Hal Smith

At 77 years old, Hal Smith has this physical status:

Harold John Smith (August 24, 1916 – January 28, 1994) was an American actor and voice actor, who was best known for his role as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show. 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, Help, It's The Hair Bear Bunch!, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, Clutch Cargo, Hong Kong Phooey, A Laurel & Hardy Cartoon and many more.

He is also known to radio listeners as the original voice of John Avery Whittaker in Adventures in Odyssey.

Early life

Harold John Smith was born on August 24, 1916 in Petoskey, Michigan. He was the son of Jay D. Smith (1875-1969) and Emma Smith (nee Ploof) (1881-1977). He was the third of four children and he had three siblings: two older sisters, Kathleen (1912-2005) and Bernadeen (1914-2002) and one younger brother, Glenford “Glen” (1918-2003). After graduation from high school, Smith worked from 1936 to 1943 as a DJ and voice talent for WIBX Radio in Utica, New York. Being an avid flyer, Smith enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 and was stationed in the Philippines with the Army's Special Services Division. While in Manila, he was made assistant manager of the enlisted men's club at the Far East Air Force (FEAF) headquarters. As such, he was responsible for planning and directing shows for the entertainment of his fellow troops. His own performing skills were utilized as well in a show titled Strictly from Hunger. He was discharged from the service in 1946 as a Sergeant and was awarded the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Philippine Liberation Medal. After the war, he traveled to Hollywood and appeared on many television series such as I Married Joan, Fury, The People's Choice, The Texan, Rescue 8, Dennis the Menace, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Donna Reed Show, National Velvet and The Red Skelton Show.

Personal life

Smith was married to Louise C. Smith from 1936 until her death in 1992. They had a son named Terry.

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Career

During the majority of the series's run from 1960 to 1967, Smith's most remembered on-screen character, Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show, was the town drunk. He'd often ease into his regular prison cell when inebriated, using the key which was stored inside the two spacious jail rooms — and "sleep off" the effects of alcohol. In several episodes, deputy Barney Fife would be irritated with Otis and would try to sober him up or rehabilitate him.

Hal Smith was the opposite of his appearance. Andy Griffith and Don Knotts, long-time friends, say he did not drink in real life. The Otis character stopped appearing in the series towards the end of the series due to sponsorship skepticism about excessive drinking depicted in the comedy. In Don Knotts' comedy The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), Smith appeared as Calver Weems, playing essentially the same town drunk character.

In the television film Return to Mayberry (1986), Smith will play Otis for one more time. Otis is the town's ice cream truck driver in this series, and has been described as "sober for years" in the television film. Smith later appeared in commercial spots for the Mothers Against Drunk Driving group, and he played Otis in Alan Jackson's "Don't Rock the Juke Box."

In the early days of Mark Twain's "Fifteen Paces to Fame" episode of Death Valley Days, Smith played Rollin Daggett. Perry Mason made at least one appearance in the television series "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee" (season 4, episode 1) in 1960. In the 10/01/1960 Leave It to Beaver episode "Beaver Won't Eat," he played a small part as a restaurant manager. In 1965, Smith appeared in The Great Race as Boracho's Mayor. On CBS' Heroes ("The Swing Shift") season 2, episode 21, he played the industrialist Hans Spear.

In The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1965), he portrayed King Theseus of Rhodes and later added various voices to the animated series The New 3 Stooges.

In 1967, he appeared John Wilson in the syndicated Western series "The Man Who Didn't Want Gold" and "Mr. Weber in The Lucy Show.

Smith appeared in the Adam-12 episode "Log 51: A Jumper – Code Two" in 1969 as a drunk driver. He appeared on Petticoat Junction's "The Great Race" in 1969, as well as in 1969. Jug Gunderson, a moonshiner who helped the Cannonball train win the aforementioned competition, was a moonshiner. Despite the fact that his character was never seen drinking or inebriated, by the time of the episode, he promises to stop drinking and reforming.

Smith hosted The Pancake Man, a morning children's show on the Los Angeles television station KHJ, which was also funded by the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurant chain in the 1960s. In the 1971 episode of The Brady Bunch, he portrayed the Pancake Man as "Kartoon King" as "The Winner." In 1976, he appeared in the X-rated animated film Once Upon a Girl.

