Topic: Who Was Mr. Schwamp?

[BeAStooge]

Looking for some assistance in ID'ing an obscure actor...

A years-long topic of discussion among fans (and cast/crew) of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW is, "Who was Mr. Schwamp"?  The background character who never spoke a line of dialogue was a short, older man with a terrible-looking toupee, appearing in 26 episodes, beginning with Howard Morris' classic "My Fair Ernest T. Bass."  "Schwamp" was never cast-credited.  He also turned up in a couple USMCs, and a few episodes of RFD.
 
Over the years, the cast, including Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Ron Howard, George Lindsey, Betty Lynn, Jackie Joseph, etc., were asked, but no one could recall the actor's real name.  Production personnel (Dick Linke, Everett Greenbaum, Harvey Bullock, Earle Hagen, etc.) were also asked, same result.  Each passing year leaves fewer people to ask.  Some have suggested that he was a friend of Danny Thomas', but there have been no leads there.
 
The search for an answer recently became a hot topic again, when he was spotted in a scene from The Three Stooges' feature film SWING PARADE OF 1946... for about a minute, he can be seen in the background, watching a scene between Moe Howard and character actor Emmett Vogan (Schwamp on right, sitting behind Mr. Vogan).  A few years ago, someone found him as a background extra in CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945) (sitting, far left).  jpegs of those two appearances attached.
 
A TAGS fan set up a Facebook page dedicated to "Mr. Schwamp," with screen grabs from many of his episodes...
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.222836464413155.67960.217269214969880
Two of those pics are also attached.
 
Feel free to pass this question around to any film fans/historians you may know who are particularly well-versed in entertainment minutiae and trivia.

[hiramhorwitz]

I bet Jim Nabors would know.

[BeAStooge]

I bet Jim Nabors would know.

He's been asked.  He doesn't know/remember.

[hiramhorwitz]

Has Rance Howard been asked?

[BeAStooge]

Has Rance Howard been asked?

Over the years every surviving cast member, and many who have since passed on (Don Knotts, Aneta Corsaut, Jack Dodson, Hal Smith, more), has been asked.  Rance Howard, and Clint, have no recollection of the man's name.

The "Schwamp" question has been ongoing for at least 20 years, particularly after the beginning of conventions and cast & crew reunion events.  It's almost become a running joke with TAGS fans, amazing that this man was so shy and reclusive, that he did not interact personally with other cast members.  Everyone seems to remembers him (and his bad toupee), but not his name.  They seem to agree on one thing... every attempt to give him a line of dialogue turned him into a nervous wreck; he could never do more than nod and/or smile in response to the other actors.

Obviously someone knew and liked him, well enough to keep him employed on the show.  We suspect that someone was Danny Thomas.  Or maybe it was Sheldon Leonard or Aaron Ruben who kept this strange man on the Desilu lot.  These connections are being investigated as well.

Lots of TAGS fans are looking for the answer, but after I found him in SWING PARADE a few months ago, I became a little more determined.  Now that we know "Schwamp" was doing extra work back in the 1940s, I've sent the question out to some film aficionados.  I've got to believe that someone, somewhere, recognizes him.