Laugh Track: Don Knotts

Don Knotts is one of the best known comedians of the past half-century.

As such, it’s impossible to sum up Don Knott’s life in a short article like this, or even in an entire book. His career spanned 50 years and he has had so many roles that are deeply ingrained in people’s memories that each generation will know him for something different. He has acted on stage, in films and in television.

Knotts is best know for his uncanny ability to play goofy but lovable screwups. He had an innocence about him that allowed his characters to get away with doing unbelievably stupid things that no normal person could get away with.

His career dates back to the early 50s, but he got his first big break in 1958 when he starred in the film No Time for Sergeants with Andy Griffith. Two years later, when Griffith was casting his television show, he called Knotts and offered him the role of Barney Fife.

Older readers will know him for his Emmy-winning role on the show. Knotts played the Deputy Sheriff who was constantly screwing up. He was the comedic sidekick to Andy Griffith’s straight man sheriff. He was on the show for five seasons and won three Emmy awards in a row from 1961-63 and two Emmys for guest starring in the last two seasons of the shows. At the end of the fifth season, Knotts left the show to accept a five film deal with Universal Studios.

After he left the show, Knotts starred in a series of successful films, including The Apple Dumpling Gang (which costarred Tim Conway) and The Ghost and Mister Chicken (which was based on an episode of The Andy Griffith Show where Knotts and Opie get trapped in a haunted house).

The Ghost and Mister Chicken was successful at the box office and Knotts continued to star in films throughout the remainder of the decade. He also took a few minor roles, including one as himself in two episodes of The New Scooby Doo Movies. During the show’s brief two season run, the Scooby Gang  met all manner of celebrities, including Johnathan Winters and the Three Stooges.

In 1979 Knotts landed a new role that would introduce him to a new generation of television viewers, that of Ralph Furley on Three’s Company. He again played the screw up character that he was known for. The role was supposed to be a cameo but Knotts was so popular that he was made a series regular and stayed with the show until it ended in 1984.

After that, his career slowed down a bit as he focused on stage acting. Since the mid-80s, he took a few small roles, including on on That 70s Show as a parody of the Ralph Furley character.

He passed away in 2006, but his body of work will continue to influence comedians and actors for decades to come.