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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Goodnight Deputy

Discussion in 'Archive: Santa Cruz, CA' started by GreyJediPathfinder, Feb 25, 2006.

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  1. GreyJediPathfinder

    GreyJediPathfinder Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Dec 10, 2005
    Goodnight Barney Fife...... I'll lock up the station after you.

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    Don Knotts, the skinny, lovable nerd who kept generations of television audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show," has died. He was 81.

    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."

    Unspecified health problems had forced him to cancel an appearance in his native Morgantown in August 2005.

    The West Virginia-born actor's half-century career included seven TV series and more than 25 films, but it was the Griffith show that brought him TV immortality and five Emmies.

    The show ran from 1960-68, and was in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings each season, including a No. 1 ranking its final year. It is one of only three series in TV history to bow out at the top: The others are "I Love Lucy" and "Seinfeld." The 249 episodes have appeared frequently in reruns and have spawned a large, active network of fan clubs.

    As the bug-eyed deputy to Griffith, Knotts carried in his shirt pocket the one bullet he was allowed after shooting himself in the foot. The constant fumbling, a recurring sight gag, was typical of his self-deprecating humor.

    Knotts, whose shy, soft-spoken manner was unlike his high-strung characters, once said he was most proud of the Fife character and doesn't mind being remembered that way.

    His favorite episodes, he said, were "The Pickle Story," where Aunt Bea makes pickles no one can eat, and "Barney and the Choir," where no one can stop him from singing.

    "I can't sing. It makes me sad that I can't sing or dance well enough to be in a musical, but I'm just not talented in that way," he lamented. "It's one of my weaknesses."
     
  2. Master--Kenobi

    Master--Kenobi Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 8, 2003
    This is one of those people that you never ever thought we would lose.

    I had the pleasure of working closely with Don on Matlock during it's run. He was as extremely sweet, very kind, and then at times, "Barney" would come through and he would have you on the floor laughing hysterically.

    The closeness between him and Andy Griffith was one of those rare friendships that made you envious. I'm sure Andy is devistated beyond words right now.

    And, Barney, after Shan locks up, I'll make sure the keys are hanging on the wall. And, I'll make sure your one bullet is kept safe.

    Goodnight and sleep well.

    As for me, I'm going to go sit in the cell, hold on to your hat and holster and just cry for a while.
     
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