The Last Hours of...Andy Griffith

On July 3 2012, Americans were saddened by the death of Andy Griffith.

Andy was notoriously private, and very little is known about what happened, or the state of his health in the last few years of his life. Dr Hunter will be analysing every detail in the available information, to piece together what led to his demise. In a career spanning almost seventy years, he had charmed audiences as an actor, comedian and recording artist. But it was his performance as Sheriff Andy Taylor, in The Andy Griffith Show, that catapulted him into the hearts of Americans everywhere. Beloved for this character’s gentle kindness and good humour, audiences believed he was their friend and father figure. But the public perception of Andy was at odds with who he was. Friends recall a Jekyll and Hyde personality and a man who became increasingly reclusive. Andy’s death certificate states that he died as a result of a heart attack, after years of suffering from other illnesses. Dr Hunter’s investigation builds up a picture of a man whose private habits and behaviours left him susceptible to heart disease in multiple ways. Though his death, at 86, may not have come as a surprise, what did raise eyebrows was the fact that he was buried in the grounds of his home within four and a half hours of the 911 call alerting the emergency services that he was unresponsive. As part of his investigation Dr Hunter will uncover whether this bears any significance on the manner in which he died.