Don "Barney Fife " Knotts - dead at 81

Shaun · 02-25-2006, 07:14 PM

Actor Don Knotts Dies at Age 81

Saturday, February 25, 2006

LOS ANGELES — Don Knotts, who kept generations of TV audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show" and would-be swinger landlord Ralph Furley on "Three's Company," has died. He was 81.

Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at a Los Angeles hospital, said Paul Ward, a spokesman for the cable network TV Land, which airs his two signature shows.

Griffith, who remained close friends with Knotts, said he had a brilliant comedic mind and wrote some of the show's best scenes.

"Don was a small man ... but everything else about him was large: his mind, his expressions," Griffith told The Associated Press on Saturday. "Don was special. There's nobody like him.

"I loved him very much," Griffith added. "We had a long and wonderful life together."

Unspecified health problems had forced Knotts to cancel an appearance in his native Morgantown in August.

The West Virginia-born actor's half-century career included seven TV series and more than 25 films, but it was the Griffith show that brought him TV immortality and five Emmys.

The show ran from 1960-68, and was in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings each season, including a No. 1 ranking its final year. It is one of only three series in TV history to bow out at the top: The others are "I Love Lucy" and "Seinfeld." The 249 episodes have appeared frequently in reruns and have spawned a large, active network of fan clubs.

As the bug-eyed deputy to Griffith, Knotts carried in his shirt pocket the one bullet he was allowed after shooting himself in the foot. The constant fumbling, a recurring sight gag, was typical of his self-deprecating humor.

Knotts, whose shy, soft-spoken manner was unlike his high-strung characters, once said he was most proud of the Fife character and doesn't mind being remembered that way.

His favorite episodes, he said, were "The Pickle Story," where Aunt Bee makes pickles no one can eat, and "Barney and the Choir," where no one can stop him from singing.

"I can't sing. It makes me sad that I can't sing or dance well enough to be in a musical, but I'm just not talented in that way," he lamented. "It's one of my weaknesses."

Knotts appeared on several other television shows. In 1979, he joined the cast of "Three's Company," also starring John Ritter, Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt.

Early in his TV career, he was one of the original cast members of "The Steve Allen Show," the comedy-variety show that ran from 1956-61. He was one of a group of memorable comics backing Allen that included Louis Nye, Tom Poston and Bill "Jose Jimenez" Dana.

Knotts' G-rated films were family fun, not box-office blockbusters. In most, he ends up the hero and gets the girl — a girl who can see through his nervousness to the heart of gold.

In the part-animated 1964 film "The Incredible Mr. Limpet," Knotts played a meek clerk who turns into a fish after he is rejected by the Navy.

When it was announced in 1998 that Jim Carrey would star in a "Limpet" remake, Knotts responded: "I'm just flattered that someone of Carrey's caliber is remaking something I did. Now, if someone else did Barney Fife, THAT would be different."

In the 1967 film "The Reluctant Astronaut," co-starring Leslie Nielsen, Knotts' father enrolls his wimpy son — operator of a Kiddieland rocket ride — in NASA's space program. Knotts poses as a famous astronaut to the joy of his parents and hometown but is eventually exposed for what he really is, a janitor so terrified of heights he refuses to ride an airplane.

In the 1969 film "The Love God?," he was a geeky bird-watcher who is duped into becoming publisher of a naughty men's magazine and then becomes a national sex symbol. Eventually, he comes to his senses, leaves the big city and marries the sweet girl next door.

He was among an army of comedians from Buster Keaton to Jonathan Winters to liven up the 1963 megacomedy "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." Other films include "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966); "The Shakiest Gun in the West" (1968); and a few Disney films such as "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1974); "Gus" (1976); and "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo" (1977).

In 1998, he had a key role in the back-to-the-past movie "Pleasantville," playing a folksy television repairman whose supercharged remote control sends a teen boy and his sister into a TV sitcom past.

Knotts began his show biz career even before he graduated from high school, performing as a ventriloquist at local clubs and churches. He majored in speech at West Virginia University, then took off for the big city.

"I went to New York cold. On a $100 bill. Bummed a ride," he recalled in a visit to his hometown of Morgantown, where city officials renamed a street for him in 1998.

Within six months, Knotts had taken a job on a radio Western called "Bobby Benson and the B-Bar-B Riders," playing a wisecracking, know-it-all handyman. He stayed with it for five years, then came his series TV debut on "The Steve Allen Show."

He married Kay Metz in 1948, the year he graduated from college. The couple had two children before divorcing in 1969. Knotts later married, then divorced Lara Lee Szuchna.

In recent years, he said he had no plans to retire, traveling with theater productions and appearing in print and TV ads for Kodiak pressure treated wood.

The world laughed at Knotts, but it also laughed with him.

He treasured his comedic roles and could point to only one role that wasn't funny, a brief stint on the daytime drama "Search for Tomorrow."

"That's the only serious thing I've done. I don't miss that," Knotts said.

jerry · 02-25-2006, 07:21 PM

Another good one gone

Mooseman684 · 02-25-2006, 07:24 PM

I just heard it on the news...Too bad, he spanned over 50 years of entertaining us .

