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Fri Feb 24 11:55:10 PST 2006
Allen Show," where he would play a character named Mr. Morrison, aka =
"the nervous man." Interviewed on the street, Morrison was asked whether =
something was making him nervous and would inevitably offer a terse, =
anxiety-wracked "No!"
In the meantime, "No Time for Sergeants" was made into a feature film in =
1958, with Griffith and Knotts reprising their roles. The two actors =
kept in touch, and when Griffith signed to do the TV series as a rural =
sheriff, Knotts half-jokingly suggested that the lawman would need a =
deputy.
Knotts left "Andy Griffith" in 1965, later explaining that he believed =
the producers had always intended for the series to last just five =
seasons. In a 1967 Times interview, he said, "The grind gets to you in =
television, and that's primarily the reason I'm concentrating on =
pictures."
Griffith stayed with the program for three years after Knotts' =
departure, however, and Knotts agreed to revive his role as Fife in a =
number of guest spots. Even without Knotts, "Andy Griffith" remained =
popular, and the show was ranked No. 1 in its final season, 1967-68. =
Episodes remain syndication favourites and still appear in frequent =
rotation on cable network TV Land.
But many fans now believe "Andy Griffith" fizzled creatively without =
Knotts' manic energy =97 a point that even Griffith himself has =
conceded. On the TV fan site www.jumptheshark.com, one viewer wrote, =
"When Barney Fife left town, 'The Andy Griffith Show' changed from a =
television classic to just another 60's TV show."
After "Griffith," Knotts stayed busy, although he never quite matched =
the success he had seen as Barney Fife. An NBC variety hour, "The Don =
Knotts Show," premiered in 1970 and lasted just one season. The actor =
subsequently appeared in several live-action Disney features: as a =
bumbling bandit in "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975), a would-be =
safecracker in "No Deposit, No Return" (1976) and an auto-racing veteran =
in "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo" (1977). He also reprised his role as =
Fife in "Return to Mayberry," a nostalgic TV movie that delivered =
enormous ratings for CBS in 1986, and had a recurring role in "Matlock," =
CBS' courtroom drama starring Griffith.
A self-described hypochondriac, Knotts suffered numerous health =
reversals in recent years. He developed vision problems that made =
driving and some other tasks difficult. In the fall of 2003, he injured =
his Achilles tendon while starring in "On Golden Pond" at the New =
Theatre in Overland Park, Kansas, and had to wear a brace onstage.
Two of Knotts' three marriages ended in divorce. The first, to Kathryn =
Kay Metz, lasted from 1947 to 1964 and produced two children, Karen, an =
actress who co-starred with her father in a 1996 stage revival of "You =
Can't Take It With You," and Thomas, both of whom survive him. From 1974 =
to 1983, Knotts was married to Loralee Czuchna. He was married to =
actress Francey Yarborough at the time of his death.
"He saw poignancy in people's pride and pain and he turned it into =
something endearing and hilarious," Yarborough, who is also an actress, =
said in a statement Saturday.
Knotts received a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame in =
January 2000.
In the foreword to Knotts' 2000 memoir, "Barney Fife and Other =
Characters I Have Known," Griffith wrote that Knotts personally had =
little in common with his most famous creation. "Don was not Barney =
Fife," Griffith wrote. "I know Don to be a bright man and very much in =
control of himself. As everyone knows, Barney Fife had very little =
control of himself. In the comedy scenes we did, I was often closer to =
Don than the camera and I could look at him before we started those =
scenes, and through his eyes, I could see him become Barney Fife."
------=_NextPart_000_001F_01C63A52.73359AE0
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<DIV><FONT face=3D"MS Sans Serif">
<H1> </H1>
<DIV>I loved Don's characters, especially Barney Fife, God bless his =
soul</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Harry</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<H1> </H1>
<H1>Don Knotts, star of 'The Andy Griffith Show,' dead at 81</H1>
<DIV class=3Dstorysubhead>Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and =
respiratory=20
complications at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills.</DIV>By =
Scott=20
Collins<BR>Times Staff Writer<BR><BR>2:30 PM PST, February 25, =
2006<BR><BR>Don=20
Knotts, the saucer-eyed, scarecrow-thin comic actor best known for his =
roles as=20
the high-strung small-town deputy Barney Fife on the 1960s CBS series =
"The Andy=20
Griffith Show" and the leisure-suit-clad landlord Ralph Furley on ABC's =
'70s=20
sitcom "Three's Company," has died. He was 81.<BR><BR>Knotts, who lived =
in West=20
Los Angeles, died Friday night of lung cancer at UCLA Medical Center, =
according=20
to Sherwin Bash, his longtime manager.<BR><BR>Family members said that =
his=20
longtime friend Griffth was one of his last visitors at Cedars on Friday =
night.<BR><BR>Despite health problems, Knotts had kept working in recent =
