(Reuters) - Actor Andy Griffith, whose portrayal of a small-town sheriff made "The Andy Griffith Show" one of American television's most enduring shows, has died at his North Carolina home, television station WITN reported on Tuesday.

The television station quoted a longtime friend as saying that the 86-year-old actor died at his home on Roanoke Island. The Dare County Sheriff's dispatcher would say only that an ambulance was called to Griffith's residence but would not comment further.

(Reporting by Jane Sutton; Editing by Eric Beech)