Howard Sprague

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Howard Sprague is a fictional character on the CBS television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, and its spin-off Mayberry R.F.D. He was played by Jack Dodson from 1966-71.

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). As with all Mayberry characters, the humor is derived from the characters' personas and not from a string of one-liners. Howard was the rural town's milquetoast county clerk. He appeared during the later (and less recognized) 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*, he first appeared as Howard in the sixth season episode #185, "The County Clerk"

Due to his upbringing, Howard was socially stymied, especially when it came to dating. His mother even tried to thwart a double date Sheriff Andy Taylor slated, by feigning heart palpatations. Later, when Howard was about to join a men's social club, his mother manipulated Goober with a sob story in an attempt to blackball his membership. Opie once said Howard threw a baseball, "like a girl".

When his mother remarried and moved away, Howard sought to metamorphosize into a swinging hipster. His plain home became a mod bachelor pad, with theshold- beads and a bean bag chair. 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.

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. He also proved to be an excellent bowler, after joining Emmett Clark's bowling team and astonishing everyone by scoring a perfect game. Howard even parachuted from a plane to appease a thrill-seeking lady friend on RFD.

Howard had two brushes with stardom. On TAGS, 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. On the RFD episode entitled, "The Panel", Mayberry city council sent him with Emmett Clark to a New York City TV station to promote traditional, small town values. Once there, he did a backspin and became an unabashed New Yorker, replete with a loud, paisley Nehru suit and beads.

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.

The Andy Griffith Show VHS/DVDs listed as "The Best of Howard Sprague" were still available in 2005.

TRIVIA:

Like Howard, 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 Hansen.