Stories

Don Knotts revealed that one of the best bits of ''The Ghost and Mr. Chicken'' was actually created by Andy Griffith The Andy Griffith Show was more than just a television series. April 23, 2024, 11:52AM
Andy Griffith Show memories led Don Knotts to ''The Ghost and Mr. Chicken'' Here's how the iconic show informed the hit movie! April 19, 2024, 1:10PM
The last-ditch effort to save The Don Knotts Show A behind-the-scenes look at the ill-fated show's decline April 17, 2024, 11:58AM
Don Knotts' son reveals the most intense phase of his father's career 1970 was a rough year! April 17, 2024, 3:37PM
Don Knotts' insight into humor's ever-changing landscape "Comedians are in a tough position now" April 25, 2024, 2:51PM
Don Knotts' ''The Incredible Mr. Limpet'' was almost remade with Jim Carrey in the lead role Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles, was signed on, too! April 5, 2024, 11:21AM
Don Knotts: ''there'll be some Barney Fife'' in Matlock character Les Calhoun Andy Griffith stacked the cards in his favor by casting his friend. April 1, 2024, 9:39AM
Don Knotts: "If I had known that Andy intended to go on with [The Andy Griffith Show], of course I would've stayed." Knotts might have been prepared to be Barney Fife forever. March 29, 2024, 1:07PM
Despite his talent for comedy, it was always Don Knotts' dream to play a serious character "I doubt that I'll ever get that chance." March 25, 2024, 9:55AM
The real reason why Don Knotts wasn't in the pilot episode of The Andy Griffith Show Simply put, there wasn't a Barney, yet. March 19, 2024, 11:07AM
A Florida town once made Don Knotts an honorary deputy While making an appearance to promote his film, Knotts was given the award of a lifetime. March 22, 2024, 1:48PM
Don Knotts was always willing to play Barney Fife again, if Andy Griffith asked Knotts couldn't say no to Griffith. March 18, 2024, 9:54AM
Don Knotts wanted to be an actor first, and then comedy followed He loved movies first, and comedy second. March 15, 2024, 11:23AM
Don Knotts said that the cast of ''The Andy Griffith Show'' was ''terrified'' when the series hit number one in the ratings Why the triumph had Knotts and the cast shaking in their boots. March 7, 2024, 11:44AM
Don Knotts revealed why he actually preferred being the second banana to a television star Knotts explained why there was some value in being the sidekick. March 6, 2024, 1:55PM
Don Knotts dated a star from Little House on the Prairie. Here's why it didn't work out Can you guess which actress it was? March 6, 2024, 9:27AM
Don Knotts' financial feud with Andy Griffith: The real reason Barney left Mayberry? Why did Knotts leave for Hollywood? February 22, 2024, 10:30AM
Ron Howard and Betty Lynn cried when Don Knotts left Mayberry Tears flowed when the actor left the show. February 22, 2024, 8:54AM
Andy Griffith coached his cast to speak with a North Carolina accent Some of the actors were quicker to pick up on the drawl than others. February 14, 2024, 9:09AM
Don Knotts admitted that he preferred ''The Andy Griffith Show'' to ''Three's Company'' Knotts would take Barney Fife over anyone, any day. February 13, 2024, 3:38PM
About that time Don Knotts was ''Man of the Year'' at a college fraternity We already knew Don Knotts was the man, but his former frat gave him the title of "Man of the Year." February 14, 2024, 3:05PM
Ron Howard on ''The Andy Griffith Show'': ''For Andy, the show was never the same after Don left'' Griffith was losing a friend and a partner in comedy. February 6, 2024, 9:21AM
Don Knotts asked Tina Louise of ''Gilligan's Island'' out once a week for an entire year The Andy Griffith Show/Gilligan's Island crossover we never knew we needed. January 29, 2024, 3:39PM
Betty Lynn was told Thelma Lou was replaceable Don Knotts said that they wouldn't have let her go, but Betty Lynn wasn't so sure. January 17, 2024, 11:16AM
Don Knotts once embarrassed his daughter at college by driving to campus in a Mayberry squad car Imagine: A cop crashes your college party, but that cop is Barney Fife. January 8, 2024, 2:23PM
