Video: Remembering legendary actor Andy Griffith
>>> today america lost its favorite small town sheriff, father and shrewd country lawyer all roles brill yantsly played by andy griffith who died this morning at age 86. generations grew up watching him. tonight mike taibbi takes a look back.
>> reporter: he planned to be a preacher or an opera singer . as anyone who ever heard that opening theme knows it was andy of mayberry where he made his indelible mark .
>> if you can save a step or two here and there, she'll be with us that much longer.
>> reporter: he played andy taylor , a wise authority figure everyone looked up to. a straight man to bumbling don knots as barney fife . widowed father to son opie played by ron howard .
>> guess i did a good job, huh, pa?
>> you sure did.
>> reporter: somehow in the raucous '60s, the andy griffith show thrived. the distinction between good and evil unmistakable.
>> now, opie, i want you to understand, ordinarily i don't approve of doing things behind folks' backs.
>> i get it, pa.
>> reporter: still, mayberry had to be invented.
>> though we never said it, it has a feeling of the '30s. it was when we were doing it, of a time gone by. the show ended its run in 1968 still on top. he tried other spin-offs and then had a hit as "mat lock." a character with the same dreams his fans had had said linda purl who played his daughter.
>> i guess we all have dreams, and your arena of safety. and maybe that's something he was always yearning for himself. he was able to portray that in both long running shows he was a part of.
>> reporter: griffith started his career playing a bad guy, the political opportunist in "a face in the crowd."
>> they'd be afraid not to come, i could murder them like this.
>> reporter: at one his last performances, a controversial ad two years ago for president obama 's health care bill.
>> with the new health care law , more good things are coming.
>> reporter: it's as andy of mayberry he is best remembered, a character so admirable and enduring, it won him the presidential medal of freedom .
>> tv shows come and grow, but there's only one andy griffith .
>> reporter: he insisted on the rules.
>> that there is real sheriffing. and i mean real sheriffing.
>> reporter: can always win the day. mike taibbi , nbc news, los
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/48065797/
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