Hal Smith
Smith asOtis Campbell inThe Andy Griffith Show in the 1960s
Born	Harold John Smith (1916-08-24)August 24, 1916 Petoskey, Michigan, U.S.
Died	January 28, 1994(1994-01-28) (aged 77) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Burial place	Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1936–1994
Spouses	Vivian Marie Angstadt ​ ​ (m. 1938, divorced)​ Louise C. Smith ​ ​ (m. 1947; died 1992)​
Children	1
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces[1]
Years of service	1943–1946
Rank	Sergeant[2]
Unit	Special Services
Battles / wars	World War II Pacific Theater
Awards	American Campaign Medal Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal Philippine Liberation Medal

Harold John Smith^[3] (August 24, 1916 – January 28, 1994) was an American actor. He is credited in over 300 film and television productions, and was best known for his role asOtis Campbell, thetown drunk onCBS'sThe Andy Griffith Show, and for voicingOwl in four of the fiveWinnie the Pooh shorts (the character is absent inWinnie the Pooh and Tigger Too). Smith also replaced voice actorSterling Holloway as the title characterWinnie the Pooh in the last two shorts,Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons andWinnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, and in the television seriesWelcome to Pooh Corner. He was the voice ofGoofy from 1967 to 1983, did a cameo inThe Apartment as a drunken Santa Claus, and provided the voice of Goliath in the TV seriesDavey and Goliath from 1961 to 1965.

Harold John Smith was born on August 24, 1916, inPetoskey, Michigan to Jay D. Smith and Emma Smith (nee Ploof).^[4] He was the third of four children with two older sisters—Kathleen and Bernadeen—and one younger brother named Glenford, who was called "Glen".^[4] His family moved toWilmington, North Carolina when he was a child before settling inMassena, New York.^[5] After graduation from high school, inMassena, New York, Smith worked from 1936 to 1943 as aDJ and voice talent forWIBX Radio inUtica, New York.^[4]

Being an avid flyer, Smith enlisted in theUnited States Army Air Forces in 1943 and was stationed in thePhilippines with the Army'sSpecial Services Division.^[1][2] While inManila, he was made assistant manager of the enlisted men's club at theFar East Air Force (FEAF) headquarters.^[1] As such, he was responsible for planning and directing shows for the entertainment of his fellow troops. His own performing skills were utilized as well in a show titledStrictly from Hunger.^[2] He was discharged from the service in 1946 as aSergeant and was awarded theAmerican Campaign Medal, theAsiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal, theWorld War II Victory Medal and thePhilippine Liberation Medal.^[1][2]

After the war, he traveled toHollywood in 1946 to pursue a career as an actor, he made his acting debut in the feature film,Stars Over Texas as Peddler Tucker. He would later appear in many television series throughout his later career, such asI Married Joan,Fury,The People's Choice,The Texan,Rescue 8,Dennis the Menace,The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,The Donna Reed Show,National Velvet andThe Red Skelton Show.^[6]

Smith's best-remembered on-screen character wasOtis Campbell, the town drunk onThe Andy Griffith Show, during most of the series' run from 1960 to 1967. When intoxicated, he would often comically let himself into his regular jail cell—using the key which was stored within reach of the two comfortable jail rooms— and "sleep off" the effects of alcohol. DeputyBarney Fife would often become irritated with Otis and would attempt to either sober him up or rehabilitate him in several episodes.

Hal Smith was the opposite of his character. According to longtime friendsAndy Griffith andDon Knotts, he did not drink in real life. Smith, however, in a 1964 interview with his hometown paper, said he was a “social drinker.” The Otis character stopped appearing in the sitcom towards the end of the series because of sponsor concerns regarding the comic portrayal of excessive drinking.^{[citation needed]} Smith appeared as Calver Weems in the Don Knotts comedyThe Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), playing essentially the same town drunk character.

Smith would play Otis one more time in the television movieReturn to Mayberry (1986). In the television movie, Otis is the town's ice cream truck driver and is reported to have been "sober for years.” Smith later used his Otis Campbell character in commercial spots for theMothers Against Drunk Driving organization, and he appeared as Otis inAlan Jackson's music video "Don't Rock the Juke Box.”

In 1957, Smith played Rollin Daggett in the role of a newspaper man in the early days of Mark Twain in the "Fifteen Paces to Fame" episode of Death Valley Days. He made at least one appearance in the TV seriesPerry Mason, the episode titled "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee", (season 4, episode 1), in 1960. He had a small role as a restaurant manager in the 10/01/1960Leave It to Beaver episode "Beaver Won't Eat". Smith had a cameo role as the Mayor of Boracho inThe Great Race in 1965. He played the industrialist Hans Spear on CBS's sitcomHogan's Heroes ("The Swing Shift", season 2, episode 21).

He portrayed King Theseus of Rhodes inThe Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1965) and later provided various voices for the cartoon seriesThe New 3 Stooges.

In 1967, he played John Wilson in the 1967 episode "The Man Who Didn't Want Gold" of the syndicated Western seriesDeath Valley Days and Mr. Weber inThe Lucy Show.

In 1969, Smith had a cameo role as a drunk driver in theAdam-12 episode "Log 51: A Jumper – Code Two". Also in 1969, he appeared in thePetticoat Junction episode "The Great Race". He played Jug Gunderson, a moonshiner that helped the Cannonball train win the aforementioned race. Though his character was never seen drinking or drunk, by the end of the episode, he makes an oath to himself to stop drinking and reform.

In the mid-1960s, Smith also had a morning children's show on the Los Angeles television station KHJ calledThe Pancake Man, sponsored by theInternational House of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurant chain. He reprised the role of the Pancake Man as "Kartoon King" in the 1971 episode ofThe Brady Bunch, titled "The Winner". He also playedMother Goose in the X-rated animated feature filmOnce Upon a Girl in 1976.

Smith also worked extensively as avoice actor in animated films and television series. His first voice credit was as "Pepe", a boxing rooster, inWalter Lantz's cartoon "The Bongo Punch" in 1957.Beginning in the late 1950s with such shows asThe Huckleberry Hound Show andQuick Draw McGraw, Smith became one of the most prolific voice actors in Hollywood, eventually working with most of the major studios and production companies, such asHanna-Barbera,Walt Disney,Warner Bros.,the Mirisch Corporation, andSid and Marty Krofft, with voice roles on such series asThe Flintstones in which he mostly did the voices of Texas millionaires such as Fred's rich uncle Tex,Pink Panther,The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,Mickey Mouse,Yogi Bear andLooney Tunes.

In 1962, he voiced Taurus, the Scots-accented mechanic of the spaceshipStarduster for the seriesSpace Angel. According to the book:Space Patrol, missions of daring in the name of early television, "It's rumored that Gene Roddenberry was a huge fan of the show and patternedStar Trek's engineer, Mr. Scott, after McCloud's Scottish sidekick, Taurus". He also did voices for theHong Kong Phooey series. In 1977, he was the voice of Grandpa Josiah in the cartoon special,Halloween Is Grinch Night. That same year, he began voicing the Disney characterWinnie the Pooh, replacingSterling Holloway, who had provided the voice of the character for many years, beginning with theDisney Read-Along adaptation ofWinnie the Pooh and Tigger Too.^[7] He was also very active with doing voices in 1980s; he was Sludge inThe Smurfs, Goofy inMickey's Christmas Carol, in Disney'sDuckTales he did the voices ofScrooge McDuck's rivalFlintheart Glomgold and the absent-minded scientistGyro Gearloose and inFrog And Toad are Friends andFrog And Toad Together he also did the voice of Toad.

Smith also voiced the Disney cartoon characterGoofy afterPinto Colvig died in 1967 and would voice him up untilMickey's Christmas Carol in 1983. Additionally, he provided the voice ofOwl in the two originalWinnie the Pooh featurettes (Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree andWinnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day) andThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1977. In the 1960s, he was one of the most sought after voice actors in Hollywood. From 1959 till 1975, he provided the voices for Goliath, Davey's dad and many other characters inDavey and Goliath. From 1960 to 1961, he was the voice ofElmer Fudd afterArthur Q. Bryan died. In 1963, he voiced Dr. Todd Goodheart, Belly Laguna, and Dr. Von Upp inThe Funny Company cartoon series. From 1964 to 1966, he was the voice of Yappee in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon shortsYippee, Yappee and Yahooey. He was also the voice of Cosgoode Creeps, Asa Shanks, the Farmer and Mr. Greenway, onScooby-Doo, Where are You!.

In 1981, he reprised his role as Owl and Winnie the Pooh in the shortWinnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons.^[8] He then voiced the two characters inWinnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore in 1983, as well asDisney Channel's television seriesWelcome to Pooh Corner.^[8] On the television seriesThe New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1988,Jim Cummings took over as Pooh while Smith continued playing Owl. The two voice actors sometimes rotated the voice of Winnie the Pooh. In 1991, Smith provided the voice of Philippe the Horse in the Disney filmBeauty and the Beast before his death in 1994.

In 1985, Hal voiced Norman Harper, a sick father of wife Jennifer Walters (voiced by D.J. Harner), in a radio drama entitled "House Guest". It aired on theFocus on the Family daily broadcast on November 23 (the day before Thanksgiving) of that year. He went to voice other roles for other Focus audio presentations, and starting in 1987, Smith was the voice of the main character John Avery Whittaker on Focus on the Family's longest-running radio dramaAdventures in Odyssey, which debuted that year. He was responsible for much of the cast joining the show after he signed on (includingKatie Leigh,Will Ryan,Walker Edmiston,Earl Boen,Dave Madden and others), and he continued recording episodes until a few weeks before his death, even while his health deteriorated. In an Andy Griffith Fan Interview, published after he died, Smith said thatAdventures in Odyssey was one of the most gratifying things he had done in his life. Additionally, he voiced dozens of other characters during the 253 episodes in which he participated. His role of Whit was later filled byPaul Herlinger in 1996 and thenAndre Stojka in 2009, after his death.

Hal voiced Joe McGee in "The Old Man and the Sea Duck" episode ofTaleSpin.

Smith was also very active working in television commercials as various characters. He provided on-screen promotion for3 Musketeers,United Van Lines,Hickory Farms,Toyota,Green Giant,General Mills,Mattel,Kellogg's,Pizza Hut,Chicken of the Sea,Ivory soap, Doctor Ross Dog Food,Pioneer Chicken,Bell Telephone Company,Coca-Cola,Chef Boyardee and hundreds of other advertising sponsors.

Smith was married twice, he first married Vivian Marie Angstadt in 1938, but later divorced.^[9] He married his second wife Louise C. Smith in 1947, they remained married until her death in 1992.^[9][10][11] They had a son named Terry.^[12][9]

After his wife died in 1992, Smith's own health began to deteriorate rapidly. On January 28, 1994, at the age of 77, Smith died from an apparentheart attack. Don Pitts, his longtime agent, said that Smith died at his home inSanta Monica, California, while he was listening to a nightly drama hour on radio.^[12][13][14]

• Hal Smith discography atDiscogs
• Hal Smith atIMDb 
• Hal Smith at theTCM Movie Database
• Hal Smith atFind a Grave
• Hal Smith at theAdventures in Odyssey Wiki

• 1916 births
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• Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica
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• United States Army personnel of World War II
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