Smith has also appeared in animated films and television shows extensively as a voice actor. In Walter Lantz's cartoon "The Bongo Punch" in 1957, his first voice role was as "Pepe," a boxing rooster. Smith made a name for himself in Hollywood by the late 1950s, with shows such as The Huckleberry Hound Show and Quick Draw McGraw, as well as the Miri and Marty Krofft, who worked with many of the major studios and production companies, including Fred's rich uncle Tex, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Yogi Bear, and Looney Tunes.

He portrayed Taurus, the Scottish-accented mechanic of the spaceship Starduster's series Space Angel, in 1962. "It's rumored that Gene Roddenberry was a huge fan of the show and patterned Star Trek's engineer, Mr. Scott, after McCloud's Scottish sidekick, Taurus," the book says. He also did voice work for the Hong Kong Phooy series. In 1977, he was the voice of Grandpa Josiah in the cartoon version, "Singing At Grinch Night." He was also very popular with doing voices in 1980s; in Mickey's Christmas Carol, he appeared in Scrooge McDuck's rival Flintheart Glomgold and the absent-minded scientist Gyro Gearloose; In Mickey's DuckTales, he was Sludge, Goofy, and F. And Toad are Friends and Family Together.

After Pinto Colvig died in 1967, Smith portrayed Goofy, the Disney cartoon character. In addition,, he appeared in three original Winnie the Pooh featurettes (Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day), and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too). He was one of Hollywood's most sought-after voice actors in the 1960s. He portrayed Goliath, Davey's father, and several other characters in Davey and Goliath from 1959 to 1975. He was Elmer Fudd's voice from 1960 to 1961, and after Arthur Q. Bryan's death, he was the voice of Elmer Fuddd. Dr. Todd Goodheart, Belly Laguna, and Dr. Jeremy Stengel were among the 1963 finalists. Von Upp in the Funny Company cartoon collection. He appeared in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon shorts Yippee, Yappee, and Yahooey from 1964 to 1966. Where Are You, Cosgoode Creeps, Asa Shanks, the Farmer and Mr. Greenway was also a voice on Scooby-Doo.

In 1981, he reimagined his role as Owl and voiced Winnie-the-Pooh in the short Winnie the Poooh Discovers the Seasons, replacing Sterling Holloway, who had been the voice of the character for many years. In Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore in 1983, he portrayed the two characters, as well as the Disney Channel's television show Welcome to Pooh Corner. Jim Cummings took over as Pooh on 1988's television series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, while Smith continued playing Owls. Winnie the Pooh's voice was often revolving. Before his death in 1994, Smith appeared in the Disney film Beauty and the Beast as Philippe the Horse.

Hal Norman Harper, a sick father of wife Jennifer Walters, was a voiced by D.J. "House Guest" by Harner, a radio drama. On November 23 (the day before Thanksgiving) of that year, it appeared on the Focus on the Family daily television network. Smith went on to perform other roles in other Focus audio programs, and starting in 1987, he was the voice of the main character John Avery Whittaker on Family's longest-running radio drama Adventures in Odyssey, which debuted the year. Even though his health worsened, he was responsible for a large portion of the cast members returning to the show (including Katie Leigh, Will Ryan, Walker Edmiston, Earl Madden, and others). Smith said in an Andy Griffith Fan Interview, which was published after he died, Adventures in Odyssey was one of the most rewarding activities he had done in his life. In addition, he portrayed hundreds of other characters in the 253 episodes in which he appeared. After his death, Whit's role was eventually filled by Paul Herlinger in 1996 and then Andre Stojka in 2009.

In "The Old Man and the Sea Duck" episode of TaleSpin, Hal voiced Joe McGee.

Smith also appeared in television commercials as various characters. He provided on-screen advertisements for 3 Musketeers, United Van Lines, Hickory Farms, Toyota, Green Giant, Mattel, Kellogg's, Chicken of the Sea, Ivory soap, Doctor Ross Dog Food, Pioneer Chicken, Bell Telephone Company, Coca-Cola, Boyardee, and hundreds of other media advertisers.

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