Howard Sprague
Encyclopedia
Howard Sprague is a fictional character
on the CBS
television
sitcom
The Andy Griffith Show
(TAGS), and its spin-off
Mayberry R.F.D.
He was played by Jack Dodson
from 1966-71.
As with all Mayberry
characters, the humor is derived from the characters' personas and not from verbal barbs or one liners. He was characterized by his moustache
, bow tie
, and a penchant for philosophy and culture. Howard was a repressed Mother's boy
who lived with his overbearing and manipulative
mother, played by Mabel Albertson
(TAGS, "The County Clerk", episdode 185). Howard was the rural town's milquetoast
county clerk. He appeared during the later color episodes of The Andy Griffith Show (and continued onto Mayberry R.F.D.). While Jack Dodson made an earlier appearance as an insurance agent named Ed (TAGS, "Lost and Found", episode 178), he first appeared as Howard in the sixth season (TAGS, "The County Clerk", episode 185.) This was not unusual on the show: other TAGS regulars were first introduced with different names: Hope Summers
, who played Clara Edwards
, first appeared as Bertha Johnson; Goober Pyle
was first called Goober Beasley; and Arlene Golonka
, who played Millie Swanson, was introduced as Millie Hutchins.
Due to his upbringing, Howard was socially stymied, especially when it came to dating. His mother even tried to thwart a double date he had with Sheriff Andy Taylor
, Helen Crump and a nurse by feigning heart palpitations (TAGS, "The County Clerk", episode 185). Later, when Howard was about to join a men's social club, his mother manipulated Goober Pyle with a sob story in an attempt to blackball his membership (TAGS, "The Lodge", episode 192). Opie
once said Howard threw a baseball, "just like Aunt Bee".
When his mother remarried and moved to Mount Pilot, Howard sought to metamorphosize into a swinging hipster (TAGS, "The Wedding", episode 246). Wearing a smoking jacket and ascot, his plain home became a mod bachelor pad
, with threshold-beads, and floor pillows. In the episode "Howard's New Life", he sought to improve his drab lifestyle by moving to a Caribbean island (St. Benedict's) to lead the life of a beachcomber, but returned to Mayberry after discovering that a beach-bum's life was no more interesting than that of a county clerk.
Howard's brief love interest/fiancee on The Andy Griffith Show was Millie Swanson (Arlene Golonka
), a character who later dated Sam Jones (Ken Berry
) on the spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D. Millie and Howard soon realized their incompatibility and mutually agreed to dissolve the relationship right before they were to wed.
Despite his awkwardness, Howard proved to be quite a sportsman. He caught "Old Sam", the much coveted legendary fish in Myer's Lake, thus antagonizing the town's seasoned anglers (TAGS, "Big Fish In A Small Town", episode 198). He also proved to be an excellent bowler
, after joining Emmett Clark's bowling team and astonishing everyone by scoring a perfect game (TAGS, "Howard The Bowler", episode 224). Howard even parachuted from an airplane to appease a thrill-seeking lady friend (Mayberry RFD, "Howard's Hobby", episode 18).
Howard had two brushes with stardom. First he appeared on a television show performing his stand-up comedy
act, which consisted of personal affronts to his neighbors and "one-horse" jokes about Mayberry, causing him to be temporarily snubbed by the townsfolk (TAGS, "Howard The Comedian", episode 216). Mayberry city council once sent him with Emmett Clark to a New York City TV station to promote traditional, small town values. Howard soon did a backspin and became an unabashed New Yorker, replete with a loud, paisley Nehru suit
and hair bangs (Mayberry RFD, "The Panel", episode 6).
In the 1986 television movie
Return to Mayberry
, Howard was revisited (along with most of the surviving cast). In a funk about aging, the clerk was seen throughout the movie in various hues of hair color.
He appeared in character on It's Garry Shandling's Show
in the 1990 episode, 'The Day Howard Moved In'.
The Andy Griffith Show VHS/DVDs listed as "The Best of Howard Sprague" were still available in 2005.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
(TAGS), and its spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D.
Mayberry R.F.D. is a spin-off and direct continuation of The Andy Griffith Show under a new title, for the same sponsor, General Foods...
He was played by Jack Dodson
Jack Dodson
Jack Dodson Born John S. Dodson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an American television actor best remembered for the milquetoast character Howard Sprague in The Andy Griffith Show and its spin-off Mayberry R.F.D. From 1959 until his death in 1994, Dodson was married to television art director...
from 1966-71.
Mayberry
Mayberry is a fictional community in North Carolina that was the setting for two American television sitcoms, The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. Mayberry was also the setting for a 1986 reunion television movie titled Return to Mayberry...
characters, the humor is derived from the characters' personas and not from verbal barbs or one liners. He was characterized by his moustache
Moustache
A moustache is facial hair grown on the outer surface of the upper lip. It may or may not be accompanied by a type of beard, a facial hair style grown and cropped to cover most of the lower half of the face.-Etymology:...
, bow tie
Bow tie
The bow tie is a type of men's necktie. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar in a symmetrical manner such that the two opposite ends form loops. Ready-tied bow ties are available, in which the distinctive bow is sewn into shape and the band around the neck incorporates a clip....
, and a penchant for philosophy and culture. Howard was a repressed Mother's boy
Mother's boy
Mother's boy, also mummy's boy or mama's boy, is a term for a man who is excessively attached to his mother at an age when men are expected to be independent...
who lived with his overbearing and manipulative
Psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
mother, played by Mabel Albertson
Mabel Albertson
Mabel Albertson was an American actress.Albertson was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of Russian-born Jewish immigrants Flora Craft and Leopold Albertson. Her brother was actor Jack Albertson...
(TAGS, "The County Clerk", episdode 185). Howard was the rural town's milquetoast
Milquetoast
A milquetoast is a weak, ineffectual or bland person. The word is derived from the character Caspar Milquetoast from the 1924 comic strip The Timid Soul.Milquetoast may also refer to:...
county clerk. He appeared during the later color episodes of The Andy Griffith Show (and continued onto Mayberry R.F.D.). While Jack Dodson made an earlier appearance as an insurance agent named Ed (TAGS, "Lost and Found", episode 178), he first appeared as Howard in the sixth season (TAGS, "The County Clerk", episode 185.) This was not unusual on the show: other TAGS regulars were first introduced with different names: Hope Summers
Hope Summers
Hope Summers was an American character actress known for her work on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry RFD, portraying Clara Edwards.-Career:...
, who played Clara Edwards
Clara Edwards
Clara Edwards is a fictional character on the American television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show . Clara was portrayed by actress Hope Summers....
, first appeared as Bertha Johnson; Goober Pyle
Goober Pyle
Goober is a fictional character in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show and its later sequel series Mayberry RFD. He was played by George Lindsey. Lindsey initially read for the part of Gomer Pyle, which went to singer Jim Nabors...
was first called Goober Beasley; and Arlene Golonka
Arlene Golonka
Arlene Golonka is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Millie Swanson on the television comedies The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D., and often portrayed bubbly, eccentric blondes in supporting character roles on stage, film, and television.-Early years:Golonka was...
, who played Millie Swanson, was introduced as Millie Hutchins.
Due to his upbringing, Howard was socially stymied, especially when it came to dating. His mother even tried to thwart a double date he had with Sheriff Andy Taylor
Sheriff Andy Taylor
Sheriff Andrew "Andy" Jackson Taylor is the principal character on The Andy Griffith Show, an American sitcom which aired on CBS, . The character made a few appearances in the show's spinoff Mayberry R.F.D. and appeared in a reunion telemovie Return to Mayberry...
, Helen Crump and a nurse by feigning heart palpitations (TAGS, "The County Clerk", episode 185). Later, when Howard was about to join a men's social club, his mother manipulated Goober Pyle with a sob story in an attempt to blackball his membership (TAGS, "The Lodge", episode 192). Opie
Opie Taylor
Opie Taylor is a fictional character in the American television program, The Andy Griffith Show which was televised on CBS from October 3, 1960 to April 1, 1968...
once said Howard threw a baseball, "just like Aunt Bee".
When his mother remarried and moved to Mount Pilot, Howard sought to metamorphosize into a swinging hipster (TAGS, "The Wedding", episode 246). Wearing a smoking jacket and ascot, his plain home became a mod bachelor pad
Bachelor pad
A bachelor pad is a slang term for a house in which a bachelor or bachelors live. It should not be confused for the formal term "bachelor apartment", which is used in real estate to refer to an apartment with no bedrooms, in which the main room serves as a bedroom, living room and dining room...
, with threshold-beads, and floor pillows. In the episode "Howard's New Life", he sought to improve his drab lifestyle by moving to a Caribbean island (St. Benedict's) to lead the life of a beachcomber, but returned to Mayberry after discovering that a beach-bum's life was no more interesting than that of a county clerk.
Howard's brief love interest/fiancee on The Andy Griffith Show was Millie Swanson (Arlene Golonka
Arlene Golonka
Arlene Golonka is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Millie Swanson on the television comedies The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D., and often portrayed bubbly, eccentric blondes in supporting character roles on stage, film, and television.-Early years:Golonka was...
), a character who later dated Sam Jones (Ken Berry
Ken Berry
Kenneth Ronald "Ken" Berry is an American dancer, comedic actor and singer. He began on stage as a dancer and later starred in television sitcoms.-Life and career:...
) on the spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D. Millie and Howard soon realized their incompatibility and mutually agreed to dissolve the relationship right before they were to wed.
Despite his awkwardness, Howard proved to be quite a sportsman. He caught "Old Sam", the much coveted legendary fish in Myer's Lake, thus antagonizing the town's seasoned anglers (TAGS, "Big Fish In A Small Town", episode 198). He also proved to be an excellent bowler
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, after joining Emmett Clark's bowling team and astonishing everyone by scoring a perfect game (TAGS, "Howard The Bowler", episode 224). Howard even parachuted from an airplane to appease a thrill-seeking lady friend (Mayberry RFD, "Howard's Hobby", episode 18).
Howard had two brushes with stardom. First he appeared on a television show performing his stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
act, which consisted of personal affronts to his neighbors and "one-horse" jokes about Mayberry, causing him to be temporarily snubbed by the townsfolk (TAGS, "Howard The Comedian", episode 216). Mayberry city council once sent him with Emmett Clark to a New York City TV station to promote traditional, small town values. Howard soon did a backspin and became an unabashed New Yorker, replete with a loud, paisley Nehru suit
Nehru jacket
The Nehru jacket is a hip-length tailored coat for men or women, created in India in the 1940s. The jacket essentially blends the collar of the achkan, historically the royal court dress of Indian nobles, with the Western suit jacket...
and hair bangs (Mayberry RFD, "The Panel", episode 6).
In the 1986 television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Return to Mayberry
Return to Mayberry
Return to Mayberry is an American television reunion movie for the 1960s American sitcoms The Andy Griffith Show and, to an extent, Mayberry R.F.D. as well. The movie premiered on April 13, 1986 on NBC, and was the highest-rated telemovie of 1986. Sixteen of the original cast members reunited for...
, Howard was revisited (along with most of the surviving cast). In a funk about aging, the clerk was seen throughout the movie in various hues of hair color.
He appeared in character on It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show is an American sitcom which was initially broadcast on Showtime from 1986 to 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The show is notable for its frequent use of breaking the fourth wall to allow characters to speak directly to the audience...
in the 1990 episode, 'The Day Howard Moved In'.
The Andy Griffith Show VHS/DVDs listed as "The Best of Howard Sprague" were still available in 2005.