Andy Griffith was married three times in his life time. At the time of his death, he was married to Cindi Knight, but before her, he married Solica Casuto and Barbara Griffith. He had two adopted children, a daughter named Dixie Nann Griffith and a son named Andy Sam Griffith Jr, who died in 1996.
Andy Griffith was an icon in every sense of the word. For a whopping seven decades beginning from 1955, he remained active in the world of entertainment, wearing many hats as an actor, comedian, TV producer, and Southern gospel singer.
Almost a decade of his time in entertainment was spent on his eponymous sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, where he played the lead role of Andy Taylor. Before that, Griffith established himself in the 1957 drama film, A Face in the Crowd. Getting his break just two years after his career began was no fluke, as he would go on to prove by his longevity.
Griffith’s next significant TV role was as Ben Matlock in the legal drama Matlock that ran from 1986 to 1995. When his active acting years were over, Griffith diversified and went into production and thankfully was able to keep his wealth afloat. At the time of his death in 2012, estimates valued his estate, inherited by his survivors, at $60 million. Meet his wife and the children he left behind.
Andy Griffith’s Third Wife, Cindi Knight, Inherited His Wealth
- Full Name: Cindi Knight
- Date of Birth: May 2, 1983
- Age: 40 Years Old
- Place of Birth: Jacksonville, Florida
- Father: Bobby Knight
- Mother: Muriel
- Schools Attended: Terry Parker High School; Jacksonville University
- Occupation: Teacher; Actress, Dancer
- Spouse: Andy Griffith (1983 – 2012)
- Children: None
Being the one whom Andy Griffith was married to at the time of his death, Cindi Griffith was most likely going to be a benefactor of his estate. As is often the case with celebrity marriages, Andy Griffith met the woman who would become his third wife on set. The year was 1978, and Cindi, who had sufficiently trained at dancing school but had her primary job as a high school teacher following in the footsteps of her parents, who were academics, decided she wanted to put her dancing skills to use. As a result, she tried out for a part in a stage production titled The Lost Colony and got a role. While on the set of the play, she would meet Griffith, who also had a part. They quickly struck a connection and became close friends. However, Griffith was married to his second wife, Solica; thus, they remained just friends at the time.
Fast forward to two years later, Griffith divorced Solica and officially began his romance with Cindi Knight. After two years of dating, Griffith and Knight got married in 1983 and stayed together until he died in 2012, bringing their year in marriage to a whopping 29 years. After her role in the play that brought her to cross paths with Griffith, Knight went on to score two other significant gigs in the film industry before retracting from the spotlight to focus on her marriage with Andy Griffith, whose health had begun to wane.
Andy Griffith’s first health scare had come just a month after his wedding to Knight, who did well by her husband’s side to nurse him back to his feet. The actor was at the time diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder known as Guillain-Barre syndrome that left him paralyzed from the knees down for several months. Fast forward to June 2000, when the couple had successfully battled the syndrome together, Griffith suffered a heart attack, and Knight was by his side. The heart attack saw him undergo quadruple bypass surgery. In 2007 when Griffith accidentally fell and broke his hip, Knight was by him when he underwent surgery to fix his injury at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Her incredible support to his actor during the lowest times of his life made him describe her as the best thing that had ever happened to him.
As the closest person to him, it only made sense that Cindi Knight would be one of the beneficiaries of her husband’s estate valued at $60 million. Sources say that she likely received 50% of the wealth. Cindi came under much criticism in 2013 when word got out that she had received permission, less than a year after Griffith’s death, to demolish her husband’s property in Roanoke Island, North Carolina, the first property he ever bought with his wealth from acting. One critic of Knight’s decision and a friend of Andy Griffith, Ira David Smith, said that he had assumed that the property would be preserved and later opened to the public as it had many memories attached to it. However, Knight, who reserved the right to do whatever with her inheritance, had other plans. Andy Griffith’s widow has since lived away from the spotlight and is not known to have married any other man.
