When people think of The Andy Griffith Show, certain names immediately spring to mind — Andy, Opie, Aunt Bea and Barney. Yet, if you dig just a little deeper, there’s another name that keeps popping up: Floyd the Barber. Portrayed by character actor Howard McNear, Floyd provided not only comic relief but a kind of homespun commentary. A lot of Mayberry’s attitudes get revealed through him because the barbershop was kind of the center of town for the men. There were almost as many scenes in the barbershop as there were in Andy’s office. In 1963 — midway through the show’s run — tragedy struck. McNear suffered a debilitating stroke that left the entire left side of his body paralyzed. For most performers, that might have spelled the end of a career, but not for Howard McNear. He disappeared from the show, though his character was never written off. Floyd’s Barbershop remained, his name was still mentioned, but the man himself was missing for over a year. When McNear rejoined the show, his appearance had changed — he was noticeably thinner and his speech was slightly slower — but instead of hiding it, he incorporated those changes into his character. The show’s writers and directors adjusted scenes to make things easier. Floyd would be seated or propped up behind a barber’s chair, and the camera rarely showed his left side. Eventually, though, the physical toll became too great and it became obvious to people watching that the actor wasn’t able to do his best work anymore. His final appearance came in 1967, when the writers sent Floyd off to a bigger city to run a new barbershop. Just like that, Howard McNear’s time on The Andy Griffith Show came to a close, but not before leaving a lasting impression on his co-stars, his audience and, of course, television history. He died on January 3, 1969 of complications of pneumonia caused by a stroke. He was 63.
