22 Facts About Andy Griffith

1. In October 2008, Andy Griffith appeared with Ron Howard in a Funny or Die video endorsement for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

2. In 2000, Andy Griffith appeared in a last-minute campaign commercial where he endorsed then-Attorney General Mike Easley for governor of the state of North Carolina.

3. Andy Griffith traveled from his Manteo, North Carolina, home to Los Angeles to visit the terminally ill Knotts at Cedars-Sinai just before Knotts died of lung cancer.

4. Andy Griffith appeared in the pilot for Griffith's subsequent short-lived series, The New Andy Griffith Show, and he had a recurring role on Matlock, from 1988 to 1992.

5. Andy Griffith appeared in country singer Brad Paisley's music video "Waitin' on a Woman".

6. Andy Griffith appeared as a comical villain in the spy movie spoof Spy Hard starring Leslie Nielsen.

7. Andy Griffith stunned many unfamiliar with his A Face in the Crowd work in the television film Crime of Innocence, where he portrayed a callous judge who routinely sentenced juveniles to hard prison time.

8. Andy Griffith made other character appearances through the years on Playhouse 90, Gomer Pyle, USM.

9. Andy Griffith made final appearances as Taylor in the 1986 reunion television film, Return to Mayberry, with fellow co-star, Don Knotts.

10. Andy Griffith served as executive producer and guest starred in five episodes (the pilot episode involved his marriage to Helen Crump).

11. In 1967, Andy Griffith was under contract with CBS to do one more season of the show.

12. In 1960, Andy Griffith appeared as a county sheriff in an episode of Make Room for Daddy, starring Danny Thomas.

13. In 1957, Andy Griffith made his film debut starring in the film A Face in the Crowd.

14. Andy Griffith portrayed a US Coast Guard sailor in the feature film Onionhead; it was neither a critical nor a commercial success.

15. Andy Griffith was nominated for "Distinguished Musical Actor" at the 1960 Tony Awards, losing to Jackie Gleason.

16. Andy Griffith expanded that role in Ira Levin's full-length theatrical version of the same name on Broadway in New York City.

17. Andy Griffith began college studying to be a Moravian preacher, but he changed his major to music and became a part of the school's Carolina Playmakers.

18. Andy Griffith attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1949.

19. Andy Griffith performed as a cast member of the play for several years, playing a variety of roles, until he finally landed the role of Sir Walter Raleigh, the namesake of North Carolina's capital.

20. Andy Griffith was delighted when he was offered a role in The Lost Colony by Paul Green, a play about Roanoke Island still performed today.

21. In 1929, when Andy Griffith was three, his father began working as a helper or carpenter and purchased a home in Mount Airy's "blue-collar" south side.

22. Andy Griffith was born on June 1, 1926 in Mount Airy, North Carolina, the only child of Carl Lee Griffith and his wife, Geneva.