His Daughter, Dixie Nann Griffith, Was Also A Beneficiary of His Estate
- Full Name: Dixie Nann Griffith
- Date of Birth: 1950s (estimated)
- Place of Birth: North America
- Mother: Barbara Bray Edwards St-Clair
- Occupation: Volunteer for Denver Hospice
- Residence: Denver, Colorado
Dixie Nann Griffith was Andy Griffith’s only surviving child. She was adopted during her father’s first marriage to Barbara Bray Edwards. She was named after Barbara’s mother, who was named Dixie Vance. When Griffith and his first wife, Barbara, divorced in 1972, Dixie was raised primarily by Barbara, her adoptive mother. She was raised away from the spotlight. As a result, not much is known publicly about Dixie.
However, after Griffith passed away in 2012, Dixie spoke fondly of her father to the Denver Post a few days later. She told the publication that her dad was a very meticulous and hands-on man who was fun to be with and would be off to pursue his work by the time she was up in the morning, and by afternoon, he would be home for lunch to spend some fun time with her. On Sundays, Dixie said her dad would whip up meals in the kitchen.
She also revealed how her father was very protective of her and took the privacy of his family life very seriously. This influenced Dixie to live her life away from the media light, which she continues to date. She resides in Denver and does volunteer work for the Denver Hospice. After Griffith passed away, tabloids rumored that the actor had, in a few months to his passing, cut his daughter Dixie off of his will and stirred a family feud as a result, but this would prove to be untrue considering how fondly she spoke of him after his passing.
What happened was that Griffith made changes to his will in the said time and entrusted his estate to the care of a trustee who was tasked with sharing his estate with his wife Cindi Knight and daughter Dixie.
His Son, Andy Sam Griffith Jr, Died from Liver Cirrhosis in 1996
- Full Name: Andy Samuel Griffith Jr.
- Better Known As: Sam Griffith
- Born: 1958
- Mother: Barbara Bray Edwards St-Clair
- Died: January 17, 1996
- Cause of Death: Alcoholism
- Age at Death: 38
- Occupation: Real Estate Developer
Bringing the number of the late actor’s survivor to three would have been his son Andy Sam Griffith Jr, but unfortunately, he passed away in 1996. Griffith’s son was also adopted when he was married to his first wife, Barbara. Unlike Dixie, Sam was the black sheep of the family who would often get into trouble. His father would eventually get tired of him, giving up and letting him have his way. It is said that Sam did admire his father but seemed fazed by the pressure of being the son of one of TV’s famous faces.
Sam Griffith once served up to 60 days behind bars and was also put on probation after pleading guilty to hitting his pregnant wife, Reese Denise, who lost her two-month-old fetus in the process. More problems continued, and Griffith became estranged from his son. Sam Griffith constantly abused drugs and alcohol, leading to his death from liver cirrhosis in 1996.
Did Andy Griffith Have Biological Children?
Many often think that Andy Griffith had biological children, mainly because he was married three times. His first marriage to Barbara produced the two aforementioned children that were both adopted. His second marriage to Greek actress Solica Cassuto lasted from 1973 to 1981, but, like the first one, it produced no biological children. Andy’s third marriage to high school-teacher turned actress Cindi Knight also had the same outcome. Despite Cindi being way younger and their marriage lasting almost three decades, no issue came out of it. It is unknown if Griffith’s childlessness was a personal decision or due to a health challenge.
The Actor Died from Heart Attack Complications in 2012
Andy Griffith’s health problems began in April of 1983 when he was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome. This left him paralyzed and unable to walk for the next seven months. He had another major health problem in 2000 when in May of that year, he underwent a quadruple heart-bypass surgery. In 2007, Griffith had surgery to fix an injury on his hips he had sustained from a fall.
Five years later, at his coastal home in Manteo, Roanoke Island, and with his wife by his side, Griffith died from complications of a heart attack on July 3, 2012. The actor seemed to have been prepared for his death, as he was buried in his family’s cemetery 5 hours after his demise. At his death, Andy Griffith was 86 years old.
