![]() ![]() He also played roles in several student operettas, including The Chimes of Normandy (1946), and Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers (1945), The Mikado (1948) and H.M.S. ![]() At UNC, he was president of the UNC chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, America's oldest fraternity for men in music. He began college studying to be a Moravian preacher, but he changed his major to music and became a part of the school's Carolina Playmakers. He attended the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1949. He performed as a cast member of the play for several years, playing a variety of roles until he finally landed the role of Sir Walter Raleigh, for whom North Carolina's capital is named. Griffith was delighted when he was offered a role in The Lost Colony by Paul Green, a play about Roanoke Island still performed today. Mickey nurtured Griffith's talent throughout high school until graduation in 1944. Griffith was raised Baptist 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. A growing love of music, particularly swing, would change his life. 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.Īs a student at Mount Airy High School, Griffith cultivated an interest in the arts, and he participated in the school's drama program. By the time he entered school, he was well aware that he was from what many considered the "wrong side of the tracks". 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" south side. With neither a crib nor a bed, he slept in dresser drawers for several months. ![]() As a baby, Griffith lived with relatives until his parents could afford to buy a home. 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). 3 Association with Don Knotts and Ron Howard.2.2 Dramatic role in A Face in the Crowd (1957).Their grandfather, Harold Rosson, was the five-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer known for his work on The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Singin’ in the Rain (1952). Their father, Edward Rosson, served as the cinematographer on White Lightning (1973) and Love at First Bite (1979), and their mother, Lili Rosson, was an actress who had small parts in North by Northwest, Some Came Running and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Rosson was born in Los Angeles on July 20, 1952. His late younger brother, Eddie Rosson ( It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Camp Runamuck), also was a child actor. On ABC’s The Young Marrieds from 1965-66, Rosson portrayed Jerry Karr, a youngster in the middle of a custody battle between his biological mother, Susan Garrett ( Peggy McCay), and his adoptive mother, actress Lena Gilroy (Norma Connolly). A month later, he appeared on CBS’ The Twilight Zone on the season two episode “The Night of the Meek,” which starred Art Carney as a down-on-his-luck department store Santa Claus.
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