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How a creative partnership became a lifelong friendship for Don Knotts and Andy Griffith
Barney Fife wasn’t the only thing Don Knotts took from Mayberry!
Romance may get all the attention, but there’s something special about a friendship that stands the test of time. Few friendships in television history are sweeter than that of Don Knotts and Andy Griffith.
Both from the South, Knotts and Griffith found plenty of common ground when they worked together on The Andy Griffith Show.
Knotts recalled their friendship during an interview with the Scripps Howard News Service, including the fact that when the two met, the connection was instant.
"We just hit it off," Knotts said. "We got along real well."
Their friendship wasn’t limited to the television set. It continued long after Knotts left The Andy Griffith Show and even after Griffith left Hollywood.
"He’s moved back to North Carolina now, but he comes out to California about once a year and I get to see him," Knotts said.
The two shared plenty of laughs, but Griffith also valued Knotts’ creative instincts. They weren’t just coworkers; they shared a love of creating and a genuine friendship that extended well beyond the set.
"Sometimes Andy would ask me to write a bit for him and me," Knotts said. "I had always written my own stuff with The Steve Allen Show ... and (had written) a lot of monologues. So I was already somewhat experienced at it."
Mayberry may have been where their friendship began, but it was never where it ended. For Knotts and Griffith, the connection lasted long after the cameras stopped rolling.
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