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TV Icon Andy Griffith Dies At Age 86

Andy Griffith, star of TV Land mainstay "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960-1968)  and "Matlock" (1986-1995),  died this morning. Though he "first gained prominence in the starring role in film director Elia Kazan’s epic film, 'A Face in the Crowd' (1957)," Griffith was perhaps best "known for his television roles as the folksy Southerner who was the sheriff or lawyer people always wanted and the father figure people rarely had," writes Nikki Finke.

Alan Sepinwall writes a perceptive analysis of Griffith's work in TV, including his collaborating with the writers of his eponymous show to milk his co-star Don Knotts' comic turn as Barney Fife. "It was a selfless creative decision: Knotts won multiple Emmys for the role, while Griffith was never even nominated for playing one of the more iconic characters in the history of the medium," according to Sepinwall. "There's little glory in being the straight man, but Griffith understood that he was the man for the job, and that he could still wring laughs and smiles from the patient, understanding way Andy dealt with Barney, Floyd the barber, Ernest T. Bass and the rest of the citizens of Mayberry."

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