Andy Samuel Griffith

 Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012)

Born on the same day as Marilyn Monroe, Andy was a Tony Award nominee for two roles, and gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's film A Face in the Crowd (1957) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead character in the TV comedy The Andy Griffith Show and in the TV drama Matlock. 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. He also reprised his role as Ben Matlock on Diagnosis: Murder in 1997, and his most recent guest-starring role was in 2001 in an episode of Dawson's Creek. Andy Griffith died of a heart attack at age 86, and is buried in the Griffith family cemetery on Roanoke Island, NC.