Early career Before he entered high school, Knotts began performing as a
ventriloquist and comedian at various church and school functions. After high school, he traveled to New York City to try to make his way as a comedian, but when his career failed to take off, he returned home to attend West Virginia University. After his freshman year, he joined the U.S. Army and spent most of his service entertaining troops. His ventriloquist act included a dummy named Danny that Knotts grew to hate and eventually threw overboard, according to friend and castmate
Al Checco. Knotts served in the army from June 21, 1943, to January 6, 1946, in the Army's
6817th Special Services Battalion. He was discharged at the rank of
Technician Grade 5, equivalent at the time to
corporal. Knotts got his first break on television on the soap opera
Search for Tomorrow, where he appeared from 1953 to 1955. He came to fame in 1956 on
Steve Allen's variety show as part of Allen's repertory company, most notably in Allen's mock "Man in the Street" interviews, always playing an extremely nervous man. He remained with Allen through the 1959–1960 season. From October 20, 1955, through September 14, 1957, he appeared with
Andy Griffith in the
Broadway stage version of
No Time for Sergeants, in which he played two roles, listed in the
Playbill as a Corporal Manual Dexterity and a Preacher. In 1958, he made his movie debut with Griffith in the film version of
No Time for Sergeants, in which he reprised his Broadway role, playing a high-strung
Air Force test administrator whose routine is disrupted by the hijinks of a provincial new recruit.
The Andy Griffith Show for
The Andy Griffith Show, 1961. In 1960, Andy Griffith was offered the opportunity to headline his own sitcom,
The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968). Knotts took the role of
Barney Fife, the deputy—and originally cousin—of Sheriff
Andy Taylor (portrayed by Griffith). Knotts's portrayal of the deputy on the popular show earned for him five Emmy Awards for
Best Supporting Actor in a Television Comedy. A summary of the show from the website of the
Museum of Broadcast Communications describes Deputy Barney Fife: When the show first aired, Griffith was intended to be the comedic lead with Knotts as his
straight man, similar to their roles in
No Time for Sergeants. However, it was quickly discovered that the show was funnier with the roles reversed. As Griffith maintained in several interviews, "By the second episode, I knew that Don should be funny, and I should play straight." Knotts believed remarks by Griffith that
The Andy Griffith Show would end after five seasons, and he began to look for other work, signing a five-film contract with
Universal Studios. In his autobiography, Knotts admitted that he had not yet signed the contract when Griffith announced his decision to continue the series; but he had made up his mind to move on, believing that he would not get the chance again. Knotts left the series in 1965. His character's absence on the show was explained by Deputy Fife having finally made the "big time", joining the
Raleigh, North Carolina, police force.
Post-Mayberry film career , as Griffith looks on. Knotts went on to star in a series of film comedies that drew on his high-strung persona from the television series. He had a
cameo appearance in
United Artists' ''
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963), and starred in
Warner Bros.'
The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964). Knotts began his Universal five-film contract with
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), followed by
The Reluctant Astronaut (1967),
The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968),
The Love God? (1969) and
How to Frame a Figg (1971). Knotts reprised his role as Barney Fife several times in the 1960s. He made five guest appearances on
The Andy Griffith Show (earning another two Emmy Awards), and he appeared once on the spin-off
Mayberry R.F.D., in which he was present as
best man for the marriage of Andy Taylor and his longtime love,
Helen Crump. He continued to work steadily, although he did not appear as a regular on any successful television series until 1979, when he took the part of landlord Ralph Furley on ''
Three's Company''. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Knotts served as the spokesman for
Dodge trucks and was featured prominently in a series of print ads and dealer brochures. On television, he hosted a variety show/sitcom hybrid on
NBC,
The Don Knotts Show, which aired on Tuesdays during autumn 1970, but the series was low-rated and short-lived, and Knotts was uncomfortable with the variety show format. He also made frequent guest appearances on other shows, such as
The Bill Cosby Show and ''
Here's Lucy. In 1970, he appeared as a Barney Fife-like police officer in the pilot of The New Andy Griffith Show. In 1972, Knotts voiced an animated version of himself in two episodes of The New Scooby Doo Movies'': "The Spooky Fog of Juneberry", in which he played a lawman resembling Barney Fife, and "Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner". He appeared as Felix Unger in a stage version of
Neil Simon's
The Odd Couple, with
Art Carney as Oscar Madison, and toured in the Neil Simon comedy
Last of the Red Hot Lovers. Beginning in 1975, Knotts was teamed with
Tim Conway in a series of
slapstick films aimed at children, including the
Disney film
The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) and its sequel,
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979). They also did two independent films, the boxing comedy
The Prize Fighter (1979) and the mystery-comedy
The Private Eyes (1980). Knotts co-starred in several other Disney films, including
Gus (1976),
No Deposit, No Return (1976),
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), and
Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978).