months.=20
He lent his distinctive, high-pitched voice as Turkey Mayor in Walt =
Disney's=20
animated family film "Chicken Little," which was released in November =
2005. He=20
also did guest spots in 2005 on NBC's "Las Vegas" and Fox's "That '70s =
Show." He=20
occasionally co-headlined in live comedy shows with Tim Conway, his =
sometime=20
co-star in Disney films such as "The Apple Dumpling Gang." Knotts also =
appeared=20
as the TV repairman in director Gary Ross's whimsical 1998 comedy=20
"Pleasantville," and voiced the part of T.W. Turtle in the 1997 animated =
feature=20
"Cats Don't Dance."<BR><BR>As he grew older, Knotts became a lodestar =
for=20
younger comic actors. The new generation came to appreciate his highly =
physical=20
brand of acting that, at its best, was in the tradition of silent-film =
greats=20
such as Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel and Harold Lloyd.<BR><BR>Knotts first =
rose to=20
prominence in the late 1950s, joining Louis Nye and other comedy players =
on "The=20
Steve Allen Show." In 1961, United Artists Records released a comedy =
album=20
entitled "Don Knotts: An Evening with Me," which featured various =
takeoffs on=20
the "nervous man" routine the comic had made famous on Allen's show. One =
of the=20
bits, "The Weatherman," concerned a TV forecaster forced to wing it =
after the=20
meteorology report fails to make it to the studio by air =
time.<BR><BR>During the=20
mid to late 1960s, in a largely unsuccessful bid for major film stardom, =
Knotts=20
made a series of family films that many connoisseurs now say were =
critically=20
underappreciated at the time. These include "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" =
(1964),=20
"The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966) and "The Reluctant Astronaut" (1967). =
The=20
latter two were made as part of a five-picture deal with Universal=20
Pictures.<BR><BR>"Limpet," the tale of a meek man who is transformed =
into a=20
fish, has particularly won recent acclaim. Its early mix of live action =
and=20
animation was a forerunner of such later films as "Who Framed Roger =
Rabbit?" and=20
"Space Jam."<BR><BR>At one point, Jim Carrey was said to be considering =
starring=20
in a "Limpet" remake, although the project has yet to materialize. Once, =
when=20
Knotts visited the set of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Carrey paid =
tribute.=20
"I went to him, and I was just like, 'Thank you so much for "The Ghost =
and Mr.=20
Chicken,"' Carrey later told an interviewer. " 'I watched it a hundred =
times=20
when I was a kid.' "<BR><BR>Martin Short has likewise hailed Knotts as a =
major=20
influence, and at least one of Short's recurring characters, shifty-eyed =
lawyer=20
Nathan Thurm, owes a debt to Knotts' "nervous man" character, created =
for "The=20
Steve Allen Show" in the 1950s.<BR><BR>Many TV viewers remember Knotts =
as Ralph=20
Furley, the ascot-wearing middle-aged landlord who mistakenly viewed =
himself as=20
a swinger on ABC's hit sex farce "Three's Company." The series starred =
the late=20
John Ritter as Jack Tripper, a chef who pretended to be gay in order to =
share an=20
apartment with two attractive young women. The plot of many episodes =
hinged on=20
Tripper struggling to keep his secret from an ever-suspicious (and =
homophobic)=20
Furley. Knotts introduced the character in 1979, during the show's =
fourth=20
season, when the original landlords (Norman Fell and Audra Lindley) had =
departed=20
for their own spin-off, "The Ropers."<BR><BR>For Knotts, who typically =
worked in=20
Disney comedies and other family-friendly fare, appearing in a sex =
comedy =97 then=20
decried by critics as "jiggle TV" -- constituted a major departure. But =
he=20
stayed with "Three's Company" until it went off the air in 1984 after =
eight=20
seasons.<BR><BR>However, it was his portrayal of Barney Fife =97 a role =
for which=20
he won five Emmy Awards -- that immortalized Knotts to TV viewers. =
Deputy Fife,=20
an inveterate bumbler, was not in the series pilot, and was at first =
intended=20
simply to be part of a large ensemble that would surround Griffith, who =
played=20
Sheriff Andy Taylor in Mayberry, a fictional North Carolina town near=20
Raleigh.<BR><BR>But not long after the series debuted in October 1960, =
Knotts=20
stole the show. Griffith, who was meant to be the series' comic focus, =
shifted=20
to playing straight man. The writers began beefing up Fife's role and =
creating=20
episodes that depended on the sheriff rescuing Fife from his latest =
predicament.=20
"Andy Griffith" was the most popular comedy on television during its =
first=20
season, and never dropped from the Top 10 for the rest of its eight-year =
run.<BR><BR>In Knotts' hands, Fife was a fully realized stooge, a =
hick-town Don=20
Quixote who imagined himself braver, more sophisticated and more =
competent than=20
he actually was. His utter lack of self-control led him into desperate =
jams that=20
usually culminated with Fife at the end of his rope, bug-eyed and =
panting with=20
anxiety. Sheriff Taylor allowed his deputy to carry just one bullet, =
which he=20
was obliged to keep separate from his service revolver due to past =
trigger=20
