Ken Beck story about Mr. Knotts.
http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060227/ENTERTAINMENT12/602270378 Folks, the above will take you to a wonderful story written by the co-author (along with Jim Clark) of The Andy Griffith Show Book and many other Mayberry related books. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. --Allan ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
RE: My Dad and Don Knotts
To my Mayberry pals I know one thing...heaven shines much brighter today, for my Dad passed away Sunday, Feb. 19, and now Don Knotts last Fridaymy sweet and precious Dad even reminded me a bit of Don...both men small in stature, but, oh so big in heart and love for everyone... Missing my Dad, and Don, toobut taking comfort in knowing they are happy and smiling once moreand we will see them again. joan in NC ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
LiveTelevision.com Has a tribute to Don
I got the note below from the folks at LikeTelevision.com Drop by and check it out. Also, be sure to drop by Mayberry.com and leave a note on the Don Knotts Memorial. ( http://www.mayberry.com/memorial/don_knotts/index.html ) Hi Allan: We created a Best of Barney Fife video clip section in our blog. http://www.liketelevision.com/blog/archives/000389.html or... watch 16 episodes online for free... featuring Barney at his best. http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/search/search.php?q=Don+Knottstheme=guide http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/search/search.php?q=Don+Knottstheme=guide Don Knotts was the greatest best Wily Krause LikeTelevision ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Deputy Barney Fife
some of us flight simmers are gonna do an honor flight for Deputy Barney. (Don Knotts) I posted of his death up in the flight-sim group, and came up with the idea of doing one either from Los Angeles (LAX) to Raleigh (RDU) and then to Mayberry AKA Mt. Airy (MWK) or doing a shorter flight from RDU to MWK and another simmer suggested we continue up to Morgantown, Barney's (Don's) hometown. This site here is Mt. Airy's airport with a picture of airport itself http://www.airnav.com/airport/KMWK Doggone if it don't look like the airport Aunt Bee took her flying lessoons out of. _ Dont just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
So very sad
Someone once said, people come and go through our lives each and every day, but very few leave a mark on our hearts. I think it's safe to say that Don Knotts left his mark on ours. A town has lost its protector and companion A sweet, sweet lady has lost her date for Saturday night The choir has lost a tenor A way of life that only a 33 year old man can dream about has lost a legend A sheriff has lost a deputy and best friend and myself, well, I have lost the closest friend to whom I never met A chair is vacant We should carry our friend in our hearts, minds and through our television on to our children. But we should also take from this the impact that one person can have on us and try our best to impact just a small portion of the lives he did. It's what we're called to do. Just think ahead to the point and time we're gone and the possibility of people remembering the impact we had on their lives. We have to ask ourselves, what would people say about us? Don left a stamp of love and laughter on our hearts, let's make a decision to do the same. Darin Berkley Knoxville, TN Isaiah 6:8 ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Re: WBMUTBB Digest, Vol 6, Issue 64
I am heart broken on hearing of Don Knots Barney passing. It is as if I have lost a member of my family. He sure has touched my life through his role as Barney. I love watching him and Andy Griffith on all the reruns. I will miss him so very much. Thank heavens for all the reruns of the Andy Griffith shows. I plan on owning all the DVD's of the show. Good Bye dear friend and May God Bless you always. Marilyn W. Clarksville, Tennessee ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Sad about Barney
I agree, I am getting sad watching Barney's final episodes also. I think I will be sad watching all of his episodes for some time. I feel like we have lost an old friend. He is with the angels now. He is probably making everyone in Heaven smile. Silvia - Yahoo! Mail Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze. ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Our Man Barney
Many beautiful tributes have filled the Digest honoring our man Barney and this is exactly as it should be--for our beloved Don Knotts played Barney perfectly and to a tee. In a lesser actor's hands, Barney could have come off as an annoying fool, someone that no one could understand why Andy kept on the force let alone be best friends with. But under Don Knotts' guidance, we could well appreciate why Andy took up for Barney and tried to help him in every way he could. Yeah, Andy got frustrated with him sometimes, but it never clouded the loyalty those two men had for each other. That showed through clearly in each episode. Andy helped Barney and Barney loved Andy. In his own bumbling way, Barney tried to help Andy. Heaven knows, he usually loused it up. But he meant well and he tried. Bless his heart. And that's why we could put up with Barney. He always meant well. People often laughed at him and made fun of him, but he kept trying. Beneath that shirt with the bullet in the pocket beat the heart of gold. And now it has stopped beating and we are all the sadder for it. Rest well, beloved Barney. You have earned your peace. Love, Lydia and Laura Lee Hobbs, the Dime Store won't be the same without you ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Fwd: Re: Barn
