Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American film, television and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as Floyd Lawson, the barber in The Andy Griffith Show and as Doc Charles Adams in CBS Radio's Gunsmoke (1952–1961).

McNear was born in Los Angeles, California to Luzetta M. Spencer and Franklin E. McNear. He worked as a theatical actor as early as 1930, and worked in radio from the late 1930s, distinguishing himself in the 1937–1940 radio serial Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police as ace operator Clint Barlow. McNear could be effective in such authoritative roles, but he gravitated more toward character roles, often comic.

He enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army Air Corps on November 17, 1942 during World War II.

He created the role of Doc Charles Adams in CBS Radio's Gunsmoke (1952–1961). McNear was under contract to CBS for many years and was featured in many of the network's radio and TV programs. From 1955 to 1960 he appeared frequently, in various quirky roles, in the popular radio detective series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. He guest starred in the Thanksgiving Day episode, November 26, 1959, of NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.

George Lindsey (December 17, 1928 – May 6, 2012) was an American character actor, best known for his role as "Goober Pyle" on The Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry R.F.D. and his subsequent tenure on Hee-Haw.

George Lindsey was born in Fairfield in populous Jefferson County, Alabama, and grew up in the small town of Jasper. Lindsey graduated from Walker High School in 1946 and then attended Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri, and Florence State College in Florence (now the University of North Alabama), where he received a Bachelor of Bioscience in 1952. After graduating from college he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at Ramey AFB in Puerto Rico. After his discharge, he taught for a year at Hazel Green High School in Hazel Green, Alabama, while awaiting to be accepted by the American Theater Wing in New York City in 1956. After graduating from the American Theater Wing and performing in two Broadway plays, "Wonderful Town" and "All American", he moved to Los Angeles in 1962. He got parts in TV series of the day with bit parts in The Rifleman,,The Real McCoys, The Twilight Zone, Daniel Boone, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and three episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, before he got the role he would become famous for as "Goober" on the The Andy Griffith Show.

Andy Samuel Griffith (born June 1, 1926) is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film, A Face in the Crowd (1957) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead characters in the 1960–68 situation comedy, The Andy Griffith Show, and in the 1986–95 legal drama, Matlock. Griffith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President George W. Bush on November 9, 2005.

Griffith was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, the only child of Geneva (née Nunn) and Carl Lee Griffith. At a very young age, Griffith had to live with relatives until his parents could afford to get a home of their own. Without a crib or a bed, he slept in drawers for a few months. In 1929, when Griffith was three years old, his father took a job working as a carpenter and was finally able to purchase a home in Mount Airy's "blue-collar" southside.

Like his mother, Griffith grew up listening to music. His father instilled a sense of humor from old family stories. By the time he entered school he was well aware that he was from what many considered the "wrong side of the tracks". He was a shy student, but once he found a way to make his peers laugh, he began to come out of his shell and come into his own.

Jack Dodson (May 16, 1931 – September 16, 1994) Born John S. Dodson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an American television actor best remembered for the milquetoast character Howard Sprague in The Andy Griffith Show and its spin-off Mayberry R.F.D. From 1959 until his death in 1994, Dodson was married to television art director Mary Dodson.

Andy Griffith hired Dodson for the Howard Sprague role after seeing him in 1964 on Broadway in Hughie. Dodson also appeared in episodes of My Friend Flicka, The Virginian, Maude, Barney Miller, Archie Bunker's Place, Newhart, Matlock, Mama's Family, and St. Elsewhere. He also had a recurring role as Mickey Malph, Ralph Malph's optometrist dad on Happy Days. A guest appearance on Barney Miller (in the two-part episode "Homicide," Season 7) had Dodson in a twist on his Mayberry role- as a mild-mannered, blood-thirsty killer. In 1967 he appeared in the episode "A Mighty Hunter Before the Lord" of NBC's The Road West, which aired opposite The Andy Griffith Show. Dodson also appeared as a airplane passenger caught up in murder-plot in a 1972 episode of "Hawaii 5-0."

Jesse Donald "Don" Knotts (July 21, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards. He also played landlord Ralph Furley on the 1970s television sitcom Three's Company.

In 1996, TV Guide ranked him number 27 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.

Knotts was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, a son of William Jesse Knotts and his wife, the former Elsie L. Moore. Knotts's paternal ancestors had emigrated from England to America in the 17th century, originally settling in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. Knotts's father was a farmer, who due to the burden of a fourth child (Don) being born so late (his mother was 40) had a nervous breakdown, becoming a shell of his former self. Afflicted with both schizophrenia and alcoholism, he sometimes terrorized his young son with a knife, causing him to turn inward at an early age. His father would die of pneumonia when Knotts was 13 years old. Knotts and his three brothers were then raised by their mother, who ran a boarding house in Morgantown. Knott's mother Elsie L. Moore-Knotts died in 1969, at age 84. Son William Earl Knotts (1910–1941) preceded her in death in 1941, at age 31. They are buried in the family plot at Beverly Hills Memorial Park, in Morgantown, West Virginia. Knotts is a sixth cousin of Ron Howard, a co-star on the Andy Griffith Show. An urban legend claims that Knotts served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, serving as a drill instructor at Parris Island. In reality, Knotts enlisted in the United States Army after graduating from Morgantown High School and spent most of his service entertaining troops.