SPOCAHP ANAR · 02-25-2006, 08:15 PM

He was truly a comedic genious. They said when he put on his cop outfit he was "in Character" all day till he took it off.

Bull Barrel · 02-25-2006, 09:14 PM

I always remember the episode where Barney gets a motorcycle and starts running amok...a great comedian and a fine actor.

Apollyon67 · 02-25-2006, 09:35 PM

I first saw him in the movie The Apple Dumpling gang. I loved it.

Chris · 02-25-2006, 11:19 PM

He will be missed. A great man!

Joey l mur · 02-25-2006, 11:47 PM

Give him a 21 gun salute.

Dallas · 02-26-2006, 07:22 AM

He was a great Comedian, RIP.

Full MeTal Jack · 02-26-2006, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun

The world laughed at Knotts' self-deprecating humor, but also laughed with him.......... Knotts, he was most proud of the Fife character and doesn't mind being remembered that way.

Yes, rembering him that way.
Job well done Mr. Knotts!
Didn't have to be a potty mouth to intertain.

PS
Steve Allen was another comedy great!.... Remember sitting around the Black n White boob tube and Allen making the whole family bust-a-gut

Big Dog · 02-26-2006, 10:23 AM

Yep, not too many left from the days when Comedy was funny, not dirty.
He will be missed.

troylaplante · 02-26-2006, 11:28 AM

Here in NC, The Andy Griffith show is still a staple of regular TV. The big affiliate here, WRAL, keeps at least one hour of Andy Griffith on TV each day. They punted The Jane Pauley Show to go back to two episodes of Andy Griffith each morning.

It is always funny hearing them talk on the show about geography. In reality, Siler City is nowhere near "Mayberry", which was modeled after a town quite far from there.

And "all the city slickers in the big city of Raleigh", as Don Knotts used to say as Barney, always tickled me, too. When I moved to NC to take a job in Raleigh, all I knew about North Carolina was what I saw on The Andy Griffith Show. There was soooooooooo much that the show didn't portray.

Even a decade to 15 years ago, Don Knotts played a sidekick for Griffith in shows like Matlock. He was known for good, clean roles. Much of his work will remain almost "timeless". I can appreciate the work that he and Andy Griffith did with good, clean entertainment. Now I am going to go put in a VHS copy of "Kill Bill", sit back, and enjoy.

02-25-2006, 07:14 PM	#1
Shaun Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 8,592 Images: 1	Don "Barney Fife " Knotts - dead at 81 Actor Don Knotts Dies at Age 81 Saturday, February 25, 2006 LOS ANGELES — Don Knotts, who kept generations of TV audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show" and would-be swinger landlord Ralph Furley on "Three's Company," has died. He was 81. Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at a Los Angeles hospital, said Paul Ward, a spokesman for the cable network TV Land, which airs his two signature shows. Griffith, who remained close friends with Knotts, said he had a brilliant comedic mind and wrote some of the show's best scenes. "Don was a small man ... but everything else about him was large: his mind, his expressions," Griffith told The Associated Press on Saturday. "Don was special. There's nobody like him. "I loved him very much," Griffith added. "We had a long and wonderful life together." Unspecified health problems had forced Knotts to cancel an appearance in his native Morgantown in August. The West Virginia-born actor's half-century career included seven TV series and more than 25 films, but it was the Griffith show that brought him TV immortality and five Emmys. The show ran from 1960-68, and was in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings each season, including a No. 1 ranking its final year. It is one of only three series in TV history to bow out at the top: The others are "I Love Lucy" and "Seinfeld." The 249 episodes have appeared frequently in reruns and have spawned a large, active network of fan clubs. As the bug-eyed deputy to Griffith, Knotts carried in his shirt pocket the one bullet he was allowed after shooting himself in the foot. The constant fumbling, a recurring sight gag, was typical of his self-deprecating humor. Knotts, whose shy, soft-spoken manner was unlike his high-strung characters, once said he was most proud of the Fife character and doesn't mind being remembered that way. His favorite episodes, he said, were "The Pickle Story," where Aunt Bee makes pickles no one can eat, and "Barney and the Choir," where no one can stop him from singing. "I can't sing. It makes me sad that I can't sing or dance well enough to be in a musical, but I'm just not talented in that way," he lamented. "It's one of my weaknesses." Knotts appeared on several other television shows. In 1979, he joined the cast of "Three's Company," also starring John Ritter, Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt. Early in his TV career, he was one of the original cast members of "The Steve Allen Show," the comedy-variety show that ran from 1956-61. He was one of a group of memorable comics backing Allen that included Louis Nye, Tom Poston and Bill "Jose Jimenez" Dana. Knotts' G-rated films were family fun, not box-office blockbusters. In most, he ends up the hero and gets the girl — a girl who can see through his nervousness to the heart of gold. In the part-animated 1964 film "The Incredible Mr. Limpet," Knotts played a meek clerk who turns into a fish after he is rejected by the Navy. When it was announced in 1998 that Jim Carrey would star in a "Limpet" remake, Knotts responded: "I'm just flattered that someone of Carrey's caliber is remaking something I did. Now, if someone else did Barney Fife, THAT would be different." In the 1967 film "The Reluctant Astronaut," co-starring Leslie Nielsen, Knotts' father enrolls his wimpy son — operator of a Kiddieland rocket ride — in NASA's space program. Knotts poses as a famous astronaut to the joy of his parents and hometown but is eventually exposed for what he really is, a janitor so terrified of heights he refuses to ride an airplane. In the 1969 film "The Love God?," he was a geeky bird-watcher who is duped into becoming publisher of a naughty men's magazine and then becomes a national sex symbol. Eventually, he comes to his senses, leaves the big city and marries the sweet girl next door. He was among an army of comedians from Buster Keaton to Jonathan Winters to liven up the 1963 megacomedy "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." Other films include "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966); "The Shakiest Gun in the West" (1968); and a few Disney films such as "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1974); "Gus" (1976); and "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo" (1977). In 1998, he had a key role in the back-to-the-past movie "Pleasantville," playing a folksy television repairman whose supercharged remote control sends a teen boy and his sister into a TV sitcom past. Knotts began his show biz career even before he graduated from high school, performing as a ventriloquist at local clubs and churches. He majored in speech at West Virginia University, then took off for the big city. "I went to New York cold. On a $100 bill. Bummed a ride," he recalled in a visit to his hometown of Morgantown, where city officials renamed a street for him in 1998. Within six months, Knotts had taken a job on a radio Western called "Bobby Benson and the B-Bar-B Riders," playing a wisecracking, know-it-all handyman. He stayed with it for five years, then came his series TV debut on "The Steve Allen Show." He married Kay Metz in 1948, the year he graduated from college. The couple had two children before divorcing in 1969. Knotts later married, then divorced Lara Lee Szuchna. In recent years, he said he had no plans to retire, traveling with theater productions and appearing in print and TV ads for Kodiak pressure treated wood. The world laughed at Knotts, but it also laughed with him. He treasured his comedic roles and could point to only one role that wasn't funny, a brief stint on the daytime drama "Search for Tomorrow." "That's the only serious thing I've done. I don't miss that," Knotts said. __________________ "Homeland Security is the responsibility of an armed citizen" ME http://webpages.charter.net/s.s.v/

