Actors are lucky if they get one great role in their careers. That’s a rare enough occurrence; plenty of actors never even get that. For every great role, twenty incredible actors with great training will continue to toil in obscurity forever. It’s a business in which there are no guarantees. Some of the most deserving performers will go a lifetime without that one character that brings them acclaim.
Howard McNear, best known for his portrayal of Floyd the Barber on The Andy Griffith Show, actually had two great roles in his career. That’s because, in addition to Mayberry, McNear was also a resident of Dodge City on Gunsmoke. If you can’t picture it, that’s because he was only on the radio program.
In a 1960 interview with The Bangor Daily News, Howard McNear spoke extensively about his love for radio, for the show, and for the love it brought into his life. Gunsmoke was being broadcast through the radio waves for eight years before The Andy Griffith Show helped audiences put a face to McNear’s voice. Crucially, he was able to take on acting roles while he was under the radio contract. He was in good company, as his coworkers also accepted jobs outside of Gunsmoke.
“Bill Conrad plays the Matt Dillon role that Jim Arness does on TV, and is also a director for ZIV—we all lead the double life.”
In the later years of the radio program, the show overlapped with its TV counterpart. McNear revealed that there was a reason some episodes felt similar across the two mediums.
“They use the radio scripts as a tryout thing for the TV,” he said.
But while the audio-only program served as a proving ground for later televised episodes, McNear was steadfast in his belief that the radio show could stand on its own. Sure, the live-action version was great as well, but the radio program was somehow more intimate, and may have connected with audiences even better than the show did.
“I think radio has great emotional impact and that it was sold out too fast. Recently, I got a letter from a Coast Guard family who are stationed where there is no TV. They wanted a picture of our cast and when they came to San Diego for Christmas, phoned to tell me how much it meant to them. ”