Nip It In The Bud

It is easy to forget in noting the quiet passing of an old man whose last major appearance was in an ill-fitting toupee replacing Norman Fell on Three's Company in the late 1970s that Don Knotts was one for the first comedians to make the move from small screen to big screen. A huge star in his time from his perfect pitch in the role of Mayberry lawman Barney Fife, Knotts left the small, black and white town for flicks like The Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Reluctant Astronaut, The Shakiest Gun in the West and the Apple Dumpling Gang. In all them, he played the little man shaking with fear who finds himself in the big situations. They were funny and they made plenty of money: I saw at least two of them at drive-ins, sitting up on the tailgate of the red Chevrolet wagon in the muggy New Jersey night. But none of them topped Barney, one of the great television roles in the history of the medium - cast well and played to precision by Knotts, whose brand of comedy was the moral center for The Andy Griffth Show. Sure, the fake perfection of small-time Southern life in the 60s, devoid of civil rights battles and racial tension, was appealing in its strange way. But it would have all been short-lived pablum without Don Knotts, as the remnants of the show clearly revealed after he left the cast, and in the dreadful (but weirdly compelling in 2006) Mayberry RFD sequel. Andy, Aunt Bee, and Opie were fine and dandy - but Barney made the show a classic. Even today, the bumbling village lawman, rail thin, bug-eyed, with a single bullet in his shirt pocket for emergencies, a loser with visions of grandeur, still appeals. Just pure comedy. Especially today. Oh and this: in a clear sign of the times, his death was announced today by a spokesman for TVLand.

UPDATE: Of course, Joe Gandelman has the quintessential round-up as well as a nice personal story.

Comments

[Kip W]

I have yet to see a mention (I haven't clicked the Gandelman link yet, though) of his "Candid Camera" days, when he was a complete unknown. Knotts would pose as a diner at a lunch counter, or as a jeweler looking at a watch, and waves of nervousness would come off him, and his hands would shake, and there'd be soup or watch parts thick in the atmosphere. We were supposedly there to watch the reactions of people to him, but his act was so much more entertaining.

I bought the DVD of The Incredible Mister Limpet today to show my 4-year-old daughter. I saw it in the theater when I was six, and didn't get all of it, so she's asking a lot of questions, mostly "Why is he a fish?"

[Bill]

Tom, don't forget his turn as the TV repairman who transports Tobey McGuire and Reese Witherspoon into "Pleasantville" (1998). He was good in that film.

[AST]

He started on TV in a recurring bit on Steve Allen's show. It was a man on the street routine. Louis Nye, Tom Poston and Knotts were regulars. Then there was Bill Dana, "My name . . . Jose Jimenez." Knotts' schtick was a highly jittery nervous character which he parlayed into a career. Barney was a classic. He'll last as long as people can view videos.

[Alan Torrise]

"Attaboy, Luther!"

I think that Knotts' film "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" is one of the great comedies of the sixties that has been largely overlooked. He gives an outstanding performance, and the supporting cast is the best of all his movies. For years, my friends and I have used the "Attaboy, Luther!" line aimed at Knotts' character to applaud any boneheaded action.

[Phyllis Sroka]

God Bless Don Knotts. My family watched him faithfully for many years. My mother loved him very much as he was a fellow West Virginian.
The world has lost a giant in the movie industry
as well as television. I considered him as a
family member. He will be greatly missed. Say hi to my mother Betty Sroka Mr. Knotts. We love
you. Jesus loves you. Thanks for the laughter
and tears.

[paul]

there's a great bit in "it's a mad, mad, mad world" with don and phil silvers, both doing their shtick to perfection.

[DKNY]

What, no plugs for the supergreat Dubya: The Movie, starring Don Knotts? http://www.dubyamovie.com

[Rob Anderson]

I watched "The Apple Dumpling Gang" in a drive-in too, and it had the extra appeal of having been produced by my Uncle Bill. And the funniest thing in that movie was without a doubt Don Knotts. Forget Tim Conway; Knotts was hilarious in every scene he was in. It's sad that he's gone, but then we've lost a lot of great folks over the last couple of years.