Don Knotts said that this secret was ''the only way to survive in show business.''

He foresaw the work that a long career would necessitate!

November 6, 2024, 10:45AM By MeTV Staff

CBS Television Distribution

Longevity in any career is a rarity. Gone are the days of 40 years at the same firm, followed by a watch, a pension, and retirement. While anybody would be grateful to do the same thing for their entire professional life, the reality is that everything in the workforce seems constantly in flux. That's true of any sector, but particularly in entertainment.

There are many common misconceptions about actors and the money they make. Because our society values fame, that exposure is often conflated with wealth. However, some of the most-seen faces on TV have struggled to stay ahead of the financial curve. The agents, managers, and taxmen all taking a cut make it so that even a famous sitcom star has to fight to make ends-meet.

Don Knotts will forever be associated with his role as Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show. That show was so incredibly popular that one might assume it was instantly a financial windfall for all involved. However, as Knotts explains in his 1999 memoir, Barney Fife and Other Characters I Have Known, Mayberry money just didn't stretch far enough.

"It wasn't long before we settled into a comfortable run, and [The Andy Griffith Show] was just plain fun to do. The only fly in the ointment for me was the money," Knotts wrote.

Despite the show's success, and his newfound recognizability, Knotts knew it "wouldn't last forever."

"As a consequence, I was on the backstage pay phone quite a lot. Some of the actors would tease me. 'Hey, why the hustle?' they would say. 'Relax. You're in a hit.' But looking ahead had already become my modus operandi. It's the only way to survive in show business."

This forward-thinking approach eventually led Knotts to a series of successful movies after his character left Mayberry. Compared to Andy Griffith, Knotts was better able to transition to new opportunities quickly and found a second career on the big screen.