Don Knotts
He had a successful career beyond Barney Fife, but that’s what we’ll always remember him for.
I once worked with a great bunch of people who studied the great issues facing humanity, such as this: Who was the greatest sitcom character of all time? We all had our favorites, but Barney Fife (Don Knotts) on the Andy Griffith Show was at or near the top of everyone’s list.
Uploaded by lamorguefiles.blogspot.com
The poor folks in the dictionary business didn’t have a good example of “high-strung” until Knotts brought Barney to life. The story has it that originally Barney was to be the straight man and Andy the funny one, but Griffith realized immediately that he had to reverse those roles. We can all remember our favorite Barney moments – the single bullet…his inability to sing…his obsession with a literal obedience to the law. But Barney could also be courageous, sweet, and self-deprecating. Considering what a broad character Barney was, Knotts did a marvelous job of making him real. No wonder he won the Best Supporting Actor Emmy each of the five seasons he appeared on the show.
Knotts had considerable success extending his neurotic character in films (The Apple Dumpling Gang, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo) and television (Three’s Company). But to us, he’ll always be Barney Fife. And with that it’s time to end this post – Nip it! Nip it in the bud!