Posted on 02/25/2006 2:38:42 PM PST by lunarbicep
LOS ANGELES - Don Knotts, the skinny, lovable nerd who kept generations of television audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show," has died. He was 81.
Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, said Paul Ward, a spokesman for the cable network TV Land, which airs "The Andy Griffith Show," and another Knotts hit, "Three's Company."
Unspecified health problems had forced him to cancel an appearance in his native Morgantown in August 2005.
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 Emmies.
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 Bea 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
Ah, for some reason I didnt remember him saying that he worked with explosives...tho that would explain why he was so nervous...tho I do remember the answer Nope, that he gave...just could not remember what he was saying Nope to...thanks for that...
You wouldn't know it looking at him, or from the characters he played but he was supposedly one of the most successful ladies man in Hollywood.
KNotts didn't play a nerd, he played a spaz. Sheesh!
Another good one gone. Bye Mr. Limpet.
I pledged but that semester the Viet Nam War got in the way. I had to leave college before the semester ended. I still call Phi Sig my fraternity.
This is a sad day. I loved Don Knotts.
The triumph of The Andy Griffith Show and Don Knotts in particular was that it was absolutely hilarous yet never seedy, smutty or distasteful. It's a perfect example of the way TV could be and a marvelous memento of a simpler time.
Barney Fife is one of the enduring memories of my childhood and I still laugh at him as hard today as I did the first time I saw him.
God speed, Don.
This is truly a bummer. Kolchak, and now Mr. Furley.
I didn't know that. Carl Kolchak?
My first memory of Don was when he was on the late night Steve Allen show! Mr Jitters! Trying to sing and the tv cam kept trying to block out his adam's apple!
Yes. Darren McGavin has also passed on.
(1960-1965)
You're right. He moved on after the 64/65 season. He began with the very first regular show I believe, in 1960. Won 5 Emmies in a row, too. Always gave credit to "the big guy" (Andy) for his success. As I recall, at one Emmey award he said, "Well, if it wasn't for the Big Guy, I would be parking cars out here tonight".
I loved him, as i am sure most of America did. He will be missed.
One of the few shows I'll take the time to watch on television. And I'm 22! ha!
God bless you, Don Knotts. You've made a lot of people smile through the years.
Rest In Peace Don!
Too bad. :(
Don Knotts was cool, but I don't think he gets credit for making being a nerd OK.
That goes to Dilbert and the US economy paying computer guys ungodly amounts of money in the 90's :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.