Floyd Lawson
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Floyd Lawson was a fictional character on the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.
"Floyd the Barber" (as he was commonly known) was the slow-paced, somewhat absentminded barber in the fictional town of Mayberry. He was first seen in episode #12, "Stranger in Town", where he was played by actor Walter Baldwin. Baldwin established the running gag of Floyd's inability to trim sideburns evenly, which continued throughout the run of the show. Baldwin portrayed Floyd for just one episode; from 1960 on, the part was played by Howard McNear, the actor most commonly associated with the role. He had a moustache and wore thick glasses and usually a white barber jacket. He was a whimsical, laid back, but occasionally excitable fellow whose barbershop was somewhat of an institution in the fictional town of Mayberry. The men of town would gather there, not only to get their hair cut, but to play checkers, discuss current events, or generally just to "shoot the breeze" and "carry on." The barber shop is owned by the Robinsons who live outside of Mayberry. In the 7th season, the Robinsons sell the building to Howard Sprague, the county clerk.
Floyd was usually just a side character, despite his barbershop being one of the main centers of action in the town, although there were a few instances where he took center stage. On one such occasion, Floyd's female penpal with whom he had been corresponding writes to tell him she's paying him a visit. Floyd begs Andy to help him because he's been deceiving her into thinking he was a wealthy businessman. Andy reluctantly agrees to help put up the act, only to discover that the woman is a con artist herself, intent on getting her hands on Floyd's "money".
Floyd was also an amateur poet, sometimes composing verse for Mayberry civic events. These poems always consisted of repeating, over and over, the same few words.
When not cutting hair, Floyd can generally be seen sitting on the bench outside his shop. In fact, in almost all of his appearances later in the series, Floyd is only seen sitting or "appears" to be standing behind the barber's chair. This is due to the fact that Howard McNear suffered a massive stroke and was left with little use of his arms and legs especially his left arm (it rarely moved). Floyd was absent from the 1963 season, and from 1964-on, his appearances were brief and less frequent.
Floyd Lawson was the uncle of Deputy Warren Ferguson, who replaced Deputy Barney Fife in the 1965 season, after the departure of actor Don Knotts.
In the Nirvana song, "Floyd the Barber", Kurt Cobain depicts a scene of Freudian castration fears in which the whole town turns out to be a mass murderer.
Floyd the Barber is also referenced in the theme song for the TV series Freakazoid.
Floyd is also mentioned numerous times on different episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
In an episode of the American sitcom, Leave It to Beaver, Howard McNear made one appearance as a barber named Andy, a character practically the same as Floyd.
In Andy Griffith's real hometown of Mount Airy, NC, barber Russell Hiatt, who looks quite like McNear, has cut hair for several decades in his institution called "Floyd's City Barber Shop" while also welcoming streams of tourists including on one occasion Oprah Winfrey.
