<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (March 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Floyd Lawson (Floyd the Barber) is a fictional character on the American sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, who was likely inspired by barbers in Andy Griffith's real - life hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina . One barber named Russell Hiatt was known as "the real - life Floyd". Hiatt may have cut Andy Griffith's hair while Griffith was young and living in Mount Airy, and was still cutting hair daily at "Floyd's City Barber Shop" in Downtown Mount Airy until several years before his death on May 3, 2016 . Griffith denied that Hiatt was the inspiration for Floyd Lawson, however, saying, "A barber up there says he cut my hair when I was a child . Hell, he'll have to be 115 years old ." (1) </P> <P> Floyd the Barber was the slow - paced, somewhat absent - minded barber in the series' fictional town of Mayberry . He was first seen in episode #12, "Stranger in Town," 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 series . Baldwin portrayed Floyd for just one episode . From 1961 on, the role was played by Howard McNear, the actor most commonly associated with the role . In McNear's first appearance as Floyd, the character's last name was "Colby"; thereafter the character was always "Floyd Lawson". </P> <P> Over the first few seasons, the importance of Floyd the Barber to the series increased . Slowly, McNear changed his delivery of dialogue for Floyd from fast - paced to slower and slower as time went on . Floyd also became involved more in the plots of the various episodes as time went on . </P>

Who played the original floyd the barber on the andy griffith show