Editing Andy Griffith (section)

==Early life and education==
Griffith was born on June 1, 1926, in [[Mount Airy, North Carolina]], the only child of Carl Lee Griffith and his wife, Geneva (née Nunn).<ref>{{cite book | last1=Robinson | first1=D. | last2=Fernandes | first2=D. | title=The Definitive Andy Griffith Show Reference: Episode-by-Episode, with Cast and Production Biographies and a Guide to Collectibles | publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4766-0187-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcr6UMkvVPwC&pg=PT381 | access-date=September 29, 2021 | page=381}}</ref> As a baby, Griffith lived with relatives until his parents could afford to buy a home. With neither a crib nor a bed, he slept in dresser drawers for several months. In 1929, when Griffith was three, his father began working as a helper or carpenter and purchased a home in Mount Airy's "[[Blue-collar worker|blue-collar]]" south side. Griffith grew up listening to music. By the time he entered school, he was well aware that he was from what many considered the "wrong side of the tracks". He was a shy student, but once he found a way to make his peers laugh, he began to come out of his shell and come into his own.

As a student at [[Mount Airy High School]], Griffith cultivated an interest in the arts, and he participated in the school's drama program. A growing love of music, particularly [[swing music|swing]], would change his life. Griffith was raised [[Baptist]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/playeraprofileof002609mbp/playeraprofileof002609mbp_djvu.txt |title=Full text of "The Player A Profile Of An Art" |year=1961 |publisher=Simon And Schuster |access-date=February 11, 2013}}</ref> and looked up to Ed Mickey, a minister at Grace [[Moravian Church]], who led the [[brass band]] and taught him to sing and play the trombone. Mickey nurtured Griffith's talent throughout high school until graduation in 1944. Griffith was delighted when he was offered a role in ''[[Lost Colony (play)|The Lost Colony]]'' by [[Paul Green (playwright)|Paul Green]], a play about [[Roanoke Island]] still performed today. He performed as a cast member of the play for several years, playing a variety of roles until he finally landed the role of [[Walter Raleigh|Sir Walter Raleigh]], for whom North Carolina's capital is named.

He attended the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|University of North Carolina]] (UNC) in [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]], and graduated with a [[Bachelor of Music]] [[academic degree|degree]] in 1949. He began college studying to be a [[Moravian Church|Moravian]] preacher, but he changed his major to music and became a part of the school's [[PlayMakers Repertory Company#History of the Carolina Playmakers|Carolina Playmakers]]. At UNC, he was president of the UNC chapter of [[Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia]], America's oldest [[Fraternities and sororities|fraternity]] for men in music.<ref>{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://www.sinfonia.org/aboutus.asp|publisher=Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia|access-date=July 3, 2012|location=Evansville, IN|quote=Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is the world's oldest and largest secret national fraternal society in music.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702195032/http://www.sinfonia.org/aboutus.asp|archive-date=July 2, 2012}}</ref> He also played roles in several student [[operetta]]s, including ''[[The Chimes of Normandy]]'' (1946), and [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''[[The Gondoliers]]'' (1945), ''[[The Mikado]]'' (1948) and ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' (1949).<ref>[http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/pcoll/inv/P0035/P0035.html Collection Number: P0035, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Dramatic Art Photographs and Related Materials, 1911-1970s"], University of North Carolina Libraries, Retrieved January 20, 2012</ref> After graduation, he taught music and drama for a few years at [[Goldsboro High School]] in [[Goldsboro, North Carolina]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.digitalnc.org/cdm/ref/collection/yearbooks/id/8506|title=Gohisca [1951] :: North Carolina College and University Yearbooks|website=library.digitalnc.org|access-date=September 21, 2018|archive-date=September 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921114802/https://library.digitalnc.org/cdm/ref/collection/yearbooks/id/8506|url-status=dead}}</ref> where he taught, among others, [[Carl Kasell]].<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB119793136588435187 "So This Is Carl Kasell!"] by Joanne Kaufman, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', December 18, 2007 (Retrieved March 21, 2011)</ref> He also began to write.