NEW: President Obama mourns loss of "a performer of extraordinary talent" Actor Andy Griffith died after an unspecified illness, his family said in a statement He "has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoake Island," the family said He is best known for his portrayal of Sheriff Andy Taylor on "The Andy Griffith Show" (CNN) -- Actor Andy Griffith, who played folksy Sheriff Andy Taylor in the fictional town of Mayberry, died Tuesday at the age of 86, his family said. Griffith died at about 7 a.m. at his home on Roanoke Island, according to Dare County, North Carolina, Sheriff J.D. "Doug" Doughtie. He passed away after an unspecified illness and "has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoake Island," the family said in a statement. "Andy was a person of incredibly strong Christian faith and was prepared for the day he would be called Home to his Lord," his wife, Cindi Griffith, said in the statement issued through the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Best known for his role on "The Andy Griffith Show," the University of North Carolina music graduate also starred as a murder-solving Southern attorney in the television series "Matlock" during the 1980s and 1990s. Officials, stars and fans react to the death of Andy Griffith "North Carolina has lost its favorite son," Gov. Beverly Perdue said. "Throughout his career, he represented everything that was good about North Carolina: a small town boy and UNC graduate who took a light-hearted approach to some of the attributes he grew up with and turned them into a spectacularly successful career," she said. And regardless of where that career took him, he always came back to North Carolina and spent his final years here. Actor and director Ron Howard, who played Griffith's son, Opie Taylor, on "The Andy Griffith Show," said he is "forever grateful" to the actor. President Barack Obama also noted Griffith's death, saying the actor had "warmed the hearts of Americans everywhere." "A performer of extraordinary talent, Andy was beloved by generations of fans and revered by entertainers who followed in his footsteps," Obama said. After teaching high school music for a few years, he began his entertainment career with a traveling act with his first wife, Barbara Edwards, according to biography.com. He later appeared in a film version of the play. He made his film debut in the critically acclaimed "A Face in the Crowd," but it was the 1960 debut of "The Andy Griffith Show" that brought his greatest fame. In the show, Griffith played the amiable sheriff of an small, idyllic town modeled on his own birthplace of Mount Airy. The gentle comedy continues to be broadcast and retains a following, including "Rerun Watchers Club" chapters around the country and on Facebook. After his eight-year run as Taylor, the actor tried to break out of his mold as a genial father figure with mixed success. It was hard to escape," Griffith said, according to a quote on IMDb. In 2000, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery, and had hip surgery following a fall in 2007, according to his IMDb profile. Mayberry in mourning