Allan Melvin at 101

 Born on February 18th, 1923, Melvin was an actor who appeared in some of the most popular shows of the fifties and sixties; Andy Griffith, Phil Silvers, Brady Bunch, Lost in Space, Dick Van Dyke, and the list goes on and on. Yet, for many who hear his name today, one character springs to mind: Magilla Gorilla.

Though his vocal credits aren't as lengthy as his onscreen roles, Allan Melvin entered the world of Hanna-Barbera as the title character of the 1964 series Magilla Gorilla, beginning a career in animation that would last for thirty years. Magilla is the character he's best known for, but he also voiced a vast variety of minor roles in many of Hanna-Barbera's productions in those decades. The last role he did for them was as Magilla once more for the 1994 film Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights before finally retiring. Melvin would sadly pass away from cancer at age 84 on the 17th of January, 2008. Over a decade after his death, however, his legacy endures through his impressive body of work spanning nearly half a century. And, as this past Sunday marked what would've been his 101st birthday, I think it's only right to dedicate an article on this blog to an often underappreciated voice actor from the early years of Hanna-Barbera.

This piece comes to us courtesy of the June 1st, 1981 edition of The Morning Call. Inside, Melvin discusses his work on the series Archie Bunker's Place, a series he was featured in at the time, as well as his last onscreen role. Alongside this series, he looks back at his many past TV roles, including his voiceover work at Hanna-Barbera. I hope you enjoy this article, and to Mr. Melvin, I wish a most happy heavenly birthday!

Allan Melvin a loyal sidekick in 'Archie Bunker's Place'

By Jerry Buck
AP Television Writer

    LOS ANGELES - Allan Melvin has played Archie Bunker's best friend since 1972, but it didn't start off as a chummy relationship.
    The very first time Melvin appeared on "All in the Family," it was not as Barney Hefner, best friend, but as Sgt. Pete Pulaski of New York City's Finest.
    "The fun of that episode was that Archie came down to the police station and was making remarks about the Polish," he recalled. "Somebody says, 'Oh, yeah, tell that to Sgt. Pulaski' — and I throw Archie into the can."
    It was a few months after that that Melvin was reincarnated as Barney Hefner. He remained with the CBS show when it was changed to "Archie Bunker's Place," and only Carroll O'Connor, as the irrepressible Archie, has been with the series longer.
    Melvin, who got his start as a stand-up comic and mimic and then played on Broadway in "Stalag 17," has had a long and profitable career in television as the foil to the leading man.
    A lot of that time was spent in uniform. On "The Phil Silvers Show" he was Cpl. Henshaw, who was Sgt. Bilko's partner in his attempts to bilk the other soldiers. He was Dick Van Dyke's old Army buddy on his show and Sgt. Hacker on "Gomer Pyle." He also had recurring roles on "The Joey Bishop Show" and on "The Andy Griffith Show."
    Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin at "All in the Family" were familiar with his work even before Sgt. Pulaski. A few years before that, he and Sorrel Booke had starred together in a pilot adapted from the "Barnaby and Mr. O'Malley" comic strip, which Lear and Yorkin had produced.
    "I went in the same season from Pulaski to Barney Hefner," he said. "I think they make allowances for the fact that the audience will accept certain changes. I guess they figure since it was a one-shot I wasn't that established. I've been Barney ever since."
    Marvin is also well known as Al the Plumber, a character he has played for 14 years on the Liquid Plumber commercials. Less well known is the fact that he does many cartoon voices. He has been the voice of Bluto on the "Popeye" cartoon for the past four years. He's also done the voice on "Magilla Gorilla" and has done many impressions for "The Flintstones."
    In fact, the day after the interview he was due to spend the day at Hanna-Barbera studios, recording voices. "They actually animate to our soundtrack," he said. "This gives us a lot of freedom to embellish the parts."
    Few characters on television ever seem to have jobs, but Barney Hefner is a bridge inspector. Not that he ever works at it. "He never really inspects any bridges," said Melvin. "He just says they're all unsafe. That's how he can spend so much time at Archie's Place.
    As Archie's oldest friend they are very similar. "He's very much like Archie in his thinking and his values. But not to the extreme that Archie goes. He's more temperate."
    Melvin recalled that during the making of "The Phil Silvers Show" in New York, the technical adviser assigned to the show was a captain named George Kennedy.
    "He would beseech Nat Hiken for a role," he said. "Finally, Nat made him an MP and let him stand by the door and wear a helmet. He was thrilled. Did I ever think he'd become an actor? No way," Kenedy, of course, not only became an actor, but went on to win the Academy Award as best supporting actor.
    Melvin was born in Kansas City, but was raised in New York and New Jersey. He and his wife now divide their time between their home in Brentwood and one on Monarch Bay in Laguna. He also spends much of his spare time on the golf course.
    His own oldest and closest friend is author Richard Condon, who wrote "The Manchurian Candidate." Condon wrote an early children's record that Melvin recorded and wrote a night club act for him. It was that night club act that caused the producers of "Stalag 17" to alter the role of Reed to fit Melvin's background and his act.