Being Archie Bunker’s best friend is a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. It turns out that someone is actor Allan Melvin, better known as Barney Hefner. Barney was arguably one of Archie’s closest friends, and when All in the Family transitioned into Archie Bunker’s Place, the character was expanded a great deal more.
A bit more soft-spoken than Archie, Barney was always quick with a joke or an easygoing word of advice. However, according to an interview with the Associated Press, Melvin’s introduction to All in the Family wasn’t as a friend of Archie at all. It was a combative police officer who was the target of one of Archie’s tirades in an episode.
“The fun of that episode was that Archie came down to the police station and was making remarks about the Polish,” Melvin said. “Somebody says, ‘Oh, yeah, tell that to Sgt. Pulaski — and I throw Archie into the can.”
But in a matter of episodes, Melvin was reintroduced to All in the Family as a completely new character. “I went in the same season from Pulaski to Barney Hefner,” he said. “I think they make allowances for the fact that the audience will accept certain changes. I guess they figured since it was a one-shot I wasn’t that established. I’ve been Barney ever since.”
As Archie Bunker’s right-hand man, Melvin was able to explain how Barney and Archie are alike. “He’s very much like Archie in his thinking and his values,” he said. “But not to the extreme that Archie goes. He’s more temperate.”
