Hal Smith was a sought-after voice actor in addition to portraying Otis on The Andy Griffith Show

Otis Campbell did not stereotype Hal Smith

The iconic Mel Blanc was known as the "man of a thousand voices" because of all the cartoon characters he brought to life. Hal Smith, beloved for portraying Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show, might come in a close second as he was also behind the voices of many famous animated toons.

As Otis, the actor staggered through the town of Mayberry, letting himself in and out of the jail for eight seasons. He once rode a cow he mistook for a horse and fought with a goat loaded with dynamite over his prison cell leading to typecasting of similar roles.

Smith had other roles outside of Otis.

Smith portrayed an Otils-like drunk in the films Critic's Choice, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and the television series Route 66. He was a bartender in the movies Sante fe Passage, There's Always Tomorrow, Pawnee, Son of Flubber, and the television film The Life and Times of Wyatt Earp. He also had other roles, including portraying a mayor, pitchman, jeweler, clerk, peddler, courthouse guard, and sheriff, and was often just one of the crowd in some films.

Smith was a sought-after voice artist

The actor was a much sought-after voice artist before, during, and after his time in Mayberry. He was on The Andy Griffith Show for all eight seasons from 1960-1968. He became a voice artist in 1957 by voicing "Pepe," a boxing rooster, in the cartoon "The Bongo Punch." He then worked on The Hannah Barbera cartoons Huckleberry Hound Show and Quick Draw McGraw.

Smith was behind the voices of several Texas millionaires on The Flintstones, such as Fred's rich uncle Tex and Pink Panther. He replaced Sterling Holloway as the voice of Winnie the Pooh and Owl in the first four original Pooh shorts. The first three, Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, and the Blustery Day and Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, were combined to create the feature film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Winnie the Pooh and other children's favorites

Smith's voice can also be heard in Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons, Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, and in two television series, Welcome to Pooh Corner and The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. From 1959 to 1975, he provided the voices for many characters in Davey and Goliath, the heartwarming clay-animated children's series. These included Davey's father and Goliath the dog.

Elder Fudd and Scooby-Doo

From 1960 to 1961, Smith was behind Elmer Fudd's voice in Looney Tunes. In 1963, he voiced three characters in The Funny Company cartoon series: Dr. Todd Goodheart, Belly Laguna, and Dr. Von Upp. He also lent his voices to the Hanna-Barbera cartoon shorts Yippee, Yappee, and Yahooey.

Smith also was behind Cosgoode Creeps, Asa Shanks, the Farmer, and Mr. Greenway on Scooby-Doo Where Are You! Who knew? Smith's last television credit was Highway to Heaven in 1987. His final film role was 18 Again in 1988, but he continued his voice-over work until he died. In 1990, he voiced Joe McGee in "The Old Man and the Sea Duck" episode of Disney's TaleSpin.

Hal Smith does video game voices

Hal Smith entered the world of video games in 1991 with Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp, voicing Mordroc, Cheshire Cat, Card Soldiers, Time Machine (Mordroc's brother), and Dirk's mother-in-law. In 1994, his last role was as Gaspra in Zelda's Adventure, released posthumously.

Smith died on January 28, 1994, at age 77 from a heart attack. According to Wikipedia, his health began declining in 1992 after the death of his wife of 56 years, Louise. next time you see Otis on The Andy Griffith Show, remember that Hal Smith gave the world so much more.