Andy Griffith is one of the most beloved TV actors of all time. Best known for starring as Andy Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show as well as Ben Matlock in the legal TV show Matlock, Griffith endeared himself to audiences with his beloved acting career, which spanned over 50 years.
Andy Samuel Griffith was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina in 1926. Though he would go on to have an incredible TV career in Hollywood, it would take him a few tries until he would find his forever love, Cindi Knight.
Griffith married his first wife shortly after studying at the University of North Carolina, where he earned a degree in music. After tying the knot in 1949, Griffith and Barbara Bray Edwards adopted two children together, Andy Samuel Griffith Jr. and Dixie Griffith. After the couple called it quits in 1972, Griffith quickly remarried again the following year to Greek actress Solica Cassuto. But after 8 years of marriage, Griffith had another failed marriage under his belt.
Griffith met his third wife, Cindi, while they were both working on the set of Murder in Coweta County. Though she was an actress, her second and last role on screen was as a secretary in the TV series Matt Houston. Though little is known about Cindi's early life, we know that she was originally from Jacksonville, Florida before she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
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The couple stayed together from 1983 until Griffith passed away from a heart attack in 2012. The year they married was actually the same year that the actor was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, which left him unable to walk for seven months. Cindi was there for Griffith through the tough times as he also endured a quadruple heart-bypass surgery in 2000, followed by hip surgery in 2007.
After the passing of her late husband, Cindi Knight Griffith gave a touching statement to WSOC-TV about how he really was the love of her life.
"Andy was a person of incredibly strong Christian faith and was prepared for the day he would be called Home to his Lord. He is the love of my life, my constant companion, my partner, and my best friend. I cannot imagine life without Andy, but I take comfort and strength in God's Grace and in the knowledge that Andy is at peace and with God."
This article was originally published in August of 2020.
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