Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy-friendly personality, as well as his gruff but friendly voice, Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles.

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

Griffith was raised Baptist[4] and looked up to Ed Mickey, a minister at Grace Moravian Church, who led the brass band and taught him to sing and play the trombone.

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

He 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.

He expanded that role in Ira Levin's full-length theatrical version of the same name (October 1955) on Broadway in New York City.

He plays a "country boy" who is manipulative and power-hungry: a drifter who becomes a television host and uses his show as a gateway to political power.

A 2005 DVD reissue of A Face in the Crowd includes a mini-documentary on the film, with comments from Schulberg and cast members Griffith, Franciosa, and Neal.

In 1960, Griffith appeared as a county sheriff, who was also a justice of the peace and the editor of the local newspaper, in an episode of Make Room for Daddy starring Danny Thomas.

[15] He made final appearances as Taylor in the 1986 reunion television film, Return to Mayberry, with fellow co-star, Don Knotts.

Matlock also starred unfamiliar, struggling actors (both of whom were childhood fans of Andy Griffith) Nancy Stafford as Michelle Thomas (1987–1992) and Clarence Gilyard, Jr. as Conrad McMasters (1989–1993).

[19] Griffith also made other character appearances through the years on Playhouse 90, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Mod Squad, Hawaii Five-O, The Doris Day Show, Here's Lucy, The Bionic Woman and Fantasy Island, among many others.

For most of the 1970s, Griffith starred or appeared in many television films, including The Strangers in 7A (1972), Go Ask Alice (1973), Winter Kill (1974) and Pray for the Wildcats (1974), which marked his first villainous role since A Face in the Crowd.

He appeared as The Father in a 1976 PBS television adaptation, directed by Stacy Keach, of Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author.

A year later, he starred as a New York City attorney for the DA's office in Street Killing, which also failed to launch a new show.

Two television films for NBC in 1977, The Girl in the Empty Grave and Deadly Game, were attempts for Griffith to launch a new series featuring him as Police Chief Abel Marsh, a more hard-edged version of Andy Taylor; despite strong ratings, both were unsuccessful in leading to a new TV show.

Following another short-lived return to series television, playing a family patriarch in the Dynasty-inspired The Yeagers in 1980, Griffith continued to make guest appearances in several hit series, including Hotel, Fantasy Island, where he played a fictional version of western figure Judge Roy Bean featured in an aspiring singer's fantasy, and an episode of The Love Boat, which featured a memorable appearance by pop icon Andy Warhol.

Griffith stunned many unfamiliar with his A Face in the Crowd work in the television film Crime of Innocence (1985)...wherein he portrayed a hateful and vindictive judge who routinely sentenced juveniles to hard prison time, followed by lengthy and equally-torturous probation.

He further surprised audiences with his role as a dangerous and mysterious grandfather in the television film Gramps (1995) co-starring John Ritter.

In the feature film Waitress (2007), Griffith played a crusty diner owner who takes a shine to Keri Russell's character.

His last appearance was the leading role in the romantic comedy, independent film Play the Game (2009) as a lonely, widowed grandfather re-entering the dating world after a 60-year hiatus.

[22] William Harold Fenrick of Platteville, Wisconsin, legally changed his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith and ran unsuccessfully for sheriff of Grant County in November 2006.

On May 4, 2007, US District Court Judge John C. Shabaz ruled that Griffith/Fenrick did not violate federal trademark law because he did not use the Griffith name in a commercial transaction but instead in order "to seek elective office, fundamental First Amendment protected speech".

[17][18] Griffith also made a comedy cameo on the Saturday Night Live program of October 9, 1982, hosted by Howard, who was, by then, in the early years of his directing career.

After Griffith's death, Howard stated: His love of creating, the joy he took in it whether it was drama or comedy or his music, was inspiring to grow up around.

'"[40] In 2000, Griffith appeared in a last-minute campaign commercial where he endorsed Democratic Party candidate and then-Attorney General Mike Easley for governor of North Carolina.

Many observers dubbed Easley's victory as the "Mayberry Miracle", and credit Griffith's endorsement for stopping his falling poll numbers.

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

[44][45] In 1989, he declined an offer by Democratic Party officials to run against Jesse Helms, a Republican Senator from North Carolina.

[47][48][49] In 1945, while a student at the University of North Carolina, Griffith was initiated as a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a national social music fraternity for men.