Andy Samuel Griffith June 1 1926 July 3 2012 was an American actor comedian television producer southern gospel singer and writer Known for his Southern drawl his characters with a folksyfriendly personality and his gruff but friendly voice Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles and gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazans film A Face in the Crowd 1957 and No Time for Sergeants 1958 before he became better known for his television roles playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show 19601968 and Ben Matlock in the legal drama Matlock 19861995 Description above from the Wikipedia article Andy Griffith licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia