John Trevathian Upchurch Jr. (January 19, 1920 – January 8, 1994), professionally known as Jack Prince, was a singer and an occasional actor who incorporated his mother's maiden name into his professional name of Prince. He performed in Broadway plays, sang in nightclubs, and was a regular on a 1955 television variety show. Prince is best remembered for playing Rafe Hollister on ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

''.

Early years

Prince was born January 19, 1920, in Shreveport, Louisiana, the son of John Tervathan Upchurch and Betty Prince Upchurch. During the second World War he served in the U. S. Army and was stationed in France, where he formed a band called "The Chowhounds."

Singing and acting career

After leaving military service Prince became a vocalist for the

Shep Fields Shep may refer to: People Given name *Shep Fields, American band leader *Shep Goodman, American music producer and songwriter *Shep Gordon, American talent manager, Hollywood film agent, and producer * Shep Mayer, Canadian ice hockey player *Shep ...

band. He then sang in night clubs, including Colosimo's Cafe Chicago, Alan Gale's Celebrity Club Miami, and Billy Gray's Band Box, Hollywood. A ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' review stated “With a style as infectious as a ton of honey Prince is a cinch to rise to greater heights.” During the 1950 to 1953 Broadway run of ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'', Prince was the replacement actor for the role of Nicely Nicely Johnson. Starting in 1956, he was the understudy and replacement actor for Marrying’ Sam in ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn ...

''. Prince's final Broadway performance was playing Wash in the 1959 to 1960 production of ''

Destry Rides Again ''Destry Rides Again'' is a 1939 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey ...

''.

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characte ...

played the lead role. Prince stated "The reason I left Broadway was that I’m a singer. I’m not an actor – unless it’s something real simple." One of Prince's first television appearances was on the July 25, 1954 episode of ''

The Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

''. From June 30, 1955, to March 29, 1956, he was the male vocalist on the CBS variety show ''

The Johnny Carson Show ''The Johnny Carson Show'' was a 1955–56 half-hour prime time television variety show starring Johnny Carson. While working as a staff writer on ''The Red Skelton Show'', local Los Angeles television comedian Carson filled in as host when Sk ...

''.Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 – Present'', pages 311 & 312, Ballantine Books, 1979 When ''

'' began, Griffith remembered his Destry Rides Again co-star and asked Prince to appear on the show. During the first season Prince played Ben Sewell on the January 30, 1961 episode Alcohol and Old Lace. He was Luke Rainer in the April 10, 1961 episode The Inspector, and was a rummage sale customer in the April 21, 1961 episode Andy Forecloses. During seasons two and three Prince played farmer and moonshiner Rafe Hollister in three episodes – Sheriff Barney (December 25, 1961), The County Nurse (March 19, 1962), and Rafe Hollister Sings (February 11, 1963). Griffith wanted him to appear in additional episodes, but Prince felt acting on the show would interfere with his singing opportunities. From 1963 to 1964 Prince sang with the

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

Band. Little is known of his work during the 1970s and 80s. In September 1991 Prince reprised his role of Rafe Hollister on TNN's ''

Nashville Now ''Nashville Now'' was an American talk show that focused on country music performers in the style of ''The Tonight Show''. The show aired live on weeknights on TNN from 1983–1993. The host was Nashville TV/radio personality Ralph Emery. The sho ...

''. He and Hal Smith, who played town drunk

Otis Campbell Otis Campbell is the fictional "town drunk" in Mayberry on the American TV sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show.'' Otis was played by Hal Smith and made frequent appearances on the show from 1960 to 1967 but stopped appearing toward the end of the s ...

on ''

'', appeared together in a jail skit, and Prince sang

The Lonesome Road "The Lonesome Road" is a 1927 song with music by Nathaniel Shilkret and lyrics by Gene Austin, alternately titled "Lonesome Road", "Look Down that Lonesome Road" and "Lonesome Road Blues." It was written in the style of an African-American folk ...

, a song heard in the Rafe Hollister Sings episode.

Death

Jack Prince died in Las Vegas on January 8, 1994. He is buried in Hillside Memorial Park, in Redlands, California.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Jack (singer 1920 births 1994 deaths Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana American male television actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers