Andy Griffith Already Laid to Rest

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Andy Griffith Buried Less Than 5 Hours After He Died

Griffith, who was 86, died at about 7 a.m. Tuesday at his home in Dare County, N.C., according to North Carolina’s WITN-TV. Emergency medical crews had responded to a call for help, but no cause of death was given.

In a statement Tuesday, his family said he "has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoke Island."

His family requested that his body be lowered into a grave on Roanoke Island around 11:30 a.m. ET, according to a funeral spokesperson who talked to CNN upon the condition of anonymity.

"It had been planned for some time," said the spokesperson, who declined to reveal where on the island he was buried. "This was the wish of his family."

It's unusual for a person to be buried so soon after his or her death, Larry F. Stegall, executive director of the state's Funeral Directors Association, told CNN.

It's not very common," he said. "I don't recall having heard of it, and I've been here 32 years."

Griffith is best known for starring in The Andy Griffith Show from 1960-68 and on Matlock from 1986-95.

His co-stars, including Ron Howard and Jim Nabors, as well as President Obama paid tribute to him Tuesday.
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Television icon Andy Griffith died Tuesday at his home in Dare County, N.C. He was 86.

Former University of North Carolina president Bill Friday told WITN News that the "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Matlock" actor died and the Dare County Sheriff's office later confirmed the report to The New York Times.

Bing: More on Andy Griffith

The actor's wife Cindi released the following statement: "Andy was a person of incredibly strong Christian faith and was prepared for the day he would be called Home to his Lord. He is the love of my life, my constant companion, my partner, and my best friend. I cannot imagine life without Andy, but I take comfort and strength in God's grace and in the knowledge that Andy is at peace and with God.

With his slow drawl and penchant for playing characters who wore their decency like a badge in shows like "The Andy Griffith Show," the actor came to personify small-town values, with the emphasis on family and community. He was, in many ways, America's sheriff.

Also: Andy Griffith tributes to air on TCM, TV Land

He first came to prominence on Broadway in the 1950s in the Army comedy "No Time for Sergeants" and the musical version of "Destry Rides Again."

He reprised his country bumpkin role in "Sergeants" for the 1958 film version, earning rave reviews and propelling the film to the top of that year's box office.

But his film debut in 1957's "A Face in the Crowd" mined a darker side of Griffith, one that he largely abandoned in favor of more populist slices of entertainment. Working with legendary director Elia Kazan, Griffith gave his finest dramatic performance as Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, a drifter who is discovered by an ambitious producer and transformed into a national television phenomenon. With his folksy bromides, Rhodes seemed to presage such modern boob tube bloviators as Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann, and the film itself was a sly commentary on the power of television that was way ahead of its time.

Remembering Andy Griffith: Share your thoughts on Facebook

Yet it was television that would launch Griffith into the pop culture pantheon. Playing Sheriff Andy Taylor, a widower trying to raise a young son, on the long-running "The Andy Griffith Show," the actor found the perfect vehicle for his easy-going delivery and comic talents.

Mayberry, the fictional North Carolina town where Taylor represented law and order, was populated by village eccentrics like hapless deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts) and naive gas station attendant Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors). Griffith provided the show's center of gravity; his gift was to be a proxy for the audience and to respond to the antics around him instead of providing a spark to the lunacy.

Ron Howard, who played Griffith's son on the program before starring in "Happy Days" and becoming an Oscar-winning director, paid tribute to his television dad on Tuesday.

"His pursuit of excellence and the joy he took in creating served generations & shaped my life. I'm forever grateful RIP Andy," Howard twittered.

Video: Andy Griffith, TV legend, dead at 86

The show they starred in together ran for eight seasons and nearly 250 episodes before wrapping up in 1968. Although it remains his most iconic role, Griffith's generosity as an actor may have worked against him when it came to awards -- he was, amazingly, never nominated for an Emmy for his work as Taylor.

But popular culture had moved very far away from the bucolic Mayberry, and throughout the 1970's and early 80's, Griffith struggled to establish another show as successful as "The Andy Griffith Show." Among his failed efforts were "Headmaster" (1970), "The New Andy Griffith Show" (1971) and "The Yeagers" (1980).

As he neared his sixth decade, he finally found the right vehicle in "Matlock," a legal drama that ran on NBC and ABC from 1986 to 1995. Griffith portrayed a folksy criminal defense lawyer with a penchant for courtroom dramatics and a love of hot dogs. The accent was the same as Taylor's, but unlike the small-town sheriff, Matlock was a brilliant attorney with a worldliness and wiliness that allowed him to translate to modern viewers.

In addition to his acting career, Griffith was a successful recording artist. He recorded several hit albums of Christian hymns for Sparrow Records and earned a Grammy Award for his work. Perhaps his most famous recording is "The Fishin' Hole," the jaunty theme song to "The Andy Griffith Show."

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sCFHABydJu8

[Frigga]

What a bummer! :( I used to watch The Andy Griffith show and Matlocke all the time when I was a little girl. I have a lot of memories of watching them when I was over at my grandparents.

RIP. :(

[Sally]

Sometimes I think I'd like to live in Mayberry.

RIP, Andy Griffith!

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Whenever Andy mentioned the UK on his show, he would just call it "the old country". In the 1960s, folks in North Carolina and other parts of America still felt a strong connection to their British ancestral roots.

[Drawing-slim]

So he was a hidden true muslim believer to be buried so soon.

[Edelmann]

My mother used to have us sit and watch that show with her. I don't remember enjoying it much at the time, but in retrospect it is quite a funny show.

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My mother used to have us to sit and watch that show with her. I don't remember enjoying it much at the time, but in retrospect it is quite a funny show.

I didn't care for the show when I was kid either. After I got older, I started watching it again and appreciated the brilliance of the show and the chemistry between Don Knotts and Andy Griffith. The casting could not have been better.

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[Bobcat Fraser]

He was a television icon. He was a great actor. His acting was right up there with that of Robert Duvall and George C. Scott in "A Face In The Crowd". He was a great comedian. He was absolutely hilarious in "No Time For Sergeants". He could have had a good career in movies. We were lucky that he chose to have a great career in TV. His spirit will live on in all the future airings of "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Matlock".

[Edelmann]

sCFHABydJu8

"No Longer Available" :lol:

They're looking to capitalize on his death.