Beloved Andy Griffith has died according to UNC President, Bill Friday.

He was best known for his Andy Griffith show.

News spread this morning about the death, however it was speculated and due to a number of hoaxes recently of celebrities dying, it was best for the news to become official before stating the information. This caused the question “Is Andy Griffiths Dead” to be searched online by the thousands as well as being tweeted on Twitter and other social networking sites.

The news has now been confirmed by Reuters and other news sites.