Note: forwarded message attached. __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Good Ol' Barnery Fife
Hi Friends, Yes, i was sadden by the death of our Barney Fife. Don knotts was definatly the ony one who could have ever played him. We know he is joined on his journey to heaven with Darrin Magavin ( a Christmas Story) and Dennis Weaver ( Gunsmoke) Thankfully we have dvd and tv to share our times together. Barney will be properly burried next to Tom Silvey with a shiny new bullit in his pocket of course. We will miss you Don until we meet in the heavenly Mayberry for a soda at the filling station.. May God rest his soul.. Erin ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Goodby, Old Friend
I couldn't help but cry Saturday when I heard about Don Knotts. I feel like I've lost a dear, dear friend. Well, I cried again today when I read the digest with the words to The Vacant Chair. I had the privilege of meeting Don at a show in NC years ago. There were so many stars there, but I waited in line for one person, Don. It was a pleasure to talk to him and have my picture made. I know we all have so many memories and I wanted to come to a place where I could share and know you all would truly understand. Thank you, Don for years and years of laughter! - Yahoo! Mail Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze. ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
BARNEY and his BULLET
Back in the 1970's I used to be a Security Guard. I stood guard or patrolled at banks, warehouses, hospitals, etc. Because of BARNEY, I always carried a bullet in my shirt pocket. I made sure the bullet was always shiny. BARNEY always stressed Bullet Maintenance. It's funny how one person can have such an impact on so many people. Fortunately, DON KNOTTS had a good impact. It's a shame that life has too be short, but sooner or later, we all have to go back to the GOD who Created us. Thanks for the memories, DON! GARRY ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
So very sad
___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Corrected Barney Tribute
Hey I've gotten a couple nice notes about my last post, and I really feed bad that I had a couple typo's in it, so I wanted to send again with corrections. Thanks again Bill of the Desert for the idea. Thanks for the Memories A Deputy named Fife, Thelma Lou his future wife, it doesn't matter that he caught just a few crooks in his life...We'll miss him so much Another hapless Jailbreak... A confident smirk and shake... another messed up fishing trip for Andy at the lake We'll miss our Bar-ney It seems he's doomed to fail, nothin' but good guys locked in jail, but somehow his pal Andy will get him a commendation in the mail...That's our De--puty Fife His deputy recruits are a joke, everyone knows he'll go for broke, he'll make a federal case out of a harmless little poke, but that's just... Bar-ney Thank God we've got TV, VHS and DVD, for years to come--generations won't be glum...cause we'll laugh and love our Bar--ney!! He's really a live wire, Many-a-shot he will misfire, but in the end, our singing friend is finally in the Heavenly Choir...We will miss him so much. ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
hello up there
To the powers that be.. Please let Barney in the choir. Don't be concerned if he tries to dance on the Big Dipper.. and please tell Ernest T not to throw stars except on clear nights. Our world is an emptier place But aren't the heavens nice and full Sigh from the bog house Big Maude -- laverne defazio [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- http://www.fastmail.fm - The professional email service ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Don Knotts
I would like to pass along my own personal remembrance of Don Knotts. I talked with him only once, at a large gathering in Nashville several years ago, but I could sense that he was a kind and surprisingly shy man. I told him that my great uncle was the late Joseph Hamilton, who portrayed a very visible Mayberry loafer in many early TAGS episodes (³Get a horse, Barney!²). As I tried to explain this to him, an insistent event handler was hurrying us fans through the receiving line, but Don simply ignored him, taking the time to assure me that he well remembered Uncle Joe and even asking me how we were related Joe was married to my grandmother¹s sister. Don Knotts sure didn¹t have to go to all this trouble, and yet he was more than willing to make a fan happy. Richard Veit ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Re: WBMUTBB Digest, Vol 6, Issue 64
we are very sadd,what more can i say ? the upchurch family of muncie indiana.bill lesa billy brian chris dean tony breanne donald and donna. ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/ .
