Don Knotts Passed Away

Jesse Donald "Don" Knotts passed away Friday night at the age of 81. Best known as the skinny, lovable nerd who kept generations of television audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife from the 1960's The Andy Griffith Show, Don was a character actor like no other before, capitalizing on his own brand of self-deprecating humor.

In animation work, Don was everywhere. He appeared twice in The New Scooby-Doo Movies, in both Guess Who's Knott Coming To Dinner and The Spooky Fog. He voiced T.W. Turtle in Turners' Cats Don't Dance, and Gee Wilikers in Filmations' Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night. At Disney, Mr. Knott lent his voice to Mayor Turkey Lurkey in Chicken Little and the Dogcatcher in Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure.

But in animation, Don was best remembered for his role as the title character in The Incredible Mr. Limpet. Knotts played a meek clerk who turns into a fish after he is rejected by the Navy.

Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, said Paul Ward, a spokesman for the cable network TV Land, which airs "The Andy Griffith Show," and another Knotts hit, "Three's Company."

Knotts final appearance was his voice work on Chicken Little.

Very sad indeed. I just spotted the news on the AP wire.

Don was born in Morgantown, West Virginia. Unspecified health problems had forced him to cancel an appearance in his home town last August.


Don had the title role in Pilot # 1 of Jay Ward Productions' Super Chicken. The soundtrack was recorded in 1960, but it was never animated; the series finally debuted in 1967 with Bill Scott in the title role.

The Beekeeper, a 1974 episode of Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, featured Knotts as himself. That year, the Hanna-Barbera studios syndicated special The Little Troll Prince had Knotts as Professor Nidaros.

Rick Reinert Pictures' Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas Story aired as an NBC special in 1991. Timmy, a young and somewhat inexperienced angel, is given the important job of delivering a jeweled crown to the newborn Jesus. But he's sure that they've made a mistake. Knotts portrayed Titus.

Don was in the all-star cast of Turner Entertainment's The Little Troll Prince- A Christmas Parable (1995). In the Troll world, everything is backwards, good is bad, bad is good, and no word for love exists. The once-frozen heart of the Little Troll Prince melts into joy upon receiving the greatest Christmas gift of all: God's love.

In 1997, he co-starred with Jason Alexander and Shelley Long in Jingle Bells, released by Family Home Entertainment. As the holiday season draws near on a small farm, Beth, Tommy and their parents all begin to worry because they don't have enough money to buy each other presents. With a little Christmas magic, an unforgettable sleigh ride and some help from Santa Claus, the whole family realizes that the best gifts don't come from the store -- they come from the heart. Knotts portrayed Kris the Horse.

Tom Sawyer, a 2000 direct-to-video production by MGM and Stone Canyon Entertainment, was an all-animal adaption of the classic Twain tale. Don was "Mutt Potter."

Don also portrayed Wormie in the animated TV series Hermie & Friends.


"Well, I guess to sum it up, you could say, there's three reasons why there's so little crime in Mayberry. There's Andy, and there's me, and [patting gun] baby makes three." -- Don Knotts as Deputy Barney Fife