A 2006 tribute to Don Knotts ended in controversy A statue built to commemorate Barney Fife resulted in a PR disaster. January 5, 2024, 10:40AM
Betty Lynn remembered her first time playing Thelma Lou with Don Knotts Knotts would read Lynn his poetry. January 3, 2024, 4:18PM
Don Knotts would make Andy Griffith laugh so hard he'd punch walls Knotts had Griffith in stitches. January 3, 2024, 2:36PM
Don Knotts would write poetry in his time away from The Andy Griffith Show Knotts was a silly comedian who wrote some serious poetry after his time in Mayberry. January 2, 2024, 3:14PM
Don Knotts said TV was ''like being in a big tomb'' Being deputy of Mayberry was no easy feat! December 6, 2023, 11:18AM
Here's how Don Knotts dealt with critics NBC executives wanted to ruin The Don Knotts Show. November 17, 2023, 3:23PM
Don Knotts always thought of Barney as a kid "You can always look into the faces of kids and see what they're thinking." November 8, 2023, 4:14PM
After Don Knotts left ''The Andy Griffith Show,'' Betty Lynn was offered another storyline — but she wouldn't take it After Knotts left the show, Lynn decided it was time to leave Mayberry. October 24, 2023, 3:34PM
Do you remember when Don Knotts guest-starred on Matlock? From Mayberry to Matlock, Knotts could do it all. October 23, 2023, 2:51PM
Don Knotts understood what made The Andy Griffith Show special Mayberry just wasn't like other TV towns. October 23, 2023, 11:20AM
The story of the Don Knotts Film Festival Which Knotts movies would you pick to show? October 23, 2023, 10:50AM
Don Knotts didn't want anyone thinking Barney Fife was ''nervous'' Barney Fife was no "nervous man." October 16, 2023, 10:15AM
Jim Nabors' comedy chops made him the envy of his co-stars Gomer was so funny that Andy and Don were secretly jealous October 4, 2023, 11:11AM
Don Knotts was a skilled ventriloquist Ol' Barney was no dummy! September 27, 2023, 11:03AM
Don Knotts was almost in Disney's Haunted Mansion (2003) The star of The Ghost and Mr. Chicken was nearly the mansion's groundskeeper. September 19, 2023, 10:17AM
Andy Griffith was a fan of Don Knotts years before they met ''I knew I recognized that voice!'' August 29, 2023, 4:27PM
How long was Barney Fife the Deputy of Mayberry? Conspiracy Corner: They're hiding something from us. July 26, 2023, 11:02AM
''The Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Jim Nabors Show,'' the story of the one-off reunion in '65 Griffith, and Nabors, and Knotts. Oh my! July 5, 2023, 4:45PM
Don Knotts had his family in stitches until the very end When he was around his loved ones, Knotts was even funnier than Barney Fife. May 31, 2023, 3:32PM
Don Knotts was a nervous wreck when The Ghost and Mr. Chicken premiered Leaving the safety of a regular TV show for the silver screen was a gamble, and Knotts was well aware of the risk. May 10, 2023, 3:11PM
How similar were Don Knotts and his character Barney Fife? The blurry line where actor stops and character starts. April 26, 2023, 3:49PM
Maggie Peterson worked with Andy Griffith and Don Knotts outside her TAGS character In 1969, Maggie Peterson worked with The Andy Griffith Show stars again, but this time in movies. March 28, 2023, 11:53AM
Don Knotts said television was ''in a rut'' in the late 1960s After he left the industry to pursue motion pictures, Knotts saw a big change in television. March 17, 2023, 2:11PM
Don Knotts never thought The Andy Griffith Show would go beyond five seasons ''Then Andy suddenly said he was going to stay on another two or three years. I never expected it to go on.'' January 30, 2023, 3:21PM
Andy Griffith and Don Knotts had the friendship everyone wanted Griffith only had a few, but very meaningful words to say about his friend, Don Knotts. January 3, 2023, 1:25PM
Don Knotts found the inspiration for his comedic persona at an awkward 1950s dinner banquet How a "violently and hilariously nervous" speaker brought Knotts back to being a funnyman. May 10, 2021, 11:37AM
