Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of Gunsmoke and as Floyd Lawson (Floyd the Barber) on The Andy Griffith Show (1961–1967). Career McNear studied at the Oatman School of Theater and later joined a stock company in San Diego. McNear also worked in radio from the late 1930s, including in the 1937–1940 radio serial Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police as ace operator Clint Barlow.<ref>[http://www.audio-classics.com/lspeedgibson.html Radio Broadcast Log Of: Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police]</ref> McNear could be effective in such authoritative roles, but he gravitated more toward character roles, often comic. He enlisted as a private in the United States Army Air Corps on November 17, 1942, during World War II. He created the role of Doc Charles Adams in CBS Radio's Gunsmoke (1952–1961). McNear was under contract to CBS for many years and was featured in many of the network's radio and TV programs. From 1955 to 1960 he appeared frequently, in various roles, in the popular radio detective series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. McNear made his film debut in an uncredited role in the 1953 film Escape from Fort Bravo. In 1956, he appeared in the episode “The Pest Hole” (S1E24) in the TV Western Gunsmoke. In a 1958 episode of Leave it to Beaver, McNear made a TV appearance as a barber named "Andy", who gave Wally his first shave. Over the course of his career, he would appear in over one hundred film and television guest spots. In 1959, McNear portrayed Dr. Dompierre in the film Anatomy of a Murder, who testified about collecting evidence of a rape. In a 1960 episode of Peter Gunn, titled "A Slight Touch of Homicide", McNear used the mannerisms he later developed as Floyd the barber to play Barnaby, a vigilante chemist who killed 15 mobsters with explosives. In 1961, McNear was cast as the vague, chatty barber Floyd Lawson on The Andy Griffith Show. In 1963, he suffered a stroke that rendered most of the left side of his body paralyzed. He left the series for nearly a year and a half to recover. Andy Griffith asked McNear to return to the series. McNear agreed despite being unable to walk or stand, and the production crew accommodated him