Hal was best known for his role as Otis Campbell , the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show. However, Smith was also active in voice-over roles, having played many characters on various animated shorts, including Owl in the first four original Winnie the Pooh shorts (the first three of which were combined into the feature film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh) and later The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Uncle Tex on The Flintstones, Goliath in Davey and Goliath, and Flintheart Glomgold and Gyro Gearloose on DuckTales, as well as multiple other characters in The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Quick Draw McGraw Show, The Gumby Show, The Jetsons, Top Cat, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, Clutch Cargo, Hong Kong Phooey, and many more.
Smith is also known to radio listeners as the original voice of John Avery Whittaker in Adventures in Odyssey. After his wife Louise passed away in 1992, Smith’s health quickly deteriorated. He died of a heart attack in 1994.
Nabors Comes Out
Jim’s character on The Andy Griffith Show proved popular, and Nabors was given his own spin-off show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Nabors was known for his portrayal of Gomer Pyle, although he became a popular guest on variety shows which showcased his rich baritone singing voice in the 1960s and 1970s, including two specials of his own in 1969 and 1974. He subsequently recorded numerous albums and singles, most of them containing romantic ballads.
In 2013, Jim publicly came out as gay and married his long-time partner of 38 years. He said, “I’m 82 and he’s in his 60s and so we’ve been together for 38 years and I’m not ashamed of people knowing, it’s just that it was such a personal thing, I didn’t tell anybody.”
Aneta Continues Acting
Corsaut had a continuing role as policeman Bumper Morgan's pawn-shop-owner friend on the series The Blue Knight and as Irma Howell in the short-lived series Mrs. G. Goes to College. In the TV series Adam-12, Corsaut portrayed Officer Pete Malloy's girlfriend, Judy. She had a supporting role as Head Nurse Bradley in the 1980s sitcom House Calls , and also appeared in several episodes of Matlock with star Andy Griffith . In addition, Corsaut played the role of nurse Jesse Brewer in 1977 on the long-running ABC soap opera General Hospital when long-time portrayer Emily McLaughlin was too ill to work.
Aneta returned for two reunion shows, 1986’s Return to Mayberry and 1993’s The Andy Griffith Show Reunion. She also made appearances on dozens of TV shows, such as Gunsmoke, Rich Man, Poor Man, and The Runaways. She died of cancer in 1995 and was buried in Hollywood.
A Charitable Fellow
George Lindsey played Gomer Pyle’s bumbling cousin. George was a very generous man, he raised over $1,000,000 for the Alabama Special Olympics through 17 years of the George Lindsey Celebrity Weekend and Golf Tournament in Montgomery, Alabama and another $50,000 for the Alabama Association of Retarded Citizens, and participated as Head Coach for the Winter Games in the Minneapolis, Minnesota Special Olympics National Competition.
He established and perpetuated the George Lindsey Academic Scholarships at University of North Alabama. Lindsey was the 1995 recipient of the Governor's Achievement Award — Alabama Music Hall of Fame. The State of Alabama named the "George Lindsey Highway" in Jasper, Alabama after the actor. In 1998, he established the George Lindsey/UNA Film Festival that takes place at the University of North Alabama annually in the spring. He was the 1997 recipient of the Minnie Pearl Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2007 recipient of the first ICON Award presented by the Nashville Association of Talent Directors. Sadly, he passed away in 2012, at the age of 83.
Barney Fife Moves In
Although Don Knotts was best known as Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, Knotts returned to series television in his second most identifiable role, the wacky-but-lovable landlord Ralph Furley on ‘Three’s Company’, alongside John Ritter. The series, which was already an established hit, added Knotts to the cast when the original landlords, Helen Roper and her husband Stanley Roper (a married couple played by Audra Lindley and Norman Fell , respectively) left the series to star in their own short-lived spin-off series (The Ropers).
Don also appeared in many television and film cameos. In 1979, TV Guide ranked him #27 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.