Report: Andy Griffith buried 5 hours after death

Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images file

By Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter

Andy Griffith was buried Tuesday, less than five hours after the actor died, CNN reported.

Griffith, who was 86, died at about 7 a.m. Tuesday at his home in Dare County, N.C., according to North Carolina?s WITN-TV.?Emergency medical crews had responded to a call for help, but no cause of death was given.

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In a statement Tuesday, his family said he "has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoke Island."

His family requested that his body be lowered into a grave on Roanoke Island around 11:30 a.m. ET, according to a funeral spokesperson who talked to CNN upon the condition of anonymity.

"It had been planned for some time," said the spokesperson, who declined to reveal where on the island he was buried. "This was the wish of his family."

It's unusual for a person to be buried so soon after his or her death, Larry F. Stegall, executive director of the state's Funeral Directors Association, told CNN.

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"It's not very common," he said. "I don't recall having heard of it, and I've been here 32 years."

Griffith is best known for starring in "The Andy Griffith Show" from 1960-68 and on "Matlock" from 1986-95.

His co-stars, including Ron Howard and Jim Nabors, as well as President Obama paid tribute to him Tuesday.

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Source: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/05/12577489-report-andy-griffith-laid-to-rest-less-than-5-hours-after-death?lite

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