Allan Melvin
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Allan Melvin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Allan Melvin |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Impressionist, Voice Over |
Allan Melvin (February 18, 1922–January 18, 2008) was an American character actor who appeared in several television shows and may be best remembered for his role of "Sam Franklin", Alice's boyfriend on The Brady Bunch.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Melvin's family soon moved to New York City after his birth. Melvin eventually attended Columbia University. After graduation he served with the Navy and married his present wife, Amalia, in 1943.
While working at a job in the sound effects department of NBC Radio, he did a nightclub act and appeared and won on the Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts radio show. While appearing on Broadway in Stalag 17, he got his break into television by getting the role of Cpl. Henshaw on the popular The Phil Silvers Show program. TV fans of this era usually best remember his role as Henshaw, Sergeant Bilko's right hand man on that show.
During this period, in addition to his role on The Phil Silvers Show, Melvin was often cast in slightly loud, occasionally abrasive, but generally friendly second banana roles. Melvin was also adept at "tough guy" roles; in an example of his range as an actor, one episode of Sergeant Bilko featured Melvin doing a recognizable impersonation of Humphrey Bogart.
In the 1960s, he played Staff Sergeant Charley Hacker for four seasons on Gomer Pyle, USMC, and provided the voice of cartoon character Magilla Gorilla.
Melvin also made eight guest appearances on The Andy Griffith Show in eight different roles. These included an Army recruiting sergeant in "Ernest T. Bass Joins the Army", a hotel detective in "Andy and Barney in the Big City", and a performance in "Barney's Uniform" as a grocery store worker who menaces Barney Fife (Don Knotts) after receiving a ticket for littering. He also played a bully who challenged mild-mannered county clerk Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson) for the affection of bakery store employee Millie Swanson (Arlene Golonka).
For those who came of age during the 1970s, Melvin is remembered for supporting roles on two popular sitcoms. He played Sam Franklin, the owner of a local butcher shop and boyfriend of Alice Nelson (the Bradys' housekeeper) on The Brady Bunch, and Barney Hefner, Archie Bunker's neighbor and friend on All in the Family. In other contributions to 1970s pop culture, he was a Mel's Diner patron on Alice and worked as a voice artist (under the name "Al Melvin"). He provided several characters' voices for the TV show H.R. Pufnstuf and the voice of Vultan, King of the Hawk Men on The New Adventures of Flash Gordon.
Some of his most prolific work has been in television commercials, for products as diverse as Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes and Remington electric razors.
After Archie Bunker's Place (successor to All in the Family), in which he played a more important role, left the air in 1983, Melvin's work was exclusively in the realm of cartoon voice-overs.
External links
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