Don Knotts...What a funny guy!
Andy was on the Today talking about his best friend Don Knotts. He was telling about how Don was at the end. Matt Lauer acted like he was wanting Andy to tell something funny about Don. Andy always called him Jesse his real name. He was telling Matt how he felt. I thought it was a little rude of Matt of asking him a question that was suppose to make us remember Barney being funny. I don't think Andy felt like smiling and laughing. Man he should have given him a break as his best friend just died. Don Knotts as Barney Fife will be missed. I like the movie when he turned into a fish The Incredible Mr. Limpet We will miss your laugh Mr. Don Knotts. You were the best ! Deborah J Pombo ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
our departed friends
My grandma always said famous people die in threes, and I believe she was right. We were still grieving Don's death when we were hit with the news that Darren McGavin had died, and just hours later, it was announced that Dennis Weaver had gone to his reward as well. Dennis Weaver never worked with Don Knotts (as far as I know), but he did star in Centennial (1978) along with Andy Griffith; with Ron Howard in Where Have All the Children Gone? (1980); and with Clint Howard in the TV show Gentle Ben. Dennis Weaver had an indirect connection to TAGS; in the episode The Fun Girls, Goober does an imitation of Chester, the character Dennis Weaver played on Gunsmoke (or Marshall Dillon as Gomer called the show). Dennis Weaver was from my hometown, Joplin, Missouri. We attended the same college (now known as Missouri Southern State University), though not at the same time, of course. He never forgot his roots; every few years, he would come back home for special events. Joplin has a street named after him, Dennis Weaver Drive. --Paul ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Barney/Don
Thank you Don Knotts for bring us Barney Fife and other memorable characters. Kim - Wylie, TX - Yahoo! Mail Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze. ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
[no subject]
The Bible says in Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: Don Knotts sure gave a lot of folks some good medicine. I think Barney Fife , M. D. was very appropriate after all. Thanks Don. Right, Ange?' Jacksonville, Fl. ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Death of Don Knotts
Sad is today, hearing the news of the death of Don Knotts. But happy will be the people of heaven as he will be there eternally.Robert Mortimer. U.T.PENDYKE D.V.M. Chapter of TAGSRWC. - Yahoo! Mail Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze. ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Barney Fife more tribute
During our lifetime we travel many roads. Some big roads, some little roads, rocky roads and smooth roads, dirt highways and improved highways. - Barney Fife Barney, this is a rocky road for your admirers. I want to give a word of encouragement also to Betty Lynn. She is kind of the social secretary that keeps all the remaining cast members connected. She too has lost a great friend. Thanks to Sam from Knoxville and others who supplied to word to the Vacant Chair. It seems so appropriate right now. Here ya go Bill (Bob Hope Song) Thanks for the Memories A Deputy named Fife, Thelma Lou his future wife, it doesn't matter that he caught just a few crooks in his life...We'll miss him so much Another hapless Jailbreak... A confident smirk and shake... another messed up fishing trip for Andy at the lake We'll miss our Bar-ney It seems he's doomed to fail, nothin' but good guys locked in jail, but somehow his pal Andy will get him a commendation in the mail...That's our De--puty Fife His deputy recruits are a joke, everyone knows he'll go for broke, he'll make a federal case out of a harmless little poke, but that's just... Bar-ney That God we've got TV, VHS and DVD for years to come, generations won't be glum...cause we'll laugh and love our Bar--ney!! He's really is a live wire, Many-a-shot he will misfire, but in the end, our singing friend is finally in the Heavenly Choir...We will miss him so much. The Untrained Voice ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Many roads
As we remember Don Knotts, will someone please write Barney's many roads speech? We used it so often in my family, no one ever got past many roads. Thanks, BTaylor When you work with words, words are your work. --The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, 1966 ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Barney
I, along with my TAGS friends, am very saddened by the loss of of our lovable Barney Fife. My wife and I will be attending the TAGS festival in Mt. Airy, NC for the first time this coming September and I'm sure there will be many fans there who will feel the same. Like many of you, I grew up watching Barney Fife. Someone said Barn became like a friend to all of us. And what a wonderful friend he was. Thank you Don Knotts for being Barney Fife. John Frungillo (Harvey) Hornell, NY ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
The late, great Don Knotts
Don Knotts is missed by everyone who held out for a little more kindness, heart, and respect in the human condition. The timing of Don's death seems a bit odd. I (and may TAGS fans) probably thought poetically that Andy would be the first to leave us and Barney would not be far behind. __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Re: mis typed
I am sorry my reply should of said 38 instead of 3. sad day didn't proof read my email Yeah, I noticed the 3 and figured maybe you were a child prodigy. *g* You're at attention, three! Don Good (the tears on my pillow bespeaking the pain that is in my heart) ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Don Knotts
A tribute from a fan online. The Incredible Mr. Knotts http://billking.livejournal.com/ ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Re: WBMUTBB Digest, Vol 6, Issue 64
A tribute from a fan online. The Incredible Mr. Knotts http://billking.livejournal.com/ ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
what is this? What do you do on this site?
