Howard McNear was a character actor who is most famous for his role as Floyd Lawson, the barber on The Andy Griffith Show. McNear was a regular on the show from its start in 1960 until he had a stroke in the 4th season. He came back a couple years later and Griffith rewrote the scripts to accommodate McNear's condition. He was partially paralyzed on one side. Therefore he had no walking parts and I don't even remember him cutting any hair in those later episodes.

Howard McNear was born on January 27, 1905 in Los Angeles. He was successful in theater drama in San Diego but unmasked a talent for comedy in the 1950s on The George Gobel Show and with Jack Benny and Burns and Allen. He was a guest on The Twilight Zone, I Love Lucy, and other shows. He was also the voice of Doc Adams on the radio version of Gunsmoke.

In addition to his television and radio experience, he also appeared in several films. Some of these include Anatomy of a Murder directed by Otto Preminger and Blue Hawaii which featured Elvis Presley. He left The Andy Griffith Show in 1967 when he was having trouble remembering a scene. He died March 1, 1969 in San Fernando Valley after a second stroke.

Filmography:

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