Television icon Andy Griffith, known for playing characters who wore their decency like a badge, has died. He was 86.
The Dare County, N.C., sheriff's office confirmed that the star of "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Matlock" had died, soon after his friend, former University of North Carolina president Bill Friday, broke the news to local news station WITN.
The actor came to be known as America's sheriff for personifying small-town values with their emphasis on family and community.
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"Andy was a person of incredibly strong Christian faith and was prepared for the day he would be called Home to his Lord," said his wife, Cindi, in a statement.