what is this? What do you do on this site? ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Thanks for the Memories
I was thinking yesterday that we have so many memories of our travels with Barney or any other character he played that it would be a nice tribute to him if we all join in putting together a few lines to the old Bob Hope theme of Thanks for the Memories I will start with a few lines and the rest of you please join init will bring more thank a tear to the eye... Thanks for the Memories We grew up loving you...your one bullet not two...your sweetie Thelma Lou...Andys always teasing you...we'll miss you so much Oh thanks for the memories.. Bill of the Desert ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
RE: Honoring Don Knotts in a Mayberry way.
We just added a new porch to the front of our house and placed rocking chairs out there yesterday. This evening my 14 year-old son (a TAGS fan since age 2) and I are going to honor Don Knotts/Barney by sitting out on the porch sipping cider while we count cars. R.I.P. Hope the cider hasn't gone hard! Ed O'Dwyer History! That's My Subject! Chapter Alpharetta, GA ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
HeartsFlowers To Don!
We morn the loss but cherish the memory of our dear Barney Fife How thankful we are to have so many episodes of The Andy Griffith Show to help keep him alive in our hearts and minds. You all have a Mayberry Day! Danna In Indiana ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
God's Little Forty Acres
Don Knotts might have passed on, but he is in that spiritual Forty Acres Lot in the heavens. It's ironic that the most recent TAGS DVD release was Season 5, Don's last with the company. The next release, Season 6 due in May, will be all the more bittersweet as they are the episodes without him as a cast regular. He made five guest shots in the Knotts-less seasons and they were ALL in the month of January, at mid-season. Don may have passed to another realm at this current T.V. mid-season, but there will eventually be 'The Return of Barney Fife.' Brian Rodahaver One Of Maryland's Biggest TAGS Fans!!! ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
BARNEY
I say with a heavy heart..we'll always love you..our Barney Parney Poo. thank you, bob castrucci ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Don Knotts
Hi all: I was deeply saddened by the recent passing of actor Don Knotts.Inreality, Barnard O.M. Fife passed away April 19, 1965 episode #157 when Barn made his last regular appearance. He of course did make some guest appearances and even a movie. We had Barney for five great years. I think I saw in my self in Barney. Sometimes too scared , sometimes too nave, a loud mouth, and a way too sensitive. But deep down he always loved his friends deeply. When Barn loved he went by his heart and not by the book. We always felt a special closeness to him. He was one of us. Arrivederci, Barney! He truly was,One of ours PeoplePC Online A better way to Internet http://www.peoplepc.com ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
Don Knotts LA Times Obit
Don Knotts, star of 'The Andy Griffith Show,' dead at 81 Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills. By Scott Collins, Times Staff Writer Don Knotts, the saucer-eyed, scarecrow-thin comic actor best known for his roles as the high-strung small-town deputy Barney Fife on the 1960s CBS series The Andy Griffith Show and the leisure-suit-clad landlord Ralph Furley on ABC's '70s sitcom Three's Company, has died. He was 81. Knotts, who lived in West Los Angeles, died Friday night of lung cancer at UCLA Medical Center, according to Sherwin Bash, his longtime manager. Family members said that his longtime friend Griffth was one of his last visitors at Cedars on Friday night. Despite health problems, Knotts had kept working in recent months. He lent his distinctive, high-pitched voice as Turkey Mayor in Walt Disney's animated family film Chicken Little, which was released in November 2005. He also did guest spots in 2005 on NBC's Las Vegas and Fox's That '70s Show. He occasionally co-headlined in live comedy shows with Tim Conway, his sometime co-star in Disney films such as The Apple Dumpling Gang. Knotts also appeared as the TV repairman in director Gary Ross's whimsical 1998 comedy Pleasantville, and voiced the part of T.W. Turtle in the 1997 animated feature Cats Don't Dance. As he grew older, Knotts became a lodestar for younger comic