''Three's Company'' In 1979, Knotts returned to series television as the wacky but lovable landlord Ralph Furley on ''Three's Company
. The series, which was already an established hit, added Knotts to the cast when the original landlords, Stanley and Helen Roper (a married couple played by Norman Fell and Audra Lindley, respectively), left to star in their own short-lived spin-off series The Ropers''. On the set, Knotts easily integrated himself into the already established cast, who were, as
John Ritter put it, "so scared" of Knotts because of his star status. When
Suzanne Somers left the show after a contract dispute in 1981, the writers started giving the material meant for Somers's Chrissy to Knotts's Furley. Knotts remained on the series until it ended in 1984. Carol Summers, the ''Three's Company'' script supervisor, became Knotts's agent and often accompanied him to personal appearances.
Later years In 1986, Knotts reunited with Andy Griffith in the made-for-television film
Return to Mayberry, reprising his Barney Fife role. In early 1987, he joined the cast of the first-run syndicated comedy
What a Country!, as Principal Bud McPherson, for its remaining 13 episodes. It was produced by Martin Rips and Joseph Staretski, who had previously worked on ''Three's Company
. From 1988 until 1992, Knotts joined Andy Griffith on Matlock'' in the recurring role of pesky neighbor Les Calhoun. His roles became more sporadic, including a cameo appearance in the film
Big Bully (1996) as the high school principal. In 1998, he had a small but pivotal role as a mysterious TV repairman in
Pleasantville. That year, his hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia, changed the name of the street formerly known as South University Avenue (
U.S. Route 119) to Don Knotts Boulevard on "Don Knotts Day". Also on that day, in honor of Knotts's role as Barney Fife, he was named an honorary deputy sheriff with the
Monongalia County Sheriff's Department. Knotts was recognized in 2000 with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. He continued to act on stage, but much of his film and television work after 2000 was as voice talent. In 2002, he appeared again with
Scooby-Doo in the video game
Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights. He also spoofed his appearances on that show in various promotions for
Cartoon Network, and in a parody on
Robot Chicken, on which he was teamed with
Phyllis Diller. In 2003, he teamed up again with
Tim Conway to provide voices for the direct-to-video children's series
Hermie and Friends, which continued until his death. In 2005, he was the voice of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in
Chicken Little (2005), his first Disney movie since 1979. On September 12, 2003, he was in
Kansas City, in a stage version of
On Golden Pond, when he received a call from John Ritter's family telling him that his former ''Three's Company
co-star had died that day of an aortic dissection. He and his co-stars attended the funeral four days later. Knotts had appeared with Ritter for the last time in 2003 in a cameo on 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter,
in an episode that paid homage to their previous television series. Knotts was the last Three's Company'' star to work with Ritter. During this period of time,
macular degeneration in both eyes caused the otherwise robust Knotts to become virtually blind. His live appearances on television were few. In 2005, he parodied his Ralph Furley character while playing a
Paul Young variation in a
Desperate Housewives sketch on
The 3rd Annual TV Land Awards. He parodied that part one final time in "Stone Cold Crazy", an episode of the sitcom ''
That '70s Show,
in which he played the landlord. It was his last live-action television appearance. His final role was in Air Buddies (2006), a direct-to-video sequel to Air Bud'', voicing the sheriff's deputy dog Sniffer. == Personal life ==