TIMELINE: Andy Griffith

June 1, 1926: Born in Mount Airy, N.C., the only child of Geneva and Carl Lee Griffith, and named Andy Samuel Griffith

1941: Inspired to play the trombone after seeing Birth of the Blues at local movie theater

May 30, 1944: Graduated from Mount Airy High School

Summer 1944: Enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a sociology major in prepara¬tion for becoming a Moravian preacher

Summers 1946-1953: Performed various roles in The Lost Colony on Roanoke Island, N.C.

June 1949: Graduated from the University of North Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music

1949: Married to Barbara Edwards (divorced 1972)

1949-1952: Worked as a music and drama teacher at Goldsboro (N.C.) High School

November 1953: Release of "What It Was, Was Football" on the Colonial Records label

Mar. 15, 1955: The United States Steel Hour: No Time for Sergeants, as Will Stockdale

Summer 1955: Florida concert tour with country star Ferlin Husky and a promising new performer, Elvis Presley

Oct. 20, 1955: Broadway premiere of No Time for Sergeants, as Will Stockdale (Received Theatre World Award in 1956 for Outstanding Debut of a Performer and Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play)

May 28, 1957: Premiere of A Face in the Crowd, as Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes...

1958: Andy and Barbara adopt son Andy Samuel Griffith, Jr., born in December 1957

May 29, 1958: Premiere of feature film version of No Time for Sergeants, as Will Stockdale.

1959: Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Comedy Performance—Spoken Word for Hamlet

Apr. 23, 1959: Broadway premiere of Destry Rides Again, as Destry (Received Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical)

1960: Andy and Barbara adopt daughter Dixie Nann Griffith, born in September 1959

Oct. 3, 1960: Series premiere of The Andy Griffith Show (249 episodes and eight seasons), as Sheriff Andy Taylor

1968: Received National Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews

1969: Premiere of Angel in My Pocket, as the Reverend Samuel D. Whitehead

1969: Received Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Florida Southern College

1970: Series premiere of The Headmaster, as Andy Thompson

1971: Series premiere of The New Andy Griffith Show, as Andy Sawyer

1975: Premiere of Hearts of the West, as Howard Pike

1975: Theater (formerly the auditorium for Rockford Street Grammar School) renamed Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mount Airy, N.C.

Apr. 21, 1976: Star unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

1976: Telecast of Six Characters in Search of an Author, as The Father

1978: Received Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of North Carolina

1979: Series premiere of Salvage, as Harry Broderick

1981: Premiere telecast of Murder in Texas, as Ash Robinson (Nominated for Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special)

1983: Premiere telecast of Murder in Coweta County, as John Wallace

Apr. 2, 1983: Married to Cindi Knight

1983: Received North Carolina Award for Fine Arts

1984: Premiere telecast of Fatal Vision, as Victor Worheide

1985: Premiere of Rustlers' Rhapsody, as Colonel Ticonderoga

1985: Premiere telecast Crime of Innocence, as Judge Julius Sullivan

1986: Premiere telecast of Diary of a Perfect Murder, as Ben Matlock

1986: Under the Influence, as Noah Talbot

Apr. 13, 1986: Premiere telecast of Return to Mayberry, as Andy Taylor

Sept. 20, 1986: Series premiere of Matlock (177 episodes, 1986-1995)

1987: Received People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Program for portrayal of Ben Matlock in Matlock

1992: Received Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Television Programming Executives

1992: Inducted into Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in Orlando, Fla.

1997: Received Grammy Award for Best Southern Gospel, Country Gospel, or Bluegrass Gospel Album for I Love to Tell the Story—20 Timeless Hymns

1999: Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Southern Gospel, Country Gospel, or Bluegrass Gospel Album for Just As I Am

2001: Premiere of Daddy and Them, as O.T. Montgomery

Oct. 16, 2002: Dedication of the Andy Griffith Parkway in Mount Airy, N.C.

Oct. 28, 2003: Dedication of TV Land Landmark for The Andy Griffith Show at Pullen Park in Raleigh, N.C.

2004: Nominated for Dove Award for Country Album of the Year for The Christmas Guest (co-nominee with Marty Stuart)

2004: Received TV Land Legend Award for The Andy Griffith Show

Sept. 24, 2004: Replica of TV Land Landmark for The Andy Griffith Show unveiled in Mount Airy, N.C.

2005: Received Carolina Performing Arts Lifetime Achievement Award at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill

2005: Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush at the White House

2007: Premiere of Waitress, as Old Joe

2008: Received Country Music Association Award for Music Video of the Year for "Waitin' on a Woman" with Brad Paisley

Sept. 26. 2009: Dedication of the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy, N.C.

*Information provided by surryart.ipower.com/mayberrydays.

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