Actor Andy Griffith died Tuesday morning, July 3, at his home in Dare County, N.C., according to WITN.com. 

Former University of North Carolina President Bill Friday, friend of Griffith, told WITN News that Griffith died Tuesday morning. 

Dare County Sheriff Doug Doughtie confirmed to WITN News that an ambulance went to Griffith’s home at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning. According to an article on WITN.com, the sheriff is checking for more information on the person the ambulance was called for. 

The 86-year-old actor, who was famous for playing Sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show and Benjamin Matlock on Matlock, among other notable roles, was born in Mount Airy, N.C. on June 1, 1926. 

Griffith earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of North Carolina in 1949. After graduation, Griffith taught high school music for three years before marrying Barbara Edwards, a fellow actor from UNC, and developing a traveling entertainment routine with her. 

In the 1950s, Griffith was a guest monologist on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and acted in “No Time for Sergeants,” a Broadway play that earned him a Tony Award nomination. Griffith earned another Tony Award nomination in 1960 for “Destry Rides Again.” 

A guest appearance on the sitcom “Make Room for Daddy” led CBS to grant Griffith his own show, “The Andy Griffith Show,” in 1960. The show, which featured a young Ron Howard, was one of the most popular shows on air at the time.

In the years following the end of “The Andy Griffith Show” in 1968, Griffith appeared on several other TV shows, with none being as successful as The “Andy Griffith Show.” However, in 1986, Griffith found success playing Ben Matlock, a country lawyer in Atlanta, Ga., in “Matlock.”

Griffith was diagnosed with Guillen-Barre syndrome, a muscular disease, in 1983. The disease left him partially paralyzed for three months. 

In May 2000, Griffith underwent an open-heart surgery. 

Griffith is survived by his wife Cindi and daughter Dixie.