Howard Morris Howard Morris ( 1919 - 2005 ) was a comic actor , director , writer , producer , and voice actor . Perhaps his most prolific work was in animation , which included voicing Jughead Jones in the Filmation " Archie " series and in a spot on " Sesame Street " . Morris ' best known on - camera role was deranged rock - throwing hillbilly Ernest T . Bass in five episodes of " The Andy Griffith Show " , and he became a notable director in TV and occasionally in movies . In 1967 , he was one of the directors approached to helm Jim Henson ' s TV movie concept " Moki " , about an androgynous man mistaken for a woman . Morris ' s response to Bernie Brillstein was a polite refusal : " This guy Henson ' s obviously got a nutty visual mind , [ but ] this story scares the bejesus out of me . It ' s not exactly dirty — it just ain ' t quite clean . . . the guy is very talented and it ' s a funny idea , but I guess I ' m just old fashioned . " Morris began his acting career during World War II , appearing in army productions of Shakespeare tragedies , where he first met Carl Reiner . Post war , both Morris and Reiner became staff writers and performers on Sid Caesar ' s " Your Show of Shows " ; Morris ' notable roles included a member of the rock trio The Crewcuts and , in one well - known sketch , the hysterical Uncle Goopy , who appears on a reunion show , affectionately latches onto Caesar ' s leg and refuses to let go . From there , he went on to appear on such series as " Alfred Hitchcock Presents " , " The Twilight Zone " , " Make Room for Daddy " , and even the 1967 " Tarzan " TV series . Morris also directed episodes of " Andy Griffith Show " , as well as " The Dick Van Dyke Show " , " Gomer Pyle , U . S . M . C . " , " Hogan ' s Heroes " , and the pilot for " Get Smart " . In films , he helmed " Who ' s Minding the Mint " ( with Milton Berle ) , " With Six You Get Egg Roll " , and " The Cocoanuts " ( with Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond ) . He also produced the short - lived 1972 TV series " The Corner Bar " . In films , Morris played Jerry Lewis ' sad - sack father in " The Nutty Professor " and also had roles in 1960s comedies like " Forty - Pounds of Trouble " and " Boys ' Night Out " with Tony Randall . Later on , Morris appeared on - camera in films directed by old colleagues like " Andy Griffith Show " alum Ron Howard ' s " Splash " ( as a professor ) and several films from " Your Show of Shows " writer Mel Brooks ( " High Anxiety " , " History of the World : Part I " , and " Life Stinks " ) . Morris ' s voice roles included playing Beetle Bailey in the 1960s King Features animated series and he was heard in the Oscar - winning short film " Munro " . He originated the part of Gopher in Disney ' s " Winnie the Pooh " featurettes and was a favorite of Hanna - Barbera Studios , with turns as rock star Jet Screamer in " The Jetsons " , many roles in " The Flintstones " , Mr . Peebles in " Magilla Gorilla " , and the original voice of Atom Ant , until the actor told Joseph Barbera to perform an " anatomically impossible " task , and was replaced by Don Messick . He was the original voice of Hamburglar for McDonald ' s commercials , which he often directed . His last roles included guest spots on " Baywatch " and an appearance on the 2004 TV Land Awards . External links . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _