Andy Griffith
stage, film, TV actor / b.1926 – d.2012
from "Remembering Andy Griffith, Roanoke Island's Most Famous Resident" By Molly Harrison | Tuesday, July 3, 2012:
A native of Mt. Airy, N.C., Griffith started his acting career at UNC-Chapel Hill and came to Roanoke Island in the summers to act in The Lost Colony.
He started as a soldier in 1947 but was promoted to the starring role of Sir Walter Raleigh two years later and played that role in the summer production until 1953.
His first wife, Barbara Edwards, played opposite him as Eleanor Dare. The two were married on Roanoke Island in 1949.
Griffith's big acting break came with a standup comedy routine called "What It Was Was Football."
A recording of the monologue landed him an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
He went on to star on Broadway and in movies.
The Lost Colony / Waterside Theatre (Roanoke Island, NC) / 1947-1953
No Time for Sergeants / Alvin Theatre (NYC) / 1955-57
Destry Rides Again / Imperial Theatre (NYC) / 1959-60
No Time for Sergeants / Warner Bros. / 1957
A Face in the Crowd / 1957
No Time for Sergeants / tele-play / 1955
The Andy Griffith Show / CBS / 1960-68
Murder in Coweta County / CBS TV movie / 1983
Matlock / March 3, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC
(L) Andy as a young man / (R) and with his daughter, Dixie