political influence even then. He himself was the template for the Hanna Barbera cartoon character Huckleberry Hound in the animated series Hucky and His Friends , which was first seen on television in 1958.

From 1960 onwards Griffith became known with his Andy Griffith Show , which was a huge success in the USA. The audience identified with Sheriff Taylor, his son Opie ( Ron Howard ), Aunt Bee ( Frances Bavier ), Deputy Barney Fife ( Don Knotts ), Gomer Pyle ( Jim Nabors ), Goober Pyle ( George Lindsey ) and the town of Mayberry. After the end of his show in 1968 Griffith was seen in various series, which were not so successful: The Headmaster (1970), The New Andy Griffith Show (1971) and Salvage I (1979). He has also appeared in various television productions such as Strangers in 7a (1972), Winter Kill (1974), Pray for the Wildcats (1974), and Colorado Saga (1978). In 1981 Griffith was nominated for an Emmy for his role in the television movie Murder in Texas . With the television series Matlock , which started in 1986 and was produced with over nine television seasons up to 1995, Griffith was able to build on earlier successes. On this series, he played an elderly, rascal, criminal defense attorney in Atlanta who is busy defending innocent accused in murder cases. In the respective final court scene, he succeeds every time in unmasking the real murderer and thus getting his client free.

After the end of the series Griffith still worked in various American television productions; he was seen as "Joe" in the tragic comedy Waitress (2007). In 2008, Griffith, who was also a well-known country and gospel singer, made a guest appearance in the video clip for country singer Brad Paisley's song Waitin 'on a Woman . Griffith had already received a Grammy in 1997 for his album I Love to Tell the Story - 25 Timeless Hymns . 2005 it was from US President George W. Bush the Medal of Freedom ( "The Presidential Medal of Freedom"), the highest civilian honor in the United States, has been presented.

Griffith died on July 3, 2012 at the age of 86 at his home in Manteo of complications from a heart attack . He was buried on his estate.

Filmography (selection)

Movies

TV Shows

Music albums

  • What it Was, Was Football (1953)
  • Just for Laughs (1958)
  • Shouts the Blues and Old Timey Songs (1959)
  • Andy and Cleopatra (1964)
  • Somebody Bigger Than You and I (1972)
  • American Originals (1993)
  • Precious Memories: 33 Timeless Hymns (1995)
  • I Love to Tell the Story: 25 Timeless Hymns (1996)
  • Sings Favorite Old-Time Songs (1997)
  • Just as I Am: 30 Favorite Old Time Hymns (1998)
  • Wit & Wisdom of Andy Griffith (1998)
  • Favorite Old Time Songs (2000)
  • Absolutely the Best (2002)
  • Back to Back Hits (2003)
  • The Christmas Guest (2003)
  • Bound for the Promised Land: The Best of Andy Griffith Hymns (2005)
  • The Collection (2005)
  • Pickin 'and Grinnin': The Best of Andy Griffith (2005)

Web links

Commons : Andy Griffith  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Spiegel Online : Andy Griffith is dead , accessed on July 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ The single was released under the US catalog number: Capitol 2693. Chart placement according to Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Records 1940–1955 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1973, p. 25
  3. ↑ E! Online: Andy Griffith: Heart Attack Cited as Cause of Death  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / uk.eonline.com   , July 5, 2012.
  4. ↑ twifordfh.com: Obituary on the funeral home website , accessed July 4, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Griffith, Andy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Griffith, Andrew Samuel (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor, writer, and producer
DATE OF BIRTH June 1, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Mount Airy , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH 3rd July 2012
Place of death Manteo , North Carolina