Andy Griffith gone but not forgotten….

Hollywood lost one of its most beloved figures earlier today, when actor Andy Griffith died at the age of 86. Here are a few interesting facts about Griffith and his long career.

-North Carolina native Griffith achieved his first media attention as a stand-up comic whose routine “What it Was, Was Football” became a hit single in 1954.

-In 1955, he starred in the teleplay “No Time for Sergeants” before taking the role to Broadway and later to the big screen. His part as a country boy in the U.S. Air Force earned Griffith a Tony nomination.

-From 1960-1968, Griffith played Sheriff Andy Taylor on the CBS TV series, “The Andy Griffith Show.” The show was set in the fictional small town of Mayberry, NC.

-Child actor Ron Howard, then known as Ronny, played Taylor’s son Opie, and has gone on to become one of Hollywood’s most successful directors. Howard won an Oscar in 2001 for directing “A Beautiful Mind.”

-From 1986-1995, Griffith played country lawyer Ben Matlock in the legal drama “Matlock.” Besides starring in the series, he was also an unofficial executive producer, writer and director of the show.

-During the 2008 election campaigns, Griffith and Howard reprised their roles in “The Andy Griffith Show” for an online video endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

-In his later years, Griffith appeared in country star Brad Paisley’s music video, “Waiting for a Woman,” as well as in TV commercials on Medicare.