Matlock

Background:

Veteran actor Andy Griffith gained attention with the release of his monologue, ''What It Was Was Football'' (1953), which became one of the most popular comedic monologues of all time. Not long after, he gained film star status for his lead role in his feature film debut, Elia Kazan's now-classic epic motion picture "A Face in the Crowd" (1957), followed by another successful lead performance in "No Time for Sergeants" (1958).

Griffith subsequently retreated to the small screen and garnered recognition while playing the title characters in two very popular TV series; his own sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (CBS; 1960-1968) and the long-running courtroom/legal drama ''Matlock'' (NBC/ABC; 1986-1995). He was inducted in the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1992.

Griffith also gathered rave reviews for his stage work. He was twice nominated for Broadway's Tony Award: in 1956 as Best Supporting Featured Actor (Dramatic) for "No Time for Sergeants," and in 1960 as Best Actor (Musical) for "Destry Rides Again."

Adding to his bright acting career, Griffith is also a successful southern gospel singer. His gospel album, "I Love to Tell the Story - 25 Timeless Hymns," won a Grammy for Best Southern, Country/Bluegrass Gospel Album in 1997. He was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007. Meanwhile, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush on November 9, 2005.

Recently, the 6' likable, durable screen star could be seen alongside Keri Russell in the Sundance-premiered indie feature "Waitress" (2007). He will star in the upcoming films "Christmas Is Here Again" (voice of Santa Claus) and the romantic comedy "Play the Game." He will also play the lead in the Southern drama "I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down."

Andy Samuel

Childhood and Family:

On June 1, 1926, Andy Samuel Griffith was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), where he earned a degree in music. He is also a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a national music fraternity.

From 1949 to 1972, Griffith was married to a fellow actor at UNC, Barbara Edwards, with whom he adopted two children, son Andrew Samuel Griffith Jr. (born in 1957), a real-estate developer, and daughter Dixie Griffith. On January 17, 1996, his son died of alcoholism.

On June 11, 1975, Griffith married his second wife, Solica Cassuto, but the marriage also ended in divorce in 1981. Two years later, on April 2, 1983, Griffith married his third and present wife, Cindi Knight.

In 1983, Griffith suffered from Guillain-Barre Syndrome and couldn't walk for 7 months. Throughout his battle, he spent his time in a rehabilitation center fighting to overcome paralysis from the knees down. He underwent a quadruple bypass on May 9, 2000, at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. Recently, on September 5, 2007, after a fall, Griffith underwent hip surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

An 11-mile stretch of US Highway 52 in Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina, was dedicated as the Andy Griffith Parkway in October, 2002. A statue of him and Opie was also constructed in Pullen Park in Raleigh and at the Andy Griffith Playhouse in his hometown.

On November 9, 2005, Griffith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush, alongside other recipients that included Frank Robinson, Muhammad Ali, General Richard Myers, Paul Rusesabagina, Carol Burnett, Aretha Franklin, and former congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery.

The Andy Griffith Show

Career:

Initially dreaming of becoming an opera singer and then a preacher, Andy Griffith worked as a high school music teacher for three years in his native North Carolina after graduating with a music degree from college. He eventually decided to venture into entertainment along with his first wife, a fellow actor at UNC, and began writing and performing comic monologues at civic clubs and night spots. One of these monologues, the hilarious ''What It Was Was Football,'' about a country bumpkin who witnesses his first football game, was released commercially in 1953 and became one of the most popular comedic monologues of all time. It sold more than 900,000 copies. He followed it up with the next year's recording, "Number One Street," which tells the story of a rural family traveling to Florida on US Route 1.

Following his TV debut with a guest spot in an episode of CBS' variety show "The Ed Sullivan Show," Griffith landed his first big break in March 1955 when he won the role of Will Stockdale, a backwoods country boy drafted into the Army Force, in "No Time for Sergeants.” He reprised the role in its Broadway version (1955-1956), which turned out to be a great success. He also received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor for his outstanding stage performance. Griffith would later play the role again in its film version in 1958 which was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and turned out to be a major hit, launching the name of Griffith and co-star Don Knotts toward stardom. "No Time for Sergeants" was also the inspiration for the popular CBS television series "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." (a spin-off of "The Andy Griffith Show") which aired from 1964-1969.

Meanwhile, Griffith became a regular on the NBC variety series "The Steve Allen Show" and made his feature film debut in a leading role in Elia Kazan's now-classic epic motion picture, "A Face in the Crowd" (1957), based on Budd Schulberg's short story "The Arkansas Traveler." In the film, which centers on a country comedian, Griffith showed off his powerful talents as a dramatic actor and singer while portraying the lead role of a common thug named Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes.

Following his enormous success in "A Face in the Crowd" and "No Time for Sergeants," Griffith starred as a United States Coast Guard sailor in Norman Taurog's film adaptation of Weldon Hill's (the pseudonym of William R. Scott) book ''Onionhead'' (1958).

Griffith returned to Broadway in the lead of "Destry Rides Again," which opened in New York at the Imperial Theater on April 23, 1959, and played 472 performances. His brilliant performance as the title role earned him a second Tony Award nomination, this time for Best Actor in a Musical.

