Allan Melvin

Allan John Melvin (February 18, 1923 – January 17, 2008) was an American actor, impressionist, and voice artist born in Kansas City, Missouri. Over a career spanning four decades, he accumulated hundreds of television appearances, frequently in recurring roles across multiple series, while also establishing himself as a prolific voice actor in animation.

Melvin served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II before beginning his entertainment career. He worked in the sound effects department at NBC Radio and performed a nightclub act during this period, eventually competing on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program, which he won. His Broadway debut came in 1951 with the play Stalag 17, and it was during that run that he secured the role of Corporal Steve Henshaw on The Phil Silvers Show, launching his television career.

Throughout the 1950s, Melvin was frequently cast in second banana roles — characters who were slightly loud and occasionally abrasive but generally good-natured. He also demonstrated range in tougher roles, including an episode of The Phil Silvers Show in which he performed an impersonation of Humphrey Bogart. In the 1960s, he worked extensively at CBS under producers Sheldon Leonard and Aaron Ruben. He made eight guest appearances on The Andy Griffith Show, each time playing a different character, and an additional appearance on its successor series Mayberry, R.F.D. He also appeared eight times on The Dick Van Dyke Show in various roles. For four seasons, he played Staff Sergeant Charlie Hacker — Sergeant Vince Carter's rival — on the Andy Griffith Show spin-off Gomer Pyle, USMC. Additional television credits from this era include three guest appearances on Perry Mason, among them the role of reporter Bert Kannon in the 1966 episode "The Case of the Sausalito Sunrise," and a role as a space enforcer in the Lost in Space episode "West of Mars," also in 1966. He appeared as real estate salesman Pete Dudley in My Favorite Martian as well.

Melvin became particularly well known for two supporting roles in 1970s sitcoms. On The Brady Bunch, he played Sam Franklin, the butcher shop owner and boyfriend of housekeeper Alice, portrayed by Ann B. Davis. On All in the Family, he played Barney Hefner, the neighbor and friend of Archie Bunker. He reprised the role of Hefner in the early 1980s on Archie Bunker's Place, where the character carried greater prominence, until that series concluded in 1983.

Parallel to his on-screen work, Melvin built a substantial career in voice acting, sometimes credited as Al Melvin. He voiced Magilla Gorilla on The Magilla Gorilla Show, Drooper the lion on The Banana Splits, and the archvillain Tyrone — known by aliases including The Jester, The Puzzler, and Poochquin — in the live-action and animated series The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty. He provided the voice of Punkin' Puss on Punkin' Puss & Mushmouse, Bluto on The All New Popeye Hour, Prince Thun of the Lion Men on The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, and Rocky Maninoff in a 1963 episode of Tennessee Tuxedo. He also contributed character voices to H.R. Pufnstuf. Following the end of Archie Bunker's Place, his work shifted exclusively to voice acting, a phase that continued until 1994, when he voiced Magilla Gorilla once more in Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights, his final credited performance before retiring. He also spent fifteen years as Al the Plumber in commercials for Liquid-Plumr drain opener.

Melvin died of cancer on January 17, 2008, at the age of 84, and was buried at Westwood Memorial Cemetery in Los Angeles.