Entertainment

Andy Griffith Dies at 86

Beloved actor Andy Griffith has died. He was 86.

Andy Griffith Dies at Age 86

Andy Griffith sits in front of a bronze statue of Andy and Opie from the "Andy Griffith Show," Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2003, after the statue was unveiled during a ceremony in Raleigh, N.C. Griffith's 40-year acting career has been largely defined by Sheriff Andy Tayor, who he played in the show. (AP Photo/Bob Jordan)

From an NBC News report:

Actor Andy Griffith, who won the hearts of 1960s TV viewers with his role as gentle Sheriff Andy Taylor in “The Andy Griffith Show,” then returned as a 1980s country lawyer in “Matlock,” died Tuesday at 86. The news was confirmed to North Carolina television station WITN by Bill Friday, former president of the University of North Carolina and a Griffith friend.

Griffith died about 7 a.m. at his coastal home, Dare County Sheriff Doug Doughtie said in a statement.

“Mr. Griffith passed away this morning at his home peacefully and has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoke Island,” Doughtie told The Associated Press, reading from a family statement.

The family will release further information, the sheriff said.

He had suffered a heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2000.

Griffith’s career spanned more than a half-century on stage, film and television, but he would always be best known as Sheriff Andy Taylor in the television show set in a North Carolina town not too different from Griffith’s own hometown of Mount Airy, N.C.

Griffith set the show in the fictional town of Mayberry, N.C., where Sheriff Taylor was the dutiful nephew who ate pickles that tasted like kerosene because they were made by his loving Aunt Bee, played by the late Frances Bavier. He was a widowed father who offered gentle guidance to son Opie, played by Ron Howard, who grew up to become the Oscar-winning director of “A Beautiful Mind.”

Don Knotts was the goofy Deputy Barney Fife, while Jim Nabors joined the show as Gomer Pyle, the unworldly, lovable gas pumper.

On “Matlock,” which aired from 1986 through 1995, Griffith played a cagey Harvard-educated defense attorney who was Southern-bred and -mannered with a practice in Atlanta.

In his rumpled seersucker suit in a steamy courtroom (air conditioning would have spoiled the mood), Matlock could toy with a witness and tease out a confession like a folksy Perry Mason.

The character – law-abiding, fatherly and lovable – was much like Sheriff Andy Taylor with silver hair and a shingle.

In a 2007 interview with The Associated Press, Griffith said “The Andy Griffith Show,” which initially aired from 1960 to 1968, was seen somewhere in the world every day. A reunion movie, “Return to Mayberry,” was the top-rated TV movie of the 1985-86 season.

“The Andy Griffith Show” was a loving portrait of the town where few grew up but many wished they did – a place where all foibles are forgiven and friendships are forever. Villains came through town and moved on, usually changed by their stay in Mayberry. That was all a credit to Griffith, said Craig Fincannon, who met Griffith in 1974.

“I see so many TV shows about the South where the creative powers behind it have no life experience in the South,” Fincannon said. “What made `The Andy Griffith Show’ work was Andy Griffith himself – the fact that he was of this dirt and had such deep respect for the people and places of his childhood. A character might be broadly eccentric, but the character had an ethical and moral base that allowed us to laugh with them and not at them. And Andy Griffith’s the reason for that.”

Griffith’s career included stints on Broadway, notably “No Time for Sergeants”; movies such as Elia Kazan’s “A Face in the Crowd”; and records. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts Hall of Fame in 1992 and in 2005, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.

“The Andy Griffith Show” was one of only three series in TV history to bow out at the top of the ratings. (The others were “I Love Lucy” and “Seinfeld.”) Griffith said he decided to end it “because I thought it was slipping, and I didn’t want it to go down further.”

When asked in 2007 to name his favorite episodes, the ones atop Griffith‘s list were the shows that emphasized Knotts’ character. Griffith and Knotts had become friends while performing in “No Time for Sergeants,” and remained so until Knotts’ death in 2006 at 81.

“The second episode that we shot, I knew Don should be funny and I should play straight for him,” Griffith said. “That opened up the whole series because I could play straight for everybody else. And I didn’t have to be funny. I just let them be funny.”

Letting others get the laughs was something of a role reversal for Griffith, whose career took off after he recorded the comedic monologue “What It Was, Was Football.”

That led to his first national television exposure on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1954, and the stage and screen versions as the bumbling draftee in “No Time for Sergeants.”

In the drama “A Face in the Crowd,“ he starred as Larry ”Lonesome” Rhodes, a local jailbird and amateur singer who becomes a homespun philosopher on national television. As his influence rises, his drinking, womanizing and lust for power are hidden by his handlers.

“Mr. Griffith plays him with thunderous vigor,” The New York Times wrote. Said The Washington Post: “He seems to have one of those personalities that sets film blazing.”

Griffith said Kazan led him through his role, and it was all a bit overwhelming for someone with, as he put it, just “one little acting course in college.”

“He would call me in the morning into his little office there, and he’d tell me all the colors that he wanted to see from my character that day,” he recalled in 2007.

“Lonesome Rhodes had wild mood swings. He’d be very happy, he’d be very said, he’d be very angry, very depressed,” he said. “And I had to pull all of these emotions out of myself. And it wasn’t easy.”

His role as Sheriff Taylor seemingly obliterated Hollywood’s memory of Griffith as a bad guy. But then, after that show ended, he found roles scarce until he landed a bad-guy role in “Pray for the Wildcats.”

Hollywood’s memory bank dried up again, he said. “I couldn’t get anything but heavies. It’s funny how that town is out there. They see you one way.”

More recently, Griffith won a Grammy in 1997 for his album of gospel music “I Love to Tell the Story – 25 Timeless Hymns.”

In 2007, he appeared in the independent film “Waitress,” playing the boss at the diner. The next year, he appeared in Brad Paisley’s awarding-winning music video “Waitin’ on a Woman.”

Griffith was born in 1926 in Mount Airy and as a child sang and played slide trombone in the band at Grace Moravian Church. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and for a time contemplated a career in the ministry. But he eventually got a job teaching high school music in Goldsboro.

His acting career began with the role of Sir Walter Raleigh in Paul Green’s outdoor pageant, “The Lost Colony,” in Manteo. And he remained in the area even after superstardom knocked at his door.

Griffith protected his privacy by building a circle of friends who revealed little to nothing about him. Strangers who asked where Griffith lived in Manteo would receive circular directions that took them to the beach, said William Ivey Long, the Tony Award-winning costume designer whose parents were friends with Griffith and his first wife, Barbara.

Griffith helped Long’s father build the house where the family lived in a community of bohemian artists with little money, sharing quart jars of homemade vegetable soup with each other.

Both Long and Fincannon recalled Griffith’s sneaky tendency to show up unexpectedly – sneaking into the choir at “The Lost Colony,” or driving the grand marshals of the local Christmas parade incognito in his 1932 roadster convertible.

Fincannon described Griffith as the symbol of North Carolina, a role that “put heavy pressure on him because everyone felt like he was their best friend. With great grace, he handled the constant barrage of people wanting to talk to Andy Taylor.”

He and his first wife, Barbara Edwards, had two children, Sam, who died in 1996, and Dixie. His second wife was Solica Cassuto. Both marriages ended in divorce. He married his third wife, Cindi Knight Griffith, in 1983.

“She and I are not only married, we’re partners,” Griffith said in 2007. “And she helps me very much with everything.”

When asked if the real Griffith was more wise like Sheriff Taylor or cranky like Joe, the diner owner in “Waitress,” Griffith said he was a bit of both, and then some.

“I’m not really wise. But I can be cranky,” he said. “I can be a lot like Joe. But I’m lot like Andy Taylor, too. And I’m some Lonesome Rhodes.”

This is a breaking story. Updates will be added.

Comments (176)

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  • 1WhoQuestions
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:07am

    So long, Sherriff. Goodbye Matlock.

    Good people can be wrong when it comes to politics. That doesn’t make them any less of a good person. It means they may not have connected all the dots, thought about the unintended consequences of a law or policy, or that they did not see the big picture in its entirety. Obamacare is a good idea only on the surface. It is only upon diving into it you find out just how bad and dangerous it is.

    Report Post »  
    • love the kids
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:22am

      The guy that was the spokes person for Obamacare dies 1 week after it is upheld, 1 and counting.

      Report Post »  
    • sWampy
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:24am

      Good people don’t promote laws that will directly lead to the death of millions, hope someday I get to spit on his grave.

      Report Post »  
    • Truthbeliever2
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:30am

      So long Andy :)

      You are a total sell out to this great nation. You are a communist piece of garbage and you will not be missed.

      Report Post » Truthbeliever2  
    • rickc34
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:42am

      I enjoyed watching him growing up in the sixties, but now he is gone. Say hi to Barney and Goober . He was mislead on Obama care just like the millions of seniors that will soon discover the truth. Obama and his crew lied to the public, God will judge them for that.

      Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:45am

      I agree with LOVE THE KIDS .. ironic isn’t it .. I guess his evil was done (at least he was). Now it is up to Patriots to undo the damage done by these Marxists.

      Report Post »  
    • Maji
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:57am

      With all of his faults,I’m sad.
      He was a “Andy”…I grew up watching his show and
      still do time from time. It’s a wholesome show!!
      Something we deperately need now.

      **Kinda seems like someone broke a piece of
      my childhood.**

      Report Post »  
    • Red Meat
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 12:12pm

      Progressive POS. Always was.

      Part of the great brainwashing of America.
      http://douglasdrenkow.com/progressivethinking/media/medi3.htm

      Report Post » Red Meat  
    • Wool-Free Vision
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 12:16pm

      Sadly, my first thought when I saw the headline was “if he’d passed away at age 82 I would have missed him so much more.”

      I grew up with Sheriff Taylor as one of my idols. My late father, whose father died when he was only six, used Andy Taylor’s example of fatherhood as a model for what a good Dad should be, and my Dad was the greatest. He was tough when necessary, but it was always tempered with wisdom and love, and he was as fair and true as any father has ever been with a son. So, Andy was a pretty good role model IMHO.

      So anyway, I held the actor in very high regard, based foolishly on a character he played.

      Then came Ron Hollywood Howard in 2008, pimping out old Andy. Just another shill for the DNC. That propaganda piece they peddled for Obama made me sick. Andy was apparently just happy as a clam to be used like that: Pimping socialism with Opie. It made me weep to watch him and Opie drop a big steamer on my childhood like that. (It marks the only time I can ever remember being thankful that my Dad wasn’t around to see something.)

      To sum up: I would have felt a lot worse about losing this sellout to the Grim Reaper 4 years ago.

      Now, I only feel angry the old shill didn‘t live another year or two so he’d have to face a “death panel” before kicking it. The old bastrd died too soon to reap what he helped sow. I feel cheated that we’ll never get to hear him lament his decision to be a wh0re for the socialist DNC.

      R.I.P. Sheriff Taylor. Not you

      Report Post » Wool-Free Vision  
    • 4truth2all
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 12:39pm

      You all sound like you need some “heart” transplants.
      Are you perfect in all that you have done ?

      Report Post »  
    • pitboss711
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 1:01pm

      I’d bet that Griffith had everything to do with molding Ron Howard into the liberal he is today. I miss Matlock and Andy Taylor, but feel no loss with Griffith’s passing. Just one more liberal traitor flushed down the drain.

      Report Post » pitboss711  
    • black9897
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 5:17pm

      Geez…stop being such jerks. He was a good man. A God fearing man to. He was part of one of the most beloved shows of all time. Have some class.

      Report Post » black9897  
    • Prairieguy
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:28am

      Your so-called “greatest country in the world” requires 20% of your income in health care, in Canada we pay 14% of our taxes to health care, and we all get taken care of, no extra premiums, no extra charges, no deductables. Get your heads out of your a**es and realize the republicans goal is to keep you all stupid, broke, poorly fed and uninformed. It has been 50 years since you were great!

      Report Post »  
  • ziggrl
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:07am

    Watch his movie from 1957 called “A Face in the Crowd”. It will tell you a lot about the media and the public at large. Fantastic movie and acting by Griffith. RIP

    Report Post »  
    • saved4ever
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:22am

      Agree. Andy showed his “acting chops” in that movie! Best movie of the 1950s.

      Report Post »  
    • countryfirst
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:28am

      I love the movie “No time for sergeants”

      Report Post » countryfirst  
    • Truthbeliever2
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:40am

      Yes Yes a great communist actor to star in a great movie which was written by a communist. I‘m glad he’s dead. So long see ya commie trash…

      Report Post » Truthbeliever2  
    • Rajabear1
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 1:10pm

      He is who Regan spoke out and warned the country about years ago. He saw the communism in hollywood and how they were using it to gradually transform USA and rang the bell–loudly.
      Good ol andy is part of the old guard, it was great to see the new guard dig him up to convince the elderly to march to the drum beat to their own demise.
      I am a huge fan of old movies, now, after being educated over the last 4 yrs, I now watch my movies and I’m just floored by how prevalent progressivism was in the movies. It is so overt once you know what to look for.
      So please forgive me for not feeling a sense of loss, but rather a sense of relief that anther one bites the dust.