02-25-2006, 07:21 PM	#2
jerry Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 10,870 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 1	Another good one gone __________________ I'm a down home back woods redneck

02-25-2006, 07:24 PM	#3
Mooseman684 Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Alaska Wilderness Posts: 9,634 Images: 2	I just heard it on the news...Too bad, he spanned over 50 years of entertaining us . __________________ You know you might be facing your doom,when all you get is a click when you're expecting a BOOM!

02-25-2006, 08:15 PM	#4
SPOCAHP ANAR Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: SC-upstate Posts: 4,085 Images: 3 Blog Entries: 4	He was truly a comedic genious. They said when he put on his cop outfit he was "in Character" all day till he took it off. __________________ Spocrest Out!..........

02-25-2006, 09:14 PM	#5
Bull Barrel Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia Posts: 239	I always remember the episode where Barney gets a motorcycle and starts running amok...a great comedian and a fine actor. __________________ Beautiful Noisy Deadly Machines--What's Not to Like? :assult:

02-25-2006, 09:35 PM	#6
Apollyon67 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Southern Maryland Posts: 2,235 Images: 17	I first saw him in the movie The Apple Dumpling gang. I loved it. __________________ "To err is human, to repent divine; to persist devilish." Ben Franklin

02-25-2006, 11:19 PM	#7
Chris HMFIC Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,834,165 Images: 19 Blog Entries: 18	He will be missed. A great man!

02-25-2006, 11:47 PM	#8
Joey l mur Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 334 Images: 1	Will be missed Give him a 21 gun salute.

02-26-2006, 07:22 AM	#9
Dallas PUKHA DAWG Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C. Posts: 3,595	He was a great Comedian, RIP.

02-26-2006, 10:23 AM	#11
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,205	Yep, not too many left from the days when Comedy was funny, not dirty. He will be missed. __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

02-26-2006, 11:28 AM	#12
troylaplante Moderator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Selma, NC Posts: 2,223	Here in NC, The Andy Griffith show is still a staple of regular TV. The big affiliate here, WRAL, keeps at least one hour of Andy Griffith on TV each day. They punted The Jane Pauley Show to go back to two episodes of Andy Griffith each morning. It is always funny hearing them talk on the show about geography. In reality, Siler City is nowhere near "Mayberry", which was modeled after a town quite far from there. And "all the city slickers in the big city of Raleigh", as Don Knotts used to say as Barney, always tickled me, too. When I moved to NC to take a job in Raleigh, all I knew about North Carolina was what I saw on The Andy Griffith Show. There was soooooooooo much that the show didn't portray. Even a decade to 15 years ago, Don Knotts played a sidekick for Griffith in shows like Matlock. He was known for good, clean roles. Much of his work will remain almost "timeless". I can appreciate the work that he and Andy Griffith did with good, clean entertainment. Now I am going to go put in a VHS copy of "Kill Bill", sit back, and enjoy.