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Howard McNear described himself as ''painfully shy''
Believe it or not, Floyd was rather bashful!
Raise your hand if you're a wallflower!
We can't all be the life of the party. Most of us just aren't built that way. Large social gatherings might not be everybody's dream Saturday night, but we introverted types can stick together.
Besides, as shy people, we're in great company. In fact, we can count ol' Floyd the Barber among our masses. Or at least, we can count on the actor, Howard McNear, to represent us as one of the funniest introverts ever.
In January 1960, McNear spoke with the Buffalo Courier Express about his life and career. The interview also included McNear outing himself as more bashful than his line of work might have you believe.
"As a young fellow, I was painfully shy. I'm still shy. I really feel perfectly at home when I'm on stage."
So that's where McNear diverts from the rest of us. While he was shy in his personal life, it's clear that something changed when he was in a performative setting. For further proof, just watch any episode of The Andy Griffith Show featuring Mayberry's resident barber. McNear is so at home on camera that it's easy to forget he's a real person with a real case of timidity.
"Meeting people is far harder for me than being behind the footlights' perhaps that's because I can feel I'm someone else when I'm acting."
Howard McNear had to figure this all out for himself in life; he wasn't always set out to be an actor.
"I was trained as an architect because my father was an architect and bank vault engineer."
Luckily for us, McNear found a home— and a place of comfort— behind the barber chair.
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