Jack Dodson - Wikipedia Jack Dodson Jack Dodson Dodson as Howard Sprague on The Andy Griffith Show John S. Dodson ( 1931 - 05 - 16 ) May 16, 1931 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. September 16, 1994 ( 1994 - 09 - 16 ) ( aged 63 ) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Occupation Actor Years active 1960 -- 1994 Spouse ( s ) Mary Dodson ( 1959 -- 1994 ; his death ) John S. `` Jack '' Dodson ( May 16, 1931 -- September 16, 1994 ) was an American television actor best remembered for the milquetoast character Howard Sprague on 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. In 1966, Andy Griffith hired Dodson for the Howard Sprague role, having previously seen him in Broadway 's Hughie. Dodson also portrayed insurance agent Ed Jenkins in the `` Lost and Found '' episode of The Andy Griffith Show. Dodson also appeared in episodes of My Friend Flicka, Hazel, The Virginian, Maude, Barney Miller, Welcome Back Kotter, Archie Bunker 's Place, Newhart, Mr. Belvedere, Matlock, Mama 's Family, and St. Elsewhere, on which he had a recurring role. Dodson appeared as an airplane passenger caught up in a murder plot in a 1973 episode of Hawaii 5 - 0. In 1967, Dodson appeared in the episode `` A Mighty Hunter Before the Lord '' of NBC 's The Road West, which aired opposite The Andy Griffith Show. He played Norman Gresham in the 1969 film Angel in My Pocket, and also appeared in two Sam Peckinpah films, The Getaway ( 1972 ) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid ( 1973 ). He also had a small role in the 1974 film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, which starred Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges. His other film appearances included roles in Something Wicked This Way Comes ( 1983 ) and A Climate for Killing ( 1991 ). In the late 1970s, he had a recurring role as Mickey Malph, Ralph Malph 's optometrist dad on Happy Days. In 1975 he was in the Barney Miller episode `` Horse Thief ''. In 1979 - 80, Season 6 of Barney Miller, he appeared in the episode `` Guns ''. He appeared again on Barney Miller in the two - part episode `` Homicide '' in Season 7. In January 1979, Dodson played Bernie, a hard of hearing acquaintance of Mark ( David Spielberg ), in a comic scene set in a restaurant in One Day at a Time. In 1983, Dodson returned to Broadway in the revival of You Ca n't Take It with You. The actor reprised Howard Sprague in the 1986 NBC - TV movie Return to Mayberry, as well as in a 1990 episode of It 's Garry Shandling 's Show, `` The Day Howard Moved In ''. Contents 1 Personal life 2 Selected filmography 3 References 4 External links Personal life He died in Los Angeles, California, from heart failure, aged 63. Dodson 's widow, art director Mary Dodson, younger sister of actor Fritz Weaver, died in February 2016. Selected filmography Munster, Go Home ! ( 1966 ) - Ship Steward ( uncredited ) Angel in My Pocket ( 1969 ) - Norman Gresham The Getaway ( 1972 ) - Harold Clinton Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid ( 1973 ) - Howland Thunderbolt and Lightfoot ( 1974 ) - Vault Manager Something Wicked This Way Comes ( 1983 ) - Dr. Douglas A Climate for Killing ( 1991 ) - Sam Moorehouse References ^ Jump up to : Barnes, Mike ( 2016 - 02 - 21 ). `` Mary Weaver Dodson, Art Director on ' Murder, She Wrote, ' Dies at 83 ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016 - 03 - 13. External links Jack Dodson on IMDb Jack Dodson at the Internet Broadway Database Jack Dodson at Find a Grave VIAF : 9460009 IATH : w6qp8ztm This article about an American television actor or actress born in the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jack_Dodson&oldid=807061055 '' Categories : 1931 births 1994 deaths Male actors from Pittsburgh American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors 20th - century American male actors American television actor, 1930s birth stubs Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from September 2011 Pages to import images to Wikidata Articles with hCards Articles with IBDb links Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers All stub articles Talk Contents About Wikipedia Edit links This page was last edited on 25 October 2017, at 17 : 11. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who played howard on the andy griffith show
Answer: John S. "Jack" Dodson