John Smeaton "Jack" Dodson (May 16, 1931 – September 16, 1994) was an American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

best remembered for the milquetoast character Howard Sprague on ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom, 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 colo ...

'' and its

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

Mayberry R.F.D. ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' (abbreviation for Rural Free Delivery) is an American television series produced as a spin-off continuation of ''The Andy Griffith Show''. When star Andy Griffith decided to leave his series, most of the supporting characters ...

'' From 1959 until his death in 1994, Dodson was married to television art director

Mary Dodson Mary Dodson (née Weaver; September 24, 1932 – February 15, 2016) was an American art director known for her work in television. Dodson is credited as the art director for 102 of the 264 episodes of the mystery series, ''Murder, She Wrote'', wh ...

Career

In 1966, Andy Griffith hired Dodson for the Howard Sprague role, having previously seen him in Broadway's ''

Hughie ''Hughie'' is a short two-character play by Eugene O'Neill set in the lobby of a small hotel on a West Side street in Midtown Manhattan, New York, during the summer of 1928. The play is essentially a long monologue delivered by a small-time hust ...

''. Dodson also portrayed insurance agent Ed Jenkins in the "Lost and Found" episode of ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Dodson also appeared in episodes of '' My Friend Flicka'', ''

Hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

'', '' The Virginian'', '' Maude'', ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was cre ...

'' (four episodes), '' Welcome Back Kotter'', ''

Archie Bunker's Place ''Archie Bunker's Place'' is an American television sitcom produced as a continuation of ''All in the Family''. It aired on CBS from September 23, 1979, to April 4, 1983. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough ...

'', '' Newhart'', ''

Mr. Belvedere ''Mr. Belvedere'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from March 15, 1985, to July 8, 1990. The series is based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel ''Belvedere'', which was later ...

'', '' Matlock'', '' Mama's Family'', and ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' was an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels ...

'', on which he had a recurring role. Dodson appeared as an airplane passenger caught up in a murder plot in a 1973 episode of '' Hawaii Five-0''. In 1967, Dodson appeared in the episode "A Mighty Hunter Before the Lord" of NBC's '' The Road West'', which aired opposite ''The Andy Griffith Show''. He played Norman Gresham in the 1969 film ''

Angel in My Pocket ''Angel in My Pocket'' is a 1969 American comedy film directed by Alan Rafkin and starring Andy Griffith. One of three films originally planned by Universal Pictures to star Griffith, it also features Lee Meriwether, Jerry Van Dyke, Kay Medford, ...

'', and also appeared in two

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic ''The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institut ...

films, '' The Getaway'' (1972) and '' Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid'' (1973). He also had a small role in the 1974 film '' Thunderbolt and Lightfoot'', which starred

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

and

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

. His other film appearances included roles in '' Something Wicked This Way Comes'' (1983) and '' A Climate for Killing'' (1991). In the late 1970s, he had a recurring role as Mickey Malph, Ralph Malph's

optometrist Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Un ...

father on '' Happy Days''. In 1975 he was in the ''

'' episode "Horse Thief". In 1979–80, Season 6, he appeared in the episode "Guns". He appeared again on ''Barney Miller'' in the two-part episode "Homicide" in Season 7. Dodson appeared in all 24 episodes of the CBS romantic sitcom ''

All's Fair ''All's Fair'' is an American television sitcom from Norman Lear that aired one season on CBS from 1976 to 1977. The series co-starred Richard Crenna as a conservative political columnist and Bernadette Peters as a liberal photographer, and the ...

'' during the 1976-77 season. Set in Washington, D.C., Dodson played Wayne Joplin, a slightly bumbling Democratic senator from an unspecified rural state. The show lasted just one season. In January 1979, Dodson played Bernie, a hard of hearing acquaintance of Mark ( David Spielberg), in a comic scene set in a restaurant in '' One Day at a Time''. In 1983, Dodson returned to Broadway in the revival of '' You Can't Take It with You''. The actor reprised Howard Sprague in the 1986 NBC-TV movie '' Return to Mayberry'', as well as in a 1990 episode of '' It's Garry Shandling's Show'', "The Day Howard Moved In". In 1986, Dodson appeared as Gus, a bus depot attendant, in the "Steal One Pearl Two" episode of '' Mama's Family''.

Personal life

He died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

, aged 63, on September 16, 1994. Dodson's widow, art director

, younger sister of actor Fritz Weaver, died on February 15, 2016.

Filmography & Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodson, Jack 1931 births 1994 deaths Male actors from Pittsburgh American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors