April 29: "Ernest T. Bass"

On this date in History ..... April 28, 1963:  

The character of Ernest T. Bass appears for the first time on The Andy Griffith Show.  

Howard Morris played Bass for only five episodes but is best remembered for this role in spite of his many other accomplishments such as being a classically trained Shakespearean actor. 


He was in the U.S. Army Special Service where his commander was Maurice Evans (played the role of father to Samantha on “Bewitched”). Other soldiers in the unit included Carl Reiner ("Alan Brady" of the Dick Van Dyke show) and Werner Klemperer ("Colonel Klink" of the show "Hogan's Heroes").  Morris directed some of the Dick Van Dyke and Hogan’s Heroes episodes.  

He was a talented voice actor and in high demand for cartoons. Some of his voices included Jet Screamer (“The Jetsons”), Mr. Peebles (“Magilla Gorilla”), Jughead (“The Archie Show”), Hamburgler (McDonalds commercials), Flem (“Cow and Chicken”), various voices on “The Flintstones” and many more. 



Many museums and universities host “Ernest T. Bass Day” in which people bring in unidentified rocks for inspection by the science departments.  

Morris died in 2005.

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