http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=293543>1=7703
Some sad news to pass along for those of you who didn't know.
Allan Melvin, a character actor best known for playing Sam the Butcher on
"The Brady Bunch," has died. He was 84.
Melvin died of cancer Thursday at his home in the Brentwood section of Los
Angeles, said Amalia Melvin, his wife of 64 years.
The jowly, jovial Melvin spent decades playing a series of sidekicks, second
bananas and lovable lugs, including Archie Bunker's friend Barney Hefner on
"All in the Family," and Sgt. Bilko's right-hand man Cpl. Henshaw on the "Phil
Silvers Show."
But his place in pop culture will be fixed as butcher and bowler Sam
Franklin, the love interest of Brady family maid Alice Nelson, who was played
by Ann B. Davis. Melvin played the role from 1970 to 1973.
Born in Kansas City, Mo., in 1923, Melvin grew up in New York and attended
Columbia University.
He was appearing on Broadway in "Stalag 17" when he began his decades-long
television career with "The Phil Silvers Show," playing a role his wife said
was always his favorite.
"He was proudest of that show," Amalia Melvin said. "I think the camaraderie
of all those guys made it such a pleasant way to work. They were so relaxed."
He saw steady employment as a voice actor from the early 1960s to the early
1990s, most famously providing the voice of "Magilla Gorilla" for the Hanna
Barbera cartoon of the same name.
His other credits include several guest appearances on "The Andy Griffith
Show," "Gomer Pyle: USMC," and "The Dick Van Dyke Show."
In addition to Amalia, Melvin is survived by daughter Jennifer Hanson and
grandson Jon Hanson Jr. A daughter, Mya, died in 1970.
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