In 1960, Griffith had a guest stint as a country sheriff in an episode of Danny Thomas' sitcom "Make Room for Daddy," produced by Sheldon Leonard. His performance led to his own sitcom, "The Andy Griffith Show," which was created by Leonard. In the show that humorously depicted life in a fictional southern community, Griffith starred as Andy Taylor, a widower and the sheriff of the small town of Mayberry, North Carolina. Co-starring on the show was a familiar character actor, comedian and longtime friend Don Knotts, who played the role of Taylor's cousin and partner, Deputy Barney Fife. Ron Howard, an inexperienced actor at the time, also co-starred as Taylor's only son, Opie Taylor.

Premiering on CBS on October 3, 1960, "The Andy Griffith Show" was very popular and spun off two more TV series, ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' and ''Mayberry R.F.D.,'' as well as a 1986 reunion television movie, "Return to Mayberry," the highest rated TV-movie of its season. In 1967, Griffith was under contract with CBS to do one more season of the show but he decided to quit to pursue a movie career and other projects. "The Andy Griffith Show" left the air on April 1, 1968, when it was #1 in the Nielsen Ratings. Griffith's character, Andy Taylor, later was ranked #8 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" in the June 20, 2004, issue.

After leaving his still-popular show in 1968, Griffith starred in less successful series such as CBS' half-hour television drama "The Headmaster" (1970-1971), CBS' sitcom "The New Andy Griffith Show" (1971), ABC's science fiction/comedy series "Salvage 1" (1979), ABC’s short-lived drama series ''The Yeagers'' (1980), and ABC's sitcom "Best of the West" (1981-1982; guest starred as Joel Higgins father-in-law on one episode).

Meanwhile, Griffith also formed a production company, Andy Griffith Enterprises, whose first TV production was the mystery/thriller TV-movie "Winter Kill" (1974), in which Griffith also starred as a sheriff. The production company later produced the short-lived TV crime drama series "Adams of Eagle Lake" (1975), in which Griffith starred as Sheriff Sam Adams.

In 1975, Griffith was seen in Howard Zieff's western/comedy "Hearts of the West" in which he took second billing to Jeff Bridges. Two years later, he acted in his first TV miniseries, opposite Jason Robards and Cliff Robertson, in the Emmy-winning "Washington: Behind Closed Doors" (1977), which was based on John Ehrlichman's book about the Nixon administration.

Griffith received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for his role in the true story-based TV movie "Murder in Texas" (1981), which also stars Katharine Ross, Sam Elliott, and Farrah Fawcett. Four years later, in 1985, Griffith starred as a harsh judge in the dramatic made-for-television movie "Crime of Innocence," which also features Diane Ladd.

After spending time in rehabilitation for leg paralysis due to Guillain-Barre Syndrome in 1986, Griffith returned to a triumphant TV series with the legal drama "Matlock," in which he starred in the title role of a widower and a renowned defense lawyer. The show ran from September 23, 1986, to May 8, 1992, on NBC, then on November 5, 1992, until May 7, 1995, on ABC. Griffith also served as Writer, Executive Producer, and Director during the series' sixth season of the show. Distributed by Viacom, "Matlock" has seen long-running success in syndication.

Meanwhile, Griffith reprised his "Matlock" role in several TV movies. He was inducted in the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1992.

Griffith returned to the big screen as the villainous General Rancor in the uneven comedy "Spy Hard" (1996). He then reprised his ''Matlock'' role on 1997 episodes of the CBS mystery/medical/crime drama television series ''Diagnosis Murder.''

Also in 1997, Griffith's Gospel album, "I Love to Tell the Story - 25 Timeless Hymns," won a Grammy for Best Southern, Country/Bluegrass Gospel Album. In 1999, he 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 2001, Griffith had a supporting role in writer/director/star Billy Bob Thornton's dark comedy "Daddy and Them" (filmed in 1998). He also made a guest appearance in a February 2001 episode of The WB's hit primetime teen drama "Dawson's Creek.”

Griffith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush on November 9, 2005, and was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007.

Recently, moviegoers could catch the veteran actor as Old Joe, the diner owner who befriends Keri Russell's character, in the indie feature that was screened at Sundance, "Waitress" (2007), the final work of the late writer, director, and actress Adrienne Shelly.

Griffith has completed his upcoming film project, "Christmas Is Here Again," Robert Zappia's musical animated film in which he provides the voice of Santa Claus. He is currently filming "Play the Game," a romantic comedy by writer/director Marc Fienberg that will also star Doris Roberts and Marla Sokoloff. Griffith will soon star in Scott Teems' upcoming Southern drama film titled "I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down," alongside Walton Goggins and Ray McKinnon.

Awards:

• TV Land: Legend Award, "The Andy Griffith Show," 2004

• TV Land: Single Dad of the Year, "The Andy Griffith Show," 2003

• Grammy: Best Southern, Country/Bluegrass Gospel Album, "I Love to Tell the Story - 25 Timeless Hymns," 1997

• People's Choice: Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series, 1987