Don Knotts

Don Knotts married his college sweetheart, Kathryn Metz, in 1947 and had a son, Thomas Knotts and a daughter, actress Karen Knotts. His first marriage ended in 1964 with a divorce and he married his second wife, Loralee Czuchna in 1974. He divorced Loralee in 1983 and married Frances Yarborough in 2002.

Knotts suffered from severe hypochondria and also had a degenerative eye disease called macular degeneration. During his later years he also suffered from cancer.

He died at the age of 81 on February 24, 2006 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. The primary reason of death was the complications arising from pneumonia related to lung cancer.

Don Knotts was born on July 21, 1924 as Jesse Donald Knotts in Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S. His father, William Knotts was a farmer and his mother, Elsie Luzetta Knotts ran a boarding house in Morgantown. Don had three elder brothers.

His father was an alcoholic and suffered from schizophrenia. He sometimes terrorized little Don with a knife. Due to such incidents, Don became quite reclusive at a very young age. However, he loved to perform and took active part in school and church functions.

Knotts completed his graduation from Morgantown High School and was soon enlisted in the Army. He served in World War II following which he completed his bachelor’s degree in education in 1948 from West Virginia University with minor in speech.

Don Knotts got his major break on television with ‘Search for Tomorrow’ which ran from 1953 to 1955. It was the only non-comedic role of his career.

He regularly appeared as himself in ‘The Steve Allen Show’ (1956-1960) and debuted in films with ‘No Time for Sergeants’ in 1958 as Cpl. John C. Brown. He also starred in ‘Wake Me When It’s Over’ (1960) and ‘The Last Time I Saw Archie’ (1961).

His commercial breakthrough came in 1960 with the sitcom ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ (1960-1968) where he played Barney Fife. The performance made him a household name and also earned him five Emmy Awards. Around this time he also signed a five-film deal with Universal Studios.

‘The Incredible Mr. Limpet’ was his first film in a leading role which released in 1964. ‘The Ghost and Mr. Chicken’ (1966), ‘The Reluctant Astronaut’ (1967) and ‘The Shakiest Gun in the West’ (1968) also gave him a lot of recognition in the film industry although these were low-budget movies.

Don Knotts also appeared in the films ‘The Love God?’ (1969) and ‘How to Frame a Figg’ (1971). It was ‘How to Frame a Figg’ with which his five-film deal with Universal Studios came to an end.

Don Knotts is best known for his role as Barney Fife in the television series ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ (1960 -1968) for which he received widespread recognition and multiple awards. His role in his debut movie ‘No Time for Sergeants’ in 1958 was also critically acclaimed.

‘Three’s Company’ in 1979 was his second most popular television show and he played the character of a wacky-but-lovable landlord, Ralph Furley in the show. He received various award nominations for his performance in the show.