actors. The new generation came to appreciate his highly physical brand of acting that, at its best, was in the tradition of silent-film greats such as Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel and Harold Lloyd. Knotts first rose to prominence in the late 1950s, joining Louis Nye and other comedy players on The Steve Allen Show. In 1961, United Artists Records released a comedy album entitled Don Knotts: An Evening with Me, which featured various takeoffs on the nervous man routine the comic had made famous on Allen's show. One of the bits, The Weatherman, concerned a TV forecaster forced to wing it after the meteorology report fails to make it to the studio by air time. During the mid to late 1960s, in a largely unsuccessful bid for major film stardom, Knotts made a series of family films that many connoisseurs now say were critically underappreciated at the time. These include The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) and The Reluctant Astronaut (1967). The latter two were made as part of a five-picture deal with Universal Pictures. Limpet, the tale of a meek man who is transformed into a fish, has particularly won recent acclaim. Its early mix of live action and animation was a forerunner of such later films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Space Jam. At one point, Jim Carrey was said to be considering starring in a Limpet remake, although the project has yet to materialize. Once, when Knotts visited the set of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Carrey paid tribute. I went to him, and I was just like, 'Thank you so much for The Ghost and Mr. Chicken,' Carrey later told an interviewer. 'I watched it a hundred times when I was a kid.' Martin Short has likewise hailed Knotts as a major influence, and at least one of Short's recurring characters, shifty-eyed lawyer Nathan Thurm, owes a debt to Knotts' nervous man character, created for The Steve Allen Show in the 1950s. Many TV viewers remember Knotts as Ralph Furley, the ascot-wearing middle-aged landlord who mistakenly viewed himself as a swinger on ABC's hit sex farce Three's Company. The series starred the late John Ritter as Jack Tripper, a chef who pretended to be gay in order to share an apartment with two attractive young women. The plot of many episodes hinged on Tripper struggling to keep his secret from an ever-suspicious (and homophobic) Furley. Knotts introduced the character in 1979, during the show's fourth season, when the original landlords (Norman Fell and Audra Lindley) had departed for their own spin-off, The Ropers. For Knotts, who typically worked in Disney comedies and other family- friendly fare, appearing in a sex comedy — then decried by critics as jiggle TV -- constituted a major departure. But he stayed with Three's Company until it went off the air in 1984 after eight seasons. However, it was his portrayal of Barney Fife — a role for which he won five Emmy Awards -- that immortalized Knotts to TV viewers. Deputy Fife, an inveterate bumbler, was not in the series pilot, and was at first intended simply to be part of a large ensemble that would surround Griffith, who played Sheriff Andy Taylor in Mayberry, a fictional North Carolina town near Raleigh. But not long after the series debuted in October 1960, Knotts stole the show. Griffith, who was meant to be the series' comic focus, shifted to playing straight man. The writers began beefing up Fife's role and creating episodes that
Fw: Goodbye, Don.
- Original Message - From: Tracey Zoppmailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Tod A. Lawlismailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2006 7:54 AM Subject: Re: Goodbye, Don. Hearing that tune now brings a lump to my throat. It's a sad, sad day. He was the greatest and he will be missed so much. I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to see him in person. He was one of a kind. Tracey (Maudy) Zopp - Original Message - From: Tod A. Lawlismailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.commailto:WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2006 6:54 PM Subject: Goodbye, Don. We shall meet, but we shall miss him There will be one vacant chair We shall linger to caress him While we breathe our evening prayer. Goodbye, Don, and thank you. In sadness for your loss, but with joy for your life and what you¹ve meant to us, Tod ³Baron von Rick-toven² in Korea ___ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
