TV Icon Andy Griffith Dead at 86 [VIDEO]

I would like to believe that going hand in hand with classic rock is classic television.  The two really are inseparable when it comes comparing great programming to over-the-top musical artistry.

The "Skipper" couldn't do it without "Gilligan", "Jimi" couldn't do it without the guitar; The Beverly Hillbillies would have choked without "Jethro"; "Styx", although still sounding great today, are not the same if Dennis DeYoung isn't ground breaking the "Tradewinds" in 1961; and on and on the cycle goes.

We lost a classic TV icon this morning.  According to reports, Andy Griffith was rushed to a North Carolina hospital around 7:00 A.M. (Eastern Time) and later died.  This story is still developing.

His Hollywood prominence came in 1957, when at 37 years old, he climbed to "A-list" actor by playing the character "Lonesome Rhodes" in Elia Kazan's blockbuster A Face In The Crowd.

He was the most beloved Sheriff in the country too.  Playing "Andy Taylor" on the Andy Griffith show, which ran 8 seasons from 1960-1968.

Between 1985 and 1992, America fell in love with lawyers again, as Matlock was the voice of the underdog client.

Andy Griffith was 86 years old.