Andy Griffith

In 1981 Griffith won an Emmy nomination for his role in the TV film Murder In Texas and in 1983 won further acclaim for his role as a homicidal villain in the TV film Murder In Coweta County. Howard later appeared in such films as Mutiny on the Bounty, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Battle of Britain, Mary, Queen of Scots, Pope Joan, Ludwig, A Doll's House, Ryan's Daughter and Von Ryan's Express. He also starred in many television films such as Strangers In 7A (1972) and Winter Kill (1974). His first major role was in Brief Encounter in 1945, and starred in The Third Man and Sons and Lovers, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. After his show was cancelled in 1968, Griffith had several series that were not successful such as The Headmaster (1970), The New Andy Griffith Show (1971) and Salvage I (1979). Born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith in Cliftonville, Kent, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and acted on the London stage for several years before World War II. Griffith was an inspiration for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Huckleberry Hound, introduced in 1958. Trevor Howard (September 29, 1913 - January 7, 1988) was a British actor.

This film showcased Griffith's powerful talents as a dramatic actor. In 1959, Griffith starred in A Face in the Crowd. Again, he played a country boy and entertainer, but this time as a terrifying psychopath who used the rube pose to rise to political power. By 1954, he was on Broadway, starring in No Time for Sergeants, a play about a country boy in the air force, made into a film in 1959 and considered the direct inspiration for Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. Later that year, he recorded "Number One Street", telling the story of a rural family travelling to Florida on United States Highway 1.

His first success was a 1953 live recording of "What it was, was football", a story about a country boy at his first football game, delighting in the "big orange drinks" and the boys running up and down the "cow pasture" in "the awfulest fight I most ever saw" and "these purty girls a-wearin' these little-bitty short dresses, and a-dancin' around". Griffith started out as a stand-up comedian. Viewers immediately felt a connection with 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 entire town of "Mayberry". The Andy Griffith Show, which aired from 1960 to 1968, became an instant hit with its American audience.

Griffith is best known as "Sheriff Andy Taylor" in the popular 1960s television series The Andy Griffith Show and in the title role in the 1980s television series Matlock. He was a genuine country boy who made sophisticated humor based on his own background. Andy Griffith (born June 1, 1926) is an American actor, writer and producer from Mount Airy, North Carolina.