Andy Griffith (b. 1926) guest-starred as Jack Starkey in the Bionic Woman episode "Angel of Mercy". After starting out in mostly comedic roles in the 1950s in TV shows such as The Steve Allen Show, Griffith became a star thanks to his dramatic turn in the 1957 film No Time for Sergeants. But it was a guest appearance on a 1960 episode of the Danny Thomas sitcom Make Room for Daddy that gave Griffith his most enduring success when he first appeared as small-town sherrif Andy Taylor.
Griffith soon took Andy Taylor to his own spin-off series, The Andy Griffith Show, which was one of the most popular shows on the air until it ended in 1968, though Griffith continued make appearances as Taylor in the continuation spin-off, Mayberry R.F.D. which ran until 1969. An attempt at a new sitcom (The New Andy Griffith Show) in 1971 failed and Griffith spent much of the 1970s making TV guest appearances such as Bionic Woman and the occasional movie role. After his Bionic Woman appearance, he made another attempt at a TV series comeback in Salvage 1, a tongue-in-cheek science fiction series that ran for a few months in 1979. Griffith had to wait until 1986 for a lasting comeback and the arrival of his family friendly lawyer series, Matlock, which ran for the next decade.
Now in his 80s, Griffith continues to act in film and television, and he is also well known for his many recordings of country and gospel music.