Griffith was born on July 4, 1907 in Chicago, Illinois to actors Harry Sutherland Griffith and Katherine Kiemar Griffith.. He had two siblings, an older sister Gertrude, and a younger brother Graham—also an actor. Griffith was already an experienced actor when, at age seven, he got his first acting role as a regular character in the Little Billy series of films. Mack Sennett of Keystone Studios cast Griffith in many of his slapstick features, where he eventually earned supporting roles in Charlie Chaplin films, including Tillie's Punctured Romance.

His big break came with the role of young Tarzan, in the 1918 film Tarzan of the Apes. He was required to do his own stunts, such as climbing trees, swinging from vines, and interacting closely with a chimpanzee. Griffith also has several nude scenes in the first half of the film, making him one of the first pre-teens to appear on screen naked. Griffith appears before the actor portraying the adult Tarzan—Elmo Lincoln—making him the first actor to portray Tarzan in film. After seeing the movie, a critic described Griffith as "a youthful actor of uncommon gifts."

Griffith received the role of Tom Sawyer in Huckleberry Finn. Later he was again cast in the first Tarzan serial as Tarzan's son, Korak, a role that has been described as "anticipating John Sheffield's 'Boy' roles [in later Tarzan films]." Both of his parents died in the 1920s—his mother in 1921 and his father in 1926. At the time of the 1930 census, he and his brother were living with his sister and her family in Pasadena, California.

Although his career survived the transition from silent films to sound, Griffith received smaller and smaller roles—occasionally not even being credited for his performances. As his acting career cooled, Griffith moved into other areas of the film industry. At the age of twenty-three he got his first job as an assistant director. His final acting credit came six years later in 1936's Outlaws of the Range. Griffith continued to work in the film industry until his death. Between 1931 and 1940 he worked as Second Unit Director or Assistant Director in over 20 films, including those at Monogram Pictures.

Between 1937 and 1956 he produced five films. He was an associate producer under Robert Sherwood, and a director and then an associate producer for Gregory Ratoff Productions. In 1941, Griffith became production manager at Columbia Pictures, and later served as an associate producer for RKO, eventually becoming executive producer for films such as 1956's Alexander the Great.

In 1958, Griffith died of a heart attack in Hollywood. He was survived by his sister.

Popular Titles (Displaying 1 Result)

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The Interpreter (2005)

Titles (Approx Matches) (Displaying 11 Results)

	1.	"The Interpretaris" (1966) (TV series)
	2.	French Interpreter Policeman (1908)
	3.	The Interpreter of Black and White Films (2007) aka "Prevodachkata na cherno-beli filmi" - Bulgaria (original title)
	4.	The Greek Interpreter (1922)
	5.	The Interpreter (1961) aka "El torgomane" - Egypt (original title)
	6.	Shalom the Interpreter (1935) aka "Shalom el torgoman" - Egypt (original title)
	7.	Interpretation (2008)
	8.	Bix (1991) aka "Bix - Eine Interpretation der Legende" - Germany (imdb display title)
	9.	Strange Impersonation (1946) aka "Extraña interpretación" - Spain
	10.	Interpretation of Dreams (1989) aka "Tolkovanie snovideniy" - Austria (original title)
	11.	Interpretacje (1965)

Characters (Approx Matches) (Displaying 7 Results)

	1.	Kenny Thurman ("The West Wing" (1999), Bill O'Brien)  aka "Kenny Thurman - Joey's Interpreter"
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Keywords (Approx Matches) (Displaying 2 Results)

	1.	interpreter (71 titles - There Will Be Blood (2007), ...)
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Names (Approx Matches) (Displaying 1 Result)

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The Interpreters (Self, Last Party 2000 (2001))

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Historical Costume Interpretation & Entertainment (Miscellaneous)