mishaps.<BR><BR>Asked how he developed his most famous character, Knotts =
replied=20
in a 2000 interview: "Mainly, I thought of Barney as a kid. You can =
always look=20
into the faces of kids and see what they're thinking, if they're happy =
or sad.=20
That's what I tried to do with Barney. It's very =
identifiable."<BR><BR>Jesse=20
Donald Knotts was born in Morgantown, W.Va., on July 21, 1924, the =
youngest of=20
four brothers. His family life was troubled; Knotts' father twice =
threatened his=20
mother with a knife and later spent time in mental hospitals, while =
older=20
brother Earl =97 nicknamed "Shadow" because of his thinness -- died of =
asthma when=20
Knotts was still a teenager.<BR><BR>Years later, the actor did not =
recall his=20
childhood fondly.<BR><BR>"I felt like a loser," he recalled in a 1976 =
interview=20
with the Los Angeles Times. "I was unhappy, I think, most of the time. =
We were=20
terribly poor and I hated my size."<BR><BR>Knotts turned to performing =
in his=20
early teens, doing an Edgar Bergen-inspired ventriloquism act with a =
dummy he=20
named Danny.<BR><BR>He enlisted in the Army in 1943 and served in the =
Pacific,=20
receiving the World War II Victory Medal among other decorations. After =
the war,=20
in 1948, he graduated from West Virginia University with an education=20
degree.<BR><BR>He soon borrowed $100 and moved to New York to pursue an =
acting=20
career. He auditioned for several radio gigs but was turned down. One of =
his=20
earliest TV roles was on the CBS soap opera "Search for Tomorrow," where =
he=20
played Wilbur Peterson =97 a neurotic young man so troubled he =
communicated only=20
with his sister -- from 1953-55. It was the only non-comedic role he =
ever=20
played.<BR><BR>But Knotts did not receive widespread attention until he =
appeared=20
on Broadway in Ira Levin's 1955 comedy "No Time for Sergeants." Based on =
Mac=20
Hyman's novel, the play concerned a hillbilly =97 played by a =
then-unknown Andy=20
Griffith -- who was drafted into the Air Force. Knotts won plaudits as =
an overly=20
tense military evaluator.<BR><BR>From 1956-60, Knotts further cemented =
his=20
reputation on NBC's "The Steve Allen Show," where he would play a =
character=20
named Mr. Morrison, aka "the nervous man." Interviewed on the street, =
Morrison=20
was asked whether something was making him nervous and would inevitably =
offer a=20
terse, anxiety-wracked "No!"<BR><BR>In the meantime, "No Time for =
Sergeants" was=20
made into a feature film in 1958, with Griffith and Knotts reprising =
their=20
roles. The two actors kept in touch, and when Griffith signed to do the =
TV=20
series as a rural sheriff, Knotts half-jokingly suggested that the =
lawman would=20
need a deputy.<BR><BR>Knotts left "Andy Griffith" in 1965, later =
explaining that=20
he believed the producers had always intended for the series to last =
just five=20
seasons. In a 1967 Times interview, he said, "The grind gets to you in=20
television, and that's primarily the reason I'm concentrating on=20
pictures."<BR><BR>Griffith stayed with the program for three years after =
Knotts'=20
departure, however, and Knotts agreed to revive his role as Fife in a =
number of=20
guest spots. Even without Knotts, "Andy Griffith" remained popular, and =
the show=20
was ranked No. 1 in its final season, 1967-68. Episodes remain =
syndication=20
favourites and still appear in frequent rotation on cable network TV=20
Land.<BR><BR>But many fans now believe "Andy Griffith" fizzled =
creatively=20
without Knotts' manic energy =97 a point that even Griffith himself has =
conceded.=20
On the TV fan site www.jumptheshark.com, one viewer wrote, "When Barney =
Fife=20
left town, 'The Andy Griffith Show' changed from a television classic to =
just=20
another 60's TV show."<BR><BR>After "Griffith," Knotts stayed busy, =
although he=20
never quite matched the success he had seen as Barney Fife. An NBC =
variety hour,=20
"The Don Knotts Show," premiered in 1970 and lasted just one season. The =
actor=20
subsequently appeared in several live-action Disney features: as a =
bumbling=20
bandit in "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975), a would-be safecracker in =
"No=20
Deposit, No Return" (1976) and an auto-racing veteran in "Herbie Goes to =
Monte=20
Carlo" (1977). He also reprised his role as Fife in "Return to =
Mayberry," a=20
nostalgic TV movie that delivered enormous ratings for CBS in 1986, and =
had a=20
recurring role in "Matlock," CBS' courtroom drama starring =
Griffith.<BR><BR>A=20
self-described hypochondriac, Knotts suffered numerous health reversals =
in=20
recent years. He developed vision problems that made driving and some =
other=20
tasks difficult. In the fall of 2003, he injured his Achilles tendon =
while=20
starring in "On Golden Pond" at the New Theatre in Overland Park, =
Kansas, and=20
had to wear a brace onstage.<BR><BR>Two of Knotts' three marriages ended =
in=20
divorce. The first, to Kathryn Kay Metz, lasted from 1947 to 1964 and =
produced=20
two children, Karen, an actress who co-starred with her father in a 1996 =
stage=20
revival of "You Can't Take It With You," and Thomas, both of whom =
survive him.=20
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