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Is Allan Melvin TV's most familiar face?
Even if you don't know him, you know him!
The more television you watch, the more you'll repeatedly recognize the same faces cropping up. The small screen has long favored "that guy" actors, as in "Hey, I know that guy!" We know these actors by sight, even when we can't identify their names. A great contemporary example is Walton Goggins. Even if the name doesn't ring a bell, go ahead and Google "Walton Goggins," and surely you'll recognize him from something. Even though he doesn't have a name-brand household easily identifiable name, Goggins has been in so many shows that you're bound to have seen him at some point.
However, back in the '60s and '70s, an even better example was Allan Melvin. Through a career starring as supporting characters, Allan Melvin was one of the most familiar faces in TV history, even to those who couldn't name him.
Melvin's TV time stretches back to The Phil Silvers Show, where, over 142 episodes, he refined the skillset that would aid him through a decades-long career in front of the camera. As Cpl. Steve Henshaw, Melvin began the first of many supporting character roles that would later populate his expansive résumé.
Melvin stayed steadily employed into the '60s, when the next major milestone introduced another crucial element to the rest of his career. In 1962, Melvin began voicing characters on The Beetle Bailey Show, and the experience shaped his next few decades. As characters like Zero, Sgt. Snorkle, and Cosmo, Melvin not only gained crucial voice acting practice, but he also developed the ability to play multiple characters in the same show, a skillset he'd take with him into Mayberry.
Melvin was featured on eight episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, bringing him some of his highest-profile appearances on TV to date. Across five seasons, Melvin never played the same character twice. While Mayberry may have been a small town, Melvin was still able to navigate the assignment without causing major continuity problems.
His first Andy Griffith Show episode was season two's "Jailbreak," where he played notorious gangster Clarence "Doc" McCoy. Just seven episodes later, Melvin was back as a hotel detective in "Andy and Barney in the Big City." The following season saw Melvin appear in classic episodes "Lawman Barney," and "Barney's First Car." Next were the season four episodes in which Melvin played a recruiting Seargent in "Ernest T. Joins Bass the Army," and an escaped prisoner in "Andy's Vacation." He was in just one episode in season five, where he guest-starred as Fred Plummer in "Barney's Uniform." Finally, after a two-season hiatus, Melvin was back in Mayberry in season eight's "Howard's Main Event," where he appeared as the character Clyde Plaunt.
Jim Nabors wasn't the only Andy Griffith Show alum to enlist, as Melvin joined the Marines as well in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. There, he starred as Sgt. Charley Hacker in 16 of the show's episodes.
All the while, Melvin maintained a healthy amount of voice acting work, most famously as Magilla Gorilla. He also voiced characters on The Funky Phantom, H.R. Pufnstuf, and The Banana Splits.
In the '70s, Melvin began to get the name recognition his career deserved when he was cast as Sam the Butcher opposite Alice on The Brady Bunch. While his Andy Griffith Show appearances certainly elevated his recognition on TV, many viewers continue to identify Melvin with The Brady Bunch. As Alice's boyfriend, Melvin got to star as one of the only non-family characters on the show.
Across 25 episodes of All in the Family and 95 episodes of the retitled Archie Bunker's Place, Allan Melvin starred as Barney Hefner, Archie's best friend and a regular at Kelsey's Bar. His role grew in prominence following the departures of Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner. Once again, Melvin wasn't the star of the show, but his role helped flesh out Archie Bunker's life, providing realistic and important texture to the world of All in the Family.
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