The Andy Griffith Show helped a lot of people because it always shared very good moral and ethical teachings for children and adults. Although the show was a real success and there are still people who remember him with pleasure, Andy Griffith’s life was quite difficult and he did not think it was possible to become such a well-known actor.
Andrew Griffith was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, on June 1, but his childhood was not very beautiful. His parents did not have a house and lived with different friends of theirs. Andy also lived longer with relatives until his father was able to afford a home for his family.
When Andy was 3 years old, his father was able to pay for a house and the three lived together. He was passionate about music and always listened to the radio, but Andy was a very shy boy. Because of this, many children laughed at him. Everything changed when Andy had to sing “Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet” in front of entire schools when he was in third grade. The audience was very pleased with his performance, and he realized that his life is on stage.
Andy, raised as a Baptist and his pastor, Ed Mickey, always encouraged him to follow his dreams. In the 1950s, Andy was a monologist and from there his career took off. A few TV roles followed, followed by The Andy Griffith Show.
The show immediately became known and loved by people. The show began in 1960 and ended 8 years later. An interesting thing is the fact that the show managed to remain on the first place on television until the moment it ended.
Andy was very popular but did not win any awards for his role in the show. His colleagues, Don Knott and Frances Bavier, won awards for their roles. After the show ended, Andy decided to take the next step and set up the production company Andy Griffith Enterprises. Andy wanted other roles, so in 1986 he was offered the role of Ben Matlock in the series “Matlock”.
Andy was married three times, first marrying Barbara Bray Edwards in 1949. They met at the University of North Carolina and during the marriage decided to adopt 2 children: Sam and Dixie.
After 23 years of marriage, Andy and Barbara decided to go their separate ways and he remarried just 1 year after the divorce. The second marriage lasted 8 years.
Her third marriage to Cindi Knight lasted until Andy died in 2012.
Andy’s son Sam died at just 37 from alcoholism. It is rumored that Sam’s death greatly affected Andy and changed him. Dixie also said that Andy spoiled his children quite often because he wanted to give them the best.
A few years later, Dixie confirmed that her brother’s death had affected Andy so much that he was unable to attend the funeral service. Dixie said that fame made her father pay close attention to privacy and did not let people get close to him and his family. However, Andy has a lot of fun with his children and protects them as much as possible.
Unfortunately, in 1983, health problems began to appear in Andy’s life, being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome. He underwent several surgeries over the years until his death in 2012 from a heart attack. He died with his wife, Cindi at his side.