      Report Post »  
  • Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:06am

    The nation will likely never see his like again. That saddens me.

    Report Post » Lesbian Packing Hollow Points  
  • USNRET04
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:05am

    This is just like when the Blaze posted that Mike Wallace died – a lot of people with the “good riddance” and hope he “burns in hell” attitude. It is just sad to read. I would like to believe that most of us here do not feel that way – no matter the politics.

    Rest in Peace Andy.

    - from a Conservative, Christian, Retired Veteran.

    Report Post » USNRET04  
    • mikefromaltoona
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:12am

      Don’t worry, most of us don’t!

      Report Post » mikefromaltoona  
    • NYW_Kevin
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:18am

      Thank you! I’m a 23 year old that grew up listening to Rush on the radio at a young age with my dad. I continued to do my own research and come up with my own beliefs as I grew more into a conservative. I was so sick of the hatred from the left, the name calling, and the complete rubbish. Sadly I sometimes hate coming to this site as well. So much disrespect and so much anger when I listen to some of these comments that it makes me wonder if I even want to be a conservative either. There could be a story about baseball on here and people will still take a cheap shot at Obama or say “must be bush’s fault”. I understand this is a political site but it still makes me shake my head. Luckily there are a few comments on the blaze like this that give me some hope.

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    • johnjamison
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:19am

      . Andy was a subpar actor who was peddling Hollywood politics aka socialism/communism. He seemed like a likable person but I sure in some circles so was hitler,stalin.mao,che,and host of others.

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    • CommieJuice
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:46am

      I understand your view as a fellow Christian, but he was an actor, who did acting, he was loved and mostly known only for that. In real life, the real Andy was a typical liberal who gave time and plenty of money to liberal causes, his last being the one where we conned the elderly into thinking 0bamacare was good for them. For me the actions of a person supersedes their acting ability no matter how long they have been around or how much we all loved him in his shows. I grew up on him and I do mourn him, but he died to me pretty much the day I found out how liberal he was and how deep into liberal politics he used his fame and money. The feeling you are having now is what I had that same day I read about him and learned who he really was. Same with Burt Lancaster and Gregory Peck. It sickens and saddens me, but in the end I can discern the difference between actor and real person.

      Report Post » CommieJuice  
    • Government_Goodies
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 12:18pm

      Liberals support a political philosophy that has killed and enslaved millions. It’s very difficult to be gracious to those who support it.

      Report Post » Government_Goodies  
    • grannyjojo
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 2:24pm

      I’m with you, hope most can realize and understand. If they can’t its their loss, as a Christian we are to love one another. Andy’s sin, being a democrat? My dad was a democrat until the day he died….a DEMOCRAT….he wasn’t a PROGRESSIVE…..two entirely different things. And btw, I could care less what POLITICAL affiliation Andy was, my deepest prayer is that he was a CHRISTIAN! In the end folks, thats all that matters. God be will all of you. “Every knee will bow and every tongue confess” This from a deeply conservative, Christian, Bible believing wife, mother and grandmom.

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    • conservativestoner
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 3:45pm

      hear alot of whining,oh you cruel heartless people,what a bunch of “cotton tops”.you will realize (too late i’m sure)that the left wants you dead,or as a slave to support the “disadvantaged”.i want to make them all fertilizer/fossil fuel for future generations.not sure any of this matters,type soros,2012 election,spain into your favorite search engine and read.i rcommend stockpiling ammo&weapons,food&water and get ready cause here they come.

      Report Post »  
  • Fishmanone
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:04am

    A great actor,loved Sheriff Taylor, dont like Andy Griffith!! My thoughts and prayers to the family! May he rest in peace.

    Report Post »  
  • nurseheidi
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:03am

    While caring for my mom as she was dying, it was the only show she watched. Still can’t get the whistle out of my head:) I began her video tribute with that tune. So glad she passed before she realized his politics…that would have killed her. RIP Andy….now you will know the TRUTH.

