Howard Morris, the character actor known for everything from cartoon voices and "The Andy Griffith Show" to musicals and Shakespeare, died May 21, 2005, at age 85, according to The Los Angeles Times. Viewers of TV's Golden Age remember his work with Sid Caesar on "Your Show of Shows," and as hick Ernest T. Bass on "The Andy Griffith Show."

In the 1960 City Center revival of Finian's Rainbow he played the randy leprechaun named Og; his performance is preserved on a cast album of the revival.

Mr. Morris appeared in a Broadway production of Hamlet and in the original run of the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

In addition to his work as an actor, which includes a long resume of cartoon voicing for Hanna-Barbera and other studios, Mr. Morris directed commercials, TV shows (the pilot of "Get Smart") and the feature films "With Six You Get Eggroll," "Who's Minding the Mint?" and "Don't Drink the Water."

According to the L.A. Times, his memorable voice work included playing the voice of the Qantas Airlines koala, Gerald McBoing-Boing in Columbia cartoons, Atom Ant in "The Atom Ant Show," Beetle Bailey and General Halftrack in "Beetle Bailey and His Friends," and Jughead Jones and Big Moose Mason in "The Archie Show."

The actor's on-screen acting resume includes the comedies "Boys' Night Out," "The Nutty Professor" and Mel Brooks' films "High Anxiety," "Life Stinks" and "History of the World: Part I."