Floyd Lawson - History of The Character

History of The Character

Floyd the Barber (as he was commonly known) was the slow-paced, somewhat absent-minded barber in the TV show's fictional town of Mayberry. He was first seen in episode #12, "Stranger in Town," where he was played by actor Walter Baldwin. Baldwin established the running gag of Floyd's inability to trim sideburns evenly, which continued throughout the run of the show. Baldwin portrayed Floyd for just one episode; from 1961 on, the part was played by Howard McNear, the actor most commonly associated with the role. In McNear's first appearance as Floyd, the character's last name was "Colby"; thereafter the character was always "Floyd Lawson".

Over the first few seasons, the importance of Floyd The Barber to the show increased. Slowly, McNear changed his delivery of dialogue for Floyd from fast-paced to slower and slower as time went on. Floyd also became involved more in the plots of the various episodes as time went on.

In early 1963, midway through the third season, Howard McNear suffered a serious stroke. He was left with little use of his arms and legs, especially his left arm, which rarely moved. The producers of the show and Andy Griffith wanted McNear to return as Floyd when his health permitted it, and after about a year, McNear was talked into coming back (which he was not going to do at first). The show had a special chair constructed that McNear was able to sit in most of the time while on the set, as the stroke had left him only able to stand for short periods of time. Accordingly, the Floyd character then began to appear regularly again on the series towards the end of season 4.

The last appearance of Floyd the Barber on The Andy Griffith Show was in the final episode of the seventh season. Howard McNear's health worsened and he was not able to return to the show for season 8, and he died less than a year later. To try to fill in his loss on the show, a new character named Emmett Clark (a fix-it man) was brought in. It was announced on the show that Floyd had retired because he had earned enough money. Emmett (played by veteran character actor Paul Hartman) moved his fix-it shop into Floyd's old barber shop location in Mayberry.