Howard McNear Biography

Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American character actor who worked on stage, cinema, and radio. McNear is most known for playing Doc Adams in the radio adaptation of Gunsmoke and Floyd Lawson, the barber on The Andy Griffith Show (1961-1967).

Howard McNear Family

Inzetta M. Spencer and Franklin Ellis McNear raised McNear in Los Angeles. He attended the Oatman School of Theater and afterwards worked for a San Diego stock company. McNear also worked in radio in the late 1930s, starring as ace operator Clint Barlow in the 1937–1940 radio serial Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police. McNear might be effective in such authoritative parts, but he preferred to play humorous characters.

First Job

During World War II, he enlisted as a private in the United States Army Air Corps on November 17, 1942.

Howard McNear Net Worth

Howard McNear had a net worth of $2.75 million at the time of his death, he was an American actor.

Howard McNear Son

Christopher McNear is the only child of gunsmoke actor Howard and his wife Helen.

Howard McNear Wife

Howard was married to his beautiful wife, Helen McNear until he died. They had one child together, Christopher McNear.

Howard McNear Age at Death

McNear died on January 3, 1969 (aged 63), in San Fernando, California, U.S.

Howard McNear Cause of Death

McNear died on January 3, 1969, at the age of 63, in the San Fernando Valley Veterans Hospital in California, as a result of complications from pneumonia brought on by a stroke.

Doc Adams (Gunsmoke)

In CBS Radio’s Gunsmoke (1952–1961), he developed the character of Doc Charles Adams. For many years, McNear was under contract with CBS and appeared on several of the network’s radio and television programs. From 1955 through 1960, he was a regular on the popular radio detective series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, in various roles. In the 1953 picture Escape from Fort Bravo, McNear made his cinematic debut in an uncredited appearance.

Dr. Charles Adams was played by Howard McNear in the radio series, and Dr. Galen Adams was played by Milburn Stone in the television adaptation. “Doc” Adams was a self-interested and somewhat sinister character in the radio series, with a penchant for always wanting to enhance his money through the acquisition of autopsy fees. McNear’s performances, on the other hand, gradually become more warm-hearted and compassionate.

Most notably, this transition began (and continued steadily after) the July 1952 episode “Never Pester Chester,” in which a physician with a more caring and committed temperament is crucial to the plotline when Chester is nearly killed by two troublesome Texas drovers.

Doc Adams’ history paints a picture of a rich and varied life: He had educational ties to Philadelphia in some episodes, and he spent time as a ship’s doctor aboard the Mississippi River gambling boats in others, which provided a backdrop for his understanding of New Orleans (and acquaintance with Mark Twain). A more detailed background is provided in the episode “Cavalcade,” which aired on January 31, 1953, while subsequent programs kept close listeners’ heads whirling.

In “Cavalcade,” his real name is Calvin Moore, and he was schooled in Boston. For a year, he worked as a doctor in Richmond, Virginia, where he fell in love with a lovely young woman who was also courted by a wealthy young man named Roger Beauregard.

Beauregard forced Doc to engage a duel with him, and Beauregard was shot and killed in the process. Despite the fact that it was a fair fight, Doc was compelled to flee since he was a Yankee and an outsider. The young woman followed him and they married in St. Louis, but she died of typhoid two months later.

Doc traversed the territory for 17 years before settling in Dodge City under the name “Charles Adams.” Another Conrad creation, the Adams moniker was derived from cartoonist Charles Addams as a testimony to Doc’s initially ghoulish demeanor.