Even celebrities couldn't resist doing impressions of Barney Fife Guess which TV stars grew up doing Barney Fife impressions. Hint: One was later his costar. May 10, 2021, 8:52AM
Don Knotts lived the story at the heart of ''Opie's Hobo Friend'' As a boy, Knotts befriended passers-through at his mother's boarding house. March 3, 2021, 9:04AM
Here's a toast to Barney Fife's forgotten love Hilda Mae The delightful Florence MacMichael had a "wonderful humility," just like her Mayberry character. February 12, 2021, 9:18AM
You never saw Barney Fife faint for a reason Don Knotts had a real problem feeling faint in big life moments. January 22, 2021, 8:54AM
This Christmas, thank Santa Claus for believing in Don Knotts The Jolly Old Elf encouraged Knotts to pursue his showbiz career. Knotts: "Don't tell me there's no Santa Claus!" December 10, 2020, 9:33AM
Don Knotts laughed so hard in this Andy Griffith Show scene, it had to be reshot 20 times Even a comedy pro couldn't help but to crack up and ruin the scene over and over again. November 30, 2020, 1:50PM
Andy Griffith once teased Don Knotts for not being a ''tough dad'' Don's daughter Karen tells a hilarious story about Andy's parenting advice behind the scenes of The Andy Griffith Show. November 24, 2020, 8:58AM
Don Knotts perfected the comedic art of being scared "People seem to enjoy the idea of seeing me get scared." October 26, 2020, 8:46AM
This is the nearly superhuman singer who secretly sang while Barney Fife lip-synched He famously became the voice of both God and Mayberry's deputy. May 11, 2020, 11:25AM
The woman who played Barney Fife's mom owned more of Mayberry than you realize Lillian Culver has deep ties to television production history. May 8, 2020, 2:39PM
Don Knotts confirmed this was one of the funniest sight gags he ever saw on The Andy Griffith Show Don Knotts never found out what happened to Barney's memorable motorcycle. December 12, 2019, 1:11PM
Barney Fife is the only character with two musical themes on The Andy Griffith Show The Andy Griffith Show is the best dubbed show in TV history, period. November 7, 2019, 9:43AM
Don Knotts was a go-kart spokesman while working on The Andy Griffith Show Watch him zip around the racetrack! October 29, 2019, 4:19PM
There's a surprising link between Green Acres' Eb Dawson and The Andy Griffith Show's Barney Fife Don Knotts inspired Tom Lester's Hollywood career. July 30, 2019, 11:29AM
Barney Fife recently helped solve a real crime in Indiana The victim's defense cited this classic episode of The Andy Griffith Show. June 21, 2019, 10:01AM
The secret of Don Knotts' most comedic performances on The Andy Griffith Show Navigating the "fragile" nature of Don Knotts. May 22, 2019, 3:45PM
Don Knotts once explained how Tim Conway turned Mayberry's biggest goof into a ''straight man'' "Where Andy pulled back for me, I had to pull back for Tim." May 15, 2019, 4:01PM
Don Knotts was just as funny in advertisements as he was on The Andy Griffith Show His slapstick comedy helped sell hardware, hot dogs and Atari. May 6, 2019, 1:36PM
Like a true partner, Andy Griffith was the last friend to visit Don Knotts before he passed away The actors evolved their instant connection into a lifelong friendship. March 8, 2019, 11:11AM
Don Knotts once explained why The Don Knotts Show just didn't work Andy stopped by, as did Florence Henderson, Chuck Connors and more. March 7, 2019, 1:57PM
This forgotten 1965 TV special explained why Andy Taylor chose Barney Fife as his deputy "You're courageous. You're conscientious. You're trustworthy." February 28, 2019, 3:15PM
Scooby Doo once spoofed The Andy Griffith Show with the help of Don Knotts The Mystery Machine met Dandy Griffith in Juneberry. January 21, 2019, 10:34AM
Barney's bloodhound Blue was the hardest working actor on The Andy Griffith Show Pluto the dog appeared on a bunch of classic shows. October 26, 2018, 11:30AM