Andy Griffith we hardly knew ye

[BYU 14]

This one is especially sad, loved the Andy Griffth show growing up

RIP

Report: America's sheriff Andy Griffith dead at 86 - TODAY Entertainment

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Actor Andy Griffith, who won the hearts of 1960s TV viewers with his role as gentle Sheriff Andy Taylor in “The Andy Griffith Show,” then returned as a 1980s country lawyer in “Matlock,” died Tuesday at 86, according to WITN-TV.

The news was reported to the North Carolina television station by Bill Friday, former president of the University of North Carolina and a Griffith friend.

Dare County Sheriff Doug Doughtie had confirmed to WITN earlier that am ambulance was sent to Griffith's home.

Griffith began his entertainment career with comic monologues and moved into movies, debuting in 1957’s “A Face in the Crowd” with Patricia Neal. But it was as the widower sheriff Andy Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show” that he really made his mark. The show, which also starred a young Ron Howard as Griffith’s son Opie, and comedian Don Knotts as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife, ran from 1960-1968. Its setting, in the fictional small-town of Mayberry, became almost as famous as any one episode.


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Griffith returned to TV stardom in 1986 as Ben Matlock, a Southern lawyer. That show ran until 1995 and was seized upon by comedians as a punchline for its popularity with older Americans. In one “Simpsons” episode, a highway is renamed the Matlock Expressway so a town mayor can win the elderly vote.

Griffith is survived by wife Cindi and his daughter Dixie. Son Andrew Jr., known as Sam, died in 1996.

[tarcone]

One of my all time favorites. The Andy Griffith show is one of my favorite shows.

R.I.P.

[cody8200]

Sad news. I love/d Andy Griffith. Same with Don Knotts. Both seemed like genuinely good guys.

[QuikSand]

*whistles a bit*

[molson]

One of my favorite childhood memories was being on the Atlantic City boardwalk and seeing my grandmother freak out when Andy Griffith walked out of a casino. I had no idea he who was at the time, but she got him to stop and chat and pose with her for some pictures. I can still see her grabbing his arm and saying (in kind of a stern old lady voice), "Merv, the camera's this way." He obliged of course, as classy old-timey celebrities usually did.

[JediKooter]

One of my favorites. Looks like I'll watch 'No Time for Sergeants' tonight when I get home, in his honor.

[Radii]

I've probably seen every episode of the Andy Griffith Show given how frequently it was on at my house when I was young. Very sad news.

[PackerFanatic]

My Dad is always proud that he picked Andy Griffith as my namesake. R.I.P.

[Easy Mac]

They still show The Andy Griffith Show every day on our local NBC affiliate right after the news at noon.

[RomaGoth]

RIP Andy. You will be missed, especially in this age of seemingly self-entitled actors/athletes/musicians.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by cody8200

Sad news. I love/d Andy Griffith. Same with Don Knotts. Both seemed like genuinely good guys.

+1

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

One of my favorites. Looks like I'll watch 'No Time for Sergeants' tonight when I get home, in his honor.

Sad news, huge fan. Loved "The Andy Griffith Show" and still watch it.

My first thought was to bring up "No Time for Sergeants", which for those that don't know also has Don Knotts in a minor role, figuring most here wouldn't have heard of it. I can still here the DI in the latrine "beautiful, beautiful,beautiful,beautiful,beautiful", funny stuff. I watched again a short time ago on Netfilx and would highly recommend it to anyone here.

[Jughead Spock]

Ditto that. Very sad news, one of my faves. Always reminded me of my dad.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by Sweed

Sad news, huge fan. Loved "The Andy Griffith Show" and still watch it.

My first thought was to bring up "No Time for Sergeants", which for those that don't know also has Don Knotts in a minor role, figuring most here wouldn't have heard of it. I can still here the DI in the latrine "beautiful, beautiful,beautiful,beautiful,beautiful", funny stuff. I watched again a short time ago on Netfilx and would highly recommend it to anyone here.

Nice! I'm glad to see someone else shares my like of this movie. Haha! Yes. The sergeant is like a proto Sgt. Hulka from Stripes. Funny movie, clean fun, I definitely recommend it.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

Nice! I'm glad to see someone else shares my like of this movie. Haha! Yes. The sergeant is like a proto Sgt. Hulka from Stripes. Funny movie, clean fun, I definitely recommend it.

Classic. His old stand-up routines are excellent as well. This is one of the best:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNxLxTZHKM8

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Classic. His old stand-up routines are excellent as well. This is one of the best:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNxLxTZHKM8

Very nice! I've heard some of his other stuff, but, not that one.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Andy & Goober in the same year. RIP

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

Very nice! I've heard some of his other stuff, but, not that one.

How in the world had you missed What It Was, Was Football? That's pretty much the bit from his pre-TV career.