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  • Bearfoot
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:01am

    Jesus said:
    39 This is the will of him that sent me, that I should lose nothing out of all that he has given me but that I should resurrect it at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone that beholds the Son and exercises faith in him should have everlasting life, and I will resurrect him at the last day.”
    John 6:39-40

    Report Post » Bearfoot  
  • grannyjojo
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:01am

    I just ADORED The Andy Griffith Show and I STILL watch it on re-runs. I loved all the characters! The man was a true good guy, one of the few. I don’t CARE that his politics ran to the left, he was HONEST in his feelings. I would rather DEBATE someone who is HONEST then put up with the double dealing, lying on EITHER SIDE. I am conservative to the core but I do understand when people honestly have differing opinions, that is what has made America great for over 200 years. Its a sad day today May he rest in peace and I pray his relatives and friends are comforted by the Lord at this time. Thank you Andy for what you gave to millions of folks, you will never know how much you were loved……“Every knee will bow and every tongue confess”

    Report Post »  
    • ChildOfTheKing
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:15am

      Another WOW for your comments. I, too, am a strict conservative, but I LOVE to debate with those who actually believe in what they say, whether it is liberal or conservative. It is like talking to a sinner. When the light bulb goes off in their eyes, when you talk to them about God’s saving Grace, you know Jesus has taken a hold of their heart and they NOW see the light of God’s love. Then, when they read God’s word, a whole new world opens up to them – a conservative one; one that reflects personal responsibility and accountability, striving for a daily sin-free life. NO, we will all make mistakes, but ONLY thru Jesus Christ can we truly be sin-free. IT’S A SOUL-MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND GOD, FOR A LIFETIME. To actually KNOW where you are going when you die, will change your entire thought process. It is no longer important to FIT IN, to be POLITICALLY CORRECT, to PUT YOURSELF FIRST TO MEN/WOMEN. It is now Christ in you and all you want to do is to PLEASE GOD NOT MAN. And, to please HIM, means YOU WILL GLORIFY GOD IN EVERYTHING YOU DO, ON A DAILY BASIS.

      Think about that. Just because you have a Savior now, does not means your life stops, or you stop thinking of what you can do for God. In fact, the need to please God, triples, quadruples.

      I really liked Andy and I did not like his politics, but I love debating an honest man and at least, he was honest, if misguided.

      Report Post » ChildOfTheKing  
    • Liberty2011
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 12:48pm

      Well said Granny JoJo!

      Report Post » Liberty2011  
  • Posterchild
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:00am

    I had hoped that he would live long enough to be denied the healthcare that he helped shove down America’s throat.

    Loved the show–grew up on it— but I lost All respect for the man during the Obamatax fiasco. I will never be able to think of him without being disgusted.

    Report Post »  
    • Bearfoot
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:13am

      Do not judge Andy Griffith. He did the best he could in this troubled world.
      We do not have the authority to judge him. Only Jesus, the Christ has that authority.
      Andy Griffith was a good man as far as I could tell.

      Report Post » Bearfoot  
    • YellowFin
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:57am

      Posterchild,

      Everyone makes mistakes and we do, often, make wrong decisions. I bet even you have made some errors in your life.
      I think the good contributions Mr. Griffith has made to the world will outweigh a few errors on his part.
      For my part, I consider his passing a huge loss to the human family.

      Report Post » YellowFin  
  • NathanHale2
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:55am

    Love the Andy Griffith Show and watch it every chance I get. Need more shows like this today. Programs without the sexual overtones and foul language that teach young people while being humorous and very entertaining. Did not agree with his politics. With Obummer care making it through the Supreme Court and staring down the barrel of financial ruin, emotions are running very high.This will continue through November, be cool as it will get much worse before it gets better.

    Report Post »  
  • Cavallo
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:55am

    At least he got to see his fascist dream of ObamaTax realized. Unfortunately the rest of us have to live in his autocratic utopia.

    Report Post » Cavallo  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:08am

      Unfortunately, that will be a memory a lot of us will have a hard time erasing. I’m going attempt to just remember the Mayberry days.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • AzThunder
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 8:21pm

      @Gonzo

      as in: MAY“BERRY”s COMMIE HEATHCARE BE UPHELD

      i won’t miss him

      Report Post » AzThunder  
  • AllLost
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:52am

    liked his acting but not his politics.

    Report Post »  
    • RJJinGadsden
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:08am

      Have to agree. Loved the old show and I watched almost all in first runs, so I grew up with them. But, much like the Hollyweird political freaks he was truly one of them.
      Back in the late ’70s into 1981 when I was stationed at Ft Bragg, NC you could hardly flip to a channel even on cable in the afternoon that did not have an episode of his show running. Just wish he had kept that Mayberry attitude for himself.

      Report Post » RJJinGadsden  
  • wisehiney
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:51am

    Well, GAWWWWWLEE!
    One less obummer vote.

    Report Post »  
  • Macrobat
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:51am

    See the statue behind him in that photo? This man’s ego was so huge that, when the Town of Manteo, where he lived, told him they did not have the budget to erect a statue of him – he erected it himself. That’s right, he put up a statue of himself in the town square.

