RIP Allan Melvin

January 19, 2008 11:13 AM

Somehow, despite a varied career spanning several decades, including recurring roles on All in the Family and The Phil Silvers Show, we always knew that it would mention Sam the Butcher in the headline of his obituary.
posted by Oriole Adams (26 comments total)

I loved Magilla!!!!
posted by Henry C. Mabuse at 11:20 AM on January 19, 2008

Now where will Alice get her meat?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:31 AM on January 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

One of the great TV character actors.
posted by doctorschlock at 11:39 AM on January 19, 2008

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posted by pearlybob at 11:40 AM on January 19, 2008

This raises an important question: Who would win in a fight, Sam the Butcher or Bill the Butcher?
posted by "Tex" Connor and the Wily Roundup Boys at 11:41 AM on January 19, 2008

Factoid: Sam is incorrectly perceived to have appeared in many Brady Bunch episodes. While he is frequently mentioned in dialogue and Alice occasionally went out on dates with him when she wasn't needed around the house, Sam actually appears in only eight episodes, although his appearances span all five seasons of the show's run.
posted by psmealey at 11:44 AM on January 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

It's kind of like what Rob Reiner says - if he ever wins the Nobel Prize, the headlines will read "Meathead Wins the Nobel Prize".

Maybe we just love our meat.
posted by orange swan at 11:57 AM on January 19, 2008

O-butcher-aryFilter.
posted by wendell at 12:07 PM on January 19, 2008

Allan Melvin has a powerfully respectable career that spans half a century. The fact that we know him best as Sam Butcher is actually a testament to his versatility. He did a hella buncha voice over work in the 70s and 80s. Good voice over talent doesn't want you thinking "hey that's Allan Melvin!" ..that is unless you're NOT Allan Melvin and you're trying to sound like him. Voice over work is usually a thankless task for people without egos. You are being paid to make what you're selling believable. Be it a storyline or a commercial product, your voice is a tool to accomplish the goal of the guys behind the glass. That Allan Melvin was so anonymous in his role is a testament to his ability to give the director what he wanted, and by proxy the audience listening to the show.

Thank you for Electro, Mr. Melvin. I had no effin' clue that was you. Good work!

.

I disagree with regards to Rob Reiner. For me it's "the director of Princess Bride." I have to be reminded that he was Meathead.
posted by ZachsMind at 12:17 PM on January 19, 2008

Who died?
posted by Meatbomb at 12:17 PM on January 19, 2008

PSMeasley: "Sam actually appears in only eight episodes, although his appearances span all five seasons of the show's run."

So Melvin was actually like the John DeLancie of The Brady Bunch.
posted by ZachsMind at 12:21 PM on January 19, 2008

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posted by Smart Dalek at 12:40 PM on January 19, 2008

... Amalia Melvin, his wife of 64 years.

Wow, that alone is impressive.
posted by octothorpe at 12:45 PM on January 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

I think that Melvin was more the Melvins of character actors. Not well known to many people, but every time you saw him, he hit you like a ton of bricks.
posted by psmealey at 12:46 PM on January 19, 2008

Wow, he had a pretty impressive voice acting career.
posted by cmgonzalez at 12:47 PM on January 19, 2008

Sam the Butcher seemed, to my dizzy 8-year-old brain, the embodiment of the gentle and friendly Man from the Neighborhood.
Never gruff, or drunk, or busy like my Dad.
But never pretty and perfect like Mike Brady either.
The guy who you'd write an essay about for Scholarship Club.
The guy who'd buy you a candybar if he saw you at the dime-store.
He'd smile and honk as he drove buy on the way to his shop. The shop he owned; he was his own boss.
Stable.
American.
I miss you, Sam the Butcher.
I'm 8 again and you're on TV and in my mind I'm on the TV too and you will never ever die.
posted by Dizzy at 12:55 PM on January 19, 2008 [5 favorites]

Nah, Zach, more like the Morn of the BBs. Q was actually a very central character to the conception of the TNG era, not the least because it was his actions which brought the Federation into premature contact with the Borg.

It's kind of like what Rob Reiner says - if he ever wins the Nobel Prize, the headlines will read "Meathead Wins the Nobel Prize".

One of my memories of living in NYC was watching them set up the filming for When Harry Met Sally's New Year's walk in Washington Square Park. Crystal was keeping sharp by throwing a football around with some assistant, and this diminutive PA was holding back the crowd on Sixth Avenue. Somebody saw Reiner and yelled at the top of his lungs "Hey, Meathead!" The PA gave a patented glare and "Now that's original." Either he'd said his piece, or she won, I'm not sure which -- there were no more disruptions. Alas, they had a lighting problem, and I had someplace to be (it was not actually New Year's), so I never saw the cameras spin up. (I had had several other opportunities to watch TV- and movie-making that year.)

I have no funny stories about Mr. Melvin, though.
posted by dhartung at 1:18 PM on January 19, 2008

Speaking of lame celebrity shout-outs:

I was at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle circa 1995 for some rock show, when who should appear on-line at the bar behind me but none other than Neil Patrick Harris. It took all of about 10 minutes before some doofus notices and yells out from across the room "Hey, Doogie!". At that point, the whole bar nearly went silent, and everyone stared at the guy, as if to say, "Dude. Uncool." He slinked back into a dark corner of the bar, hanging his head in shame.

It was the only semi-cool hipster moment, ever.
posted by psmealey at 1:26 PM on January 19, 2008

The numbers are certainly dwindling from the voice-acting repetory of Hanna Barbera's glory years.
posted by evilcolonel at 1:33 PM on January 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

I think of him first as Sgt. Hacker on Gomer Pyle. He was a nice counterpoint to Frank Sutton. Never knew his name. I certainly grew up watching him on everything.
posted by RavinDave at 1:34 PM on January 19, 2008

Now where will Alice get her meat?

More specifically, where will she get her sausage? I think Alice only liked Sam's sausage.
posted by champthom at 1:53 PM on January 19, 2008

+1 point to Dizzy.

-1 point to champthom. Ugh.
posted by JHarris at 2:01 PM on January 19, 2008

And now, the chorus of "Fuck Like a Brady", a song I wrote after someone suggested the title...

You fuck like a Brady
when you go down to Sam's store for the meat
Like a Brady
when we go out just like Peter would
'cuz he wasn't related to Jan, it's all right
and your public hair reminds me of Mike

At last, a slightly relevant place to post this!
posted by davejay at 3:01 PM on January 19, 2008

Now where will Alice get her meat?

The Beastie Boys already did that joke in Shake Your Rump ("Like Sam the Butcher bringing Alice the meat/Like Fred Flintstone driving around with bald feet.").

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posted by jonp72 at 3:17 PM on January 19, 2008

It's raining tears.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:10 PM on January 19, 2008

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posted by winks007 at 4:29 PM on January 19, 2008