[thesloppy]

Loved me some Andy. R.I.P. Maybe I'll pop on "A Face in the Crowd" later.

Also: COME ON HIPPIE!

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

How in the world had you missed What It Was, Was Football? That's pretty much the bit from his pre-TV career.

For the longest time, I didn't even know that he did stand up. Weird that I missed this one though given the popularity of it. Rest assured, I've got it on my list of things to do this weekend to see what else of his stand up act that I missed.

[Radii]

The football bit is surely his most well known stand up work, he had some great stuff with a few Shakespeare plays as well. His telling of Romeo and Juliet, adapted for the show at least:

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Radii

The football bit is surely his most well known stand up work, he had some great stuff with a few Shakespeare plays as well. His telling of Romeo and Juliet, adapted for the show at least:

IIRC Romeo & Juliet was on the flip side of the WIWWF 45.

[Buccaneer]

RIP Andy.

I'll probably get in trouble for being insensitive but I have longed wondered why all the surprise or shock when an elderly person passes away. Are people looking back and thinking that a person was still like he/she was 30-40 years ago and thinking it was that person at that age that passed away? I understand the grief and shock when a young person gets taken away in his/her prime, not someone who was quite old and in poor health.

I say all that because I recently lost my father. He was elderly and in vey poor health and it was a relief for him and to all of us that he passed on, same with my father-in-law a couple of years ago. We cherished their memories but it was certainly time for them to go.

I don't know, maybe as one gets older, we tolerate and expect death more because we've seen and experience them more.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

RIP Andy.

I'll probably get in trouble for being insensitive but I have longed wondered why all the surprise or shock when an elderly person passes away. Are people looking back and thinking that a person was still like he/she was 30-40 years ago and thinking it was that person at that age that passed away? I understand the grief and shock when a young person gets taken away in his/her prime, not someone who was quite old and in poor health.

I say all that because I recently lost my father. He was elderly and in vey poor health and it was a relief for him and to all of us that he passed on, same with my father-in-law a couple of years ago. We cherished their memories but it was certainly time for them to go.

I don't know, maybe as one gets older, we tolerate and expect death more because we've seen and experience them more.

I think in the case of some of us (and I am in this group) it is just losing something/someone you grew up with. You accumulate lots of memories through life and when someone goes that is affiliated with a good memory (special time in childhood, first love, children being born, etc) it is somewhat sad, even though it may expected, or in some cases surprising they lived that long.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

I think in the case of some of us (and I am in this group) it is just losing something/someone you grew up with. You accumulate lots of memories through life and when someone goes that is affiliated with a good memory (special time in childhood, first love, children being born, etc) it is somewhat sad, even though it may expected, or in some cases surprising they lived that long.

I can understand that but memories does not change or go away when a person dies, does it?

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I can understand that but memories does not change or go away when a person dies, does it?

Not at all, just brings them back a bit stronger for a brief time, which probably accounts for the sadness that a piece of that memory is now gone forever, even if you don't know them.

A good example of a family member for me is my Grandmother. She played a huge role in my life growing up and was really more of a Mother than my Mom at times. She kept me on the right path and was always there. I was devastated when she died, even though she had a poor quality of life the last year or so. It will be 7 years in October, but I still think or her constantly and always smile when I do. There are also times when I get sad because I can not pick up the phone and just call to say hi.

So yes, memories don't change, but they can't fill the void completely.

[stevew]

I would have loved to see what % of people thought he was alive yesterday.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by stevew

I would have loved to see what % of people thought he was alive yesterday.

I honestly thought he was older than 86

[M GO BLUE!!!]

This post is to pad the thread and placate TCY Junkie.

I hope this makes him happy.

[Abe Sargent]

I watched A Face in the Crowd again tonight in celebration of the man's life

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

This post is to pad the thread and placate TCY Junkie.

I hope this makes him happy.

You mean you were actually able to interpret what he said?

[molson]

I did not know he composed the Jeopardy final jeopardy countdown song.

I also realized watching that clip posted above that I had never before watched a single second of the Andy Griffith show. Though I have seen the opening sequence once or twice in some other context . I've also never seen a second of Matlock - though I have watched the opening sequence of that a few times on youtube because I found it catchy. And I've never seen anything else the guy ever did, even though I feel like I know a fair amount about him.

I got some stuff to check out.

[Matthean]

http://littleleaguecomic.tumblr.com/...wart-in-loving

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

I watched A Face in the Crowd again tonight in celebration of the man's life

Very good film.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

Very good film.

No joke. That movie could have been made yesterday. I finally watched after having it on my dvr since July. Now I wished I had watched it sooner. Pretty amazing movie.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by molson

I did not know he composed the Jeopardy final jeopardy countdown song.

I didn't know this either, so I looked it up. It's actually Merv Griffin, not Any Griffith. Merv made over $70 million dollars on Jeopardy theme song royalties. Wow!