    Don’t buy the homey, good-ole-boy facade.

    Sorry the man is dead, as I would be for anyone who died. But don’t lionize him.

    Report Post » Macrobat  
  • clockn63
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:49am

    @Swabby222, You said it for me!!! Love the show, always have, always will.

    Report Post » clockn63  
  • FeliciaJewel
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:49am

    The way our country has been divided I am not surprised by the lack of compassion, he is gone but the rest of us are left to endure the mess of this administration that he supported. I am sorry to hear of his death. Though hard to separate the hatred of the policies that some hold, I am sad. Loved his show, listed to the Darlings on his show, it was great.

    Report Post » FeliciaJewel  
  • black9897
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:47am

    Very sad. Grew up watching the show (well re-runs obviously).

    Report Post » black9897  
  • BexRN
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:44am

    Wow, let’s maybe have a little respect.

    Report Post »  
    • ScratInTheHat
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:03am

      I haven’t posted anything precisely because I have no respect for socialist slavers. The problem is they live long enough to enslave us to the utopian system not that they die old, rich, and famous.

      Report Post » ScratInTheHat  
    • copatriots
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:12am

      Good point, SCRAT, but in most cases, I would say……

      Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.

      Death comes to us all…………

      Report Post »  
  • BurntHills
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:44am

    back in the 1960s, our grandfather and his USAF WWII buddies sitting around the bulldozers said Griffith was a ‘red’. that was one show that when ‘the whistle’ came on, that program got turned off. ——- wonder how those guys knew ???? Griffiths sure came out when he shilled for obamatax, didn’t he!

    Report Post » BurntHills  
    • ScratInTheHat
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:09am

      My grandfather hated FDR. If you watch the background politics of the show and know the history of how Hollywood was softballing socialist ideas you can see that the show was a FDR utopia pusher on a lot of levels. They pushed it just as far as they could just like good progressives do. Kind of like Norman Rockwell and Walter Cronkite did.

      Report Post » ScratInTheHat  
  • cookcountypatriot
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:39am

    not even obamacare could save him…ohhhhhhhh andyyyyyyyy

    Report Post » cookcountypatriot  
  • krjones
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:35am

    I am sorry he is dead but I sure lost any respect I ever had for him over his support for the Obamacare TAX.

    Report Post »  
  • swabby222
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:35am

    I know Andy Griffith was a far-lefty that campaigned for Obama, but for the span of 40 years I watched, grew up with, and continue to watch The Andy Griffith Show, and his indelible contribution of morality and goodness to this world will not be forgotten. I hope he rests in peace.

    Report Post » swabby222  
    • copatriots
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:55am

      Well said! I echo your sentiment.

      Condolences to his family.

      Report Post »  
    • TSUNAMI-22
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:34am

      @ swabby222

      It was ALL acting. In other words it was deception promoted in a moral wrapper. Like most Hollywood entertainers he was a lefty just like his t.v. son, Opie Cunningham.

      He wasn’t conservative, he just played one on t.v.

      Report Post »  
  • DimmuBorgir
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:34am

    it’s about time

    Report Post » DimmuBorgir  
  • nolefan2
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:34am

    I loved watching The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock. Unfortunately, my last impression of him was when he sold his soul to the Obama administration and was pushing Obamacare, now affectionately known as ObamaTax. Thanks a lot, Andy.

    Report Post »  
    • the_system_disconnect
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:38am

      I didn’t know that. Oh well :P

      Report Post » the_system_disconnect  
    • Constructionist
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:41am

      To be fair, it wasn’t a promotional video. It was a ‘public service announcement’… that just happened to run in October and the first few days of November.

      Report Post » Constructionist  
    • ScratInTheHat
      Posted on July 3, 2012 at 11:29am

      Did you ever wonder what a PSA really is? Edward Bernays is the father of it all! http://thethoughtexperiment.wordpress.com/tag/general-douglas-macarthur/ Every time I hear the PSA from the US Navy that is asking people not to join the Navy but go out into the community and volunteer I wonder, why is the Navy spending money on that! It’s just one of the constant barrage of government propaganda we get 24/7. The only good thing it is doing is keeping shows I like funded but I hate that it is happening.

      Report Post » ScratInTheHat  
  • Red Meat
    Posted on July 3, 2012 at 10:29am

    Progressive POS. Have fun burning in Hell for eternity.

    Report Post » Red Meat  
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