Jack Dodson

Who was Jack Dodson?

Jack Dodson 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.

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, The Virginian, Maude, Barney Miller, Archie Bunker's Place, Newhart, Mr. Belvedere, Matlock, Mama's Family, and St. Elsewhere.

The actor appeared as an airplane passenger caught up in a murder plot in a 1972 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. Dodson also appeared in two Sam Peckinpah films, The Getaway and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. He also had a small role in the 1974 film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, which starred Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges.