Don Knotts

Don Knotts

Birth : 1924-07-21, Morgantown, West Virgina, USA

Death : 2006-02-24

History

Don Knotts (July 21, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show and Ralph Furley on Three's Company. Knotts was married three times. His marriage to Kathryn Metz lasted from 1947 until their divorce in 1964, and he raised his daughter as a single parent.  He married Loralee Czuchna in 1974 and they divorced in 1983. His third marriage was to Frances Yarborough, from 2002 until his death in 2006. From his first marriage, Knotts had a son, Thomas Knotts, and a daughter, actress Karen Knotts (born April 2, 1954). Knotts died at age 81 on February 24, 2006, at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from pulmonary and respiratory complications of pneumonia related to lung cancer. CLR

Profile

Don Knotts

Movies

Don Knotts: Tied Up with Laughter
Himself
The beloved, Emmy-winning comic actor Don Knotts, best-known for his roles as the bumbling deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show and the lecherous landlord Mr. Furley on Three's Company, presents a series of side-splitting stand-up routines and skits in rare performances from the 1960s-1970s. A master at playing nervous and neurotic characters, Knotts is also able to milk major laughs with his portrayals of romantically-challenged underdogs possessing oversized egos. In this special comedy collection, he is joined by singer-actress Joey Heatherton, actress Jane Powell, former Dallas Cowboys player Lance Rentzel, comic Jack Burns, Knott's Love God movie co-star Maureen Arthur and the legendary Jimmy Durante.
Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn
Himself (Archive footage)
The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, loves and excess was largely played out in front of the camera - either making movies or filling the newsreels and gossip magazines. Tragically he was dead from the effects of drugs and alcohol by the time he was only 50 & the myths live on. But there is another side of Flynn that is less well known - his ambitions to be a serious writer and newspaper correspondent, his documentary films and his interest in the Spanish Civil War and Castro's Cuba
Hermie & Friends: Buzby and the Grumble Bees
Wormie (voice)
The garden bugs secretly agree to help Buzby show his misbehaving niece and nephew how unpleasant life would be if everyone misbehaved the way they do. After a few encounters with misbehaving bugs-seeing how dangerous, gross, and uncomfortable things can become when no one cleans up after themselves, uses good table manners, or gets enough sleep- Beebee and Buddy decide to practice good behavior.
Air Buddies
Sniffer (voice)
Five puppies are shocked to find out that their parents, Buddy and Molly, have been abducted and face obstacles while trying to rescue them.
Hermie & Friends: Hermie and Wormie's Nutty Adventure
Wormie
The garden literally goes "nuts" when a shortage of nuts causes panic, especially with the Garden Talent Show & Tell starting tomorrow. And wouldn't you know it--everyone's talent involves a nut. With only one nut left in the entire garden, friends turn into enemies as it's a mad dash to see who grabs the last, elusive nut. To remain friends and to save the show, the bugs must learn to share.
Hermie & Friends: Stanley the Stinkbug Goes to Camp
Wormie (voice)
There's someone new coming to the garden's Summer Camp this year, and, well he has a problem. He stinks. But that's what stinkbug do. So, when Stanley arrives at Camp-Bug-a-Boo he creates quite a…well, stink. Everyone tries their best to put up with the unusual odor, but things don't go so well. But then God helps the summer camp to realize that the reason Stanley stinks is because he is afraid. And the thing he is most afraid of is others not liking him and accepting him the way he is. Our garden friends soon learn that God created each of us for very special reasons and that, even though Stanley is different, they need to show him love and be his friend.
Chicken Little
Mayor Turkey Lurkey (voice)
When the sky really is falling and sanity has flown the coop, who will rise to save the day? Together with his hysterical band of misfit friends, Chicken Little must hatch a plan to save the planet from alien invasion and prove that the world's biggest hero is a little chicken.
Hermie & Friends: A Fruitcake Christmas
Wormie
It's Christmastime in the garden and Hermie and his friends are hustling and bustling to prepare for the big day. But more than anything they all eagerly anticipate the crowning moment of the holiday season: the arrival of Grannypillar's scrumptious fruitcake. Suddenly, Christmas is hijacked when Iggy and Ziggy Cockroach - the greediest bugs in the garden - steal Grannypillar's fruitcake. How will Christmas survive!? But deep in the hearts of the youngest of hearts, the true meaning of Christmas shines through. Hailey and Bailey, through an act of unheard of generosity, together remind the garden that the celebration of Christmas is nothing about fruitcake, but about God's gift to us.
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
Self (archive footage)
A documentary about the life of Errol Flynn, with recollections from friends and family.
Hermie & Friends: Buzby, the Misbehaving Bee
Wormie
In this animated adventure, Buzby the misbehaving bee is kicked out of the hive for his troublemaking and now he has made the garden his new home. His behavior is no less bothersome there, however, and when Buzby neglects to follow the Garden Golden Rules, it comes time for him to learn about why it is best to follow God's rules about kindness.
Hermie & Friends: Webster the Scaredy Spider
Wormie
A frightened little spider named Webster ventures into the garden. He's a walking encyclopedia of fears and phobias, shocked when the other denizens of the garden seem even more afraid of him than he is of them. His primary coping mechanism consists of praying to God for the courage to fact life in this Christian animated film aimed at young children.
Hermie & Friends: Flo the Lyin' Fly
Wormie (voice)
Stingo, Lingo, Bingo and Zingo are from Riverpool and they are on their way to perform. Flo is not happy. Her friends encourage her and try to teach her to be truthful.
Hermie a Common Caterpillar
Wormie
So what's so bad about being a common caterpillar? Just ask Hermie-or his friend, Wormie-and they'll tell you. No splashy stripes. No stand-out spots. Not even a cool house like the snail or super-strength like the ant. Compared to the rest of God's beautiful creation, they just feel ordinary. Unimportant. A little out of place. But God sees past their plainness, and plans an incredible surprise to show them just how special they are.Featuring the voices of Tim Conway as Hermie and Don Knotts as Wormie, these caterpillars encounter a host of delightful characters and quickly wriggle their way into the hearts of young and old alike. But as the animation engages young minds, the truth of God's purpose and plan for His people touches their souls. It's a message of hope you'll want your kids to hear, and a fun-filled adventure that will keep them crawling back for more.
The 1st 13th Annual Fancy Anvil Awards Show Program Special: Live in Stereo
Himself
Cartoon Network holds an awards show awarding cartoon excellence.
Tom Sawyer
Mutt Potter (voice)
Get ready for a magical, fun-filled journey of adventure, fantasy and friendship! Tom Sawyer and his best buddy Huck Finn love going fishing, daydreaming about pirates and stolen gold, and thinking about Becky Thatcher - the pretty new girl at school. But when these pals set out on a quest for buried treasure, they end up face to face with the town's most "grizzly" bear, Injurin' Joe. Giving Joe the slip, they find themselves in the middle of a fantastic adventure that takes them from the mighty Mississippi to the mysterious caverns of a secret hideout where they discover fun, excitement... and a fortune beyond their wildest dreams! Featuring the voices of Don Knotts, Betty White, and country music superstars Rhett Akins, Mark Wills, Lee Ann Womack, Hank Williams Jr. and more, Tom Sawyer is an enchanting, music-filled family adventure.
Jingle Bells
Kris (voice)
A family with very little money worries about not being able to buy presents for each other, until they receive a little inspiration from a Christmas legend.
Pleasantville
TV Repairman
Geeky teenager David and his popular twin sister, Jennifer, get sucked into the black-and-white world of a 1950s TV sitcom called "Pleasantville," and find a world where everything is peachy keen all the time. But when Jennifer's modern attitude disrupts Pleasantville's peaceful but boring routine, she literally brings color into its life.
Cats Don't Dance
T.W. Turtle (voice)
Danny, an ambitious singing and dancing cat, goes to Hollywood and overcomes several obstacles to fulfill his dream of becoming a movie star.
Big Bully
Principal Kokelar
A writer returns to his hometown where he faces the childhood nemesis whose life he ultimately ruined, only the bully wants to relive their painful past by torturing him once again.
Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas
Titus (voice)
This is the story about an ordinary someone, much like you or me, who is called upon to accomplish a very important task. Little Timmy the Angel is given the greatest honor in all of Heaven to deliver the jeweled crown to the newborn Prince. But he s sure they ve made a mistake. He s much too little for such a long journey. And who knows what frightful things lie ahead...
The Little Troll Prince
A little troll prince escapes his kingdom, perched atop a tall mountain in Norway, for the human world, where a family teaches him the true meaning of Christmas.
Return to Mayberry
Barney Fife
After being away for awhile, Andy Taylor returns home to Mayberry to visit Opie, now an expectant father. While there he ends up helping Barney Fife mount a campaign for sheriff.
Cannonball Run II
CHP #2
When a wealthy sheikh puts up $1 million in prize money for a cross-country car race, there is one person crazy enough to hit the road hard with wheels spinning fast. Legendary driver J.J McClure enters the competition along with his friend Victor and together they set off across the American landscape in a madcap action-adventure destined to test their wits and automobile skills.
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Self (archive footage)
A collection of bloopers and outtakes from an enormous selection of Hollywood classic productions spanning from the 1930s through the 1980s.
The Private Eyes
Inspector Winship
The lord and lady of a capacious manor are killed, and the lord's ghost seems to have returned to knock off the staff one by one, causing Inspector Winship and Dr. Tart to investigate the wacky house and its inhabitants.
The Prize Fighter
Shake
"Bags" the boxer (funnyman Tim Conway) and his manager, Shake (Don Knotts), are quite a pair: One is a dim bulb, and the other has a mean streak. Times are tough and they must save their gym, so they line up some moneymaking fights. But when Bags and Shake discover that the bouts have been rigged, they end up with their backs to the wall and must fight back -- literally.
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
Theodore
Amos and Theodore, the two bumbling outlaw wannabes from The Apple Dumpling Gang, are back and trying to make it on their own. This time, the crazy duo gets involved in an army supply theft case -- and, of course, gets in lots of comic trouble along the way!
The Muppets Go Hollywood
Self
Kermit the Frog throws a glamorous party at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub to celebrate the premiere of the Muppets' first feature film, The Muppet Movie. Hosts Dick van Dyke and Rita Moreno interview the wide array of celebrities and Muppets who attend the event. Gary Owens serves as off-camera announcer, and appears on-screen to introduce Miss Piggy.
Hot Lead & Cold Feet
Denver Kid
Twin brothers -- one rough and tough, the other a city-bred milquetoast -- compete for their father's fortune.
Mule Feathers
Narrator / The Mule (voice)
A drifter con artist, impersonating a parson, arrives in a small Wild West town with his mule and becomes embroiled in the lives of several townsfolk.
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
Wheely Applegate
Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own, is racing in the Monte Carlo Rally. But thieves have hidden a cache of stolen diamonds in Herbie's gas tank, and are now trying to get them back.
Gus
Coach Venner
The California Atoms are in last place with no hope of moving up. But by switching the mule from team mascot to team member, (He can kick 100 yard field goals!) they start winning, and move up in the rankings, Hurrah! The competition isn't so happy.
Joys
Self
Over fifty of the greatest living comedians are called to a party at Bob Hope's house, where each of them is systematically killed (and their bodies thrown in Hope's pool!). Hope and the rapidly shrinking cast try to discover who is the mysterious killer known only as "Joys."
No Deposit, No Return
Bert Delaney
Two rich children devise a way to escape their grandfather and visit their mother. Unfortunately for two hapless safe crackers, they become part of the plan.
The Apple Dumpling Gang
Theodore Ogelvie
A roving bachelor gets saddled with three children and a wealth of trouble when the youngsters stumble upon a huge gold nugget. They join forces with two bumbling outlaws to fend off the greedy townspeople and soon find themselves facing a surly gang of sharpshooters.
I Love a Mystery
Alexander Archer
Three insurance investigators search for a mysterious billionaire. Based on the Old Time Radio show of the same name.
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Dr. Bradley
Lecturer and broadcaster Sheridan Whiteside has been invited to dinner at the home of a pompous small-town bigwig. But he stays rather longer than anyone expects.
How to Frame a Figg
Story
Don Knotts is Hollis Figg, the dumbest bookkeeper in town. When the city fathers buy a second-hand computer to cover up their financial shenanigans, they promote Figg to look after things, knowing he'll never catch on. Their plan backfires when Figg becomes self-important and accidentally discovers their plot.
How to Frame a Figg
Hollis Alexander Figg
Don Knotts is Hollis Figg, the dumbest bookkeeper in town. When the city fathers buy a second-hand computer to cover up their financial shenanigans, they promote Figg to look after things, knowing he'll never catch on. Their plan backfires when Figg becomes self-important and accidentally discovers their plot.
The Love God?
Abner Audubon Peacock IV
Ornithologist Abner Peacock sells off his modest-selling birdwatching periodical to a charlatan who turns it into a girlie mag, making it a massive financial success. After Peacock and the magazine are taken to court on obscenity charges, he unwillingly becomes a reluctant hero and ends up a swinging libertine.
The Shakiest Gun in the West
Dr. Jesse W. Heywood
Jesse W. Haywood (Don Knotts) graduates from dental school in Philadelphia in 1870 and goes west to become a frontier dentist. Penelope "Bad Penny" Cushing (Barbara Rhoades) is offered a pardon if she will track down a ring of gun smugglers. She tricks Haywood into a sham marriage as a disguise. Haywood inadvertently becomes the legendary "Doc the Haywood" after he guns down "Arnold the Kid".
Rowan & Martin At the Movies
Self
This public service short for U.S. Savings Bonds starts out with Rowan and Martin arriving at a TV studio, ostensibly to host a show. It turns out that trumpet player Herb Alpert is the only other performer listed in the credits who is actually there in person. The others appear in clips, some from their own U.S. Savings Bonds spots, others from unidentified movie or TV appearances. Singer Barbara McNair is shown entertaining U.S. troops in Viet Nam, and the youth group The Young Americans also sings.
The Reluctant Astronaut
Roy Fleming
Don Knotts is Roy Fleming, a small town kiddie-ride operator who is deathly afraid of heights. After learning that his father has signed him up for the space program, Roy reluctantly heads for Houston, only to find out upon arriving that his job is a janitor, not an astronaut. Anxious to live up to the expectations of his domineering father, Roy manages to keep up a facade of being an astronaut to his family and friends. When NASA decides to launch a lay person into space to prove the worthiness of a new automated spacecraft, Roy gets the chance to confront his fears.
The Ghost & Mr. Chicken
Luther Heggs
Luther Heggs, a typesetter for the town newspaper, pitches an idea for a story about a local haunted house where a famous murder/suicide occurred 20 years earlier. After the editor assigns Luther to spend one night alone in the mansion, Heggs has a number of supernatural encounters and writes a front page story that makes him a hometown hero...until the nephew of the deceased sues him for libel.
The Incredible Mr. Limpet
Henry Limpet
Milquetoast Henry Limpet experiences his fondest wish and is transformed into a fish. As a talking fish he assists the US Navy in hunting German submarines during World War II.
Move Over, Darling
Shoe Clerk
Three years into their loving marriage, with two infant daughters at home in Los Angeles, Nicholas Arden and Ellen Wagstaff Arden are on a plane that goes down in the South Pacific. Although most passengers manage to survive the incident, Ellen presumably perishes when swept off her lifeboat, her body never recovered. Fast forward five years. Nicholas, wanting to move on with his life, has Ellen declared legally dead. Part of that moving on includes getting remarried, this time to a young woman named Bianca Steele, who, for their honeymoon, he plans to take to the same Monterrey resort where he and Ellen spent their honeymoon. On that very same day, Ellen is dropped off in Los Angeles by the Navy, who rescued her from the South Pacific island where she was stranded for the past five years. She asks the Navy not to publicize her rescue nor notify Nicholas as she wants to do so herself.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Nervous Motorist
A group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim the prize for himself.
The Last Time I Saw Archie
Capt. Harry Little
Two Air Force friends have fun during their enlistment.
Wake Me When It's Over
Sgt. Percy Warren
The war may be over, but that doesn't keep the hapless Gus Brubaker from being drafted and posted on a forgotten little Japanese Island...and that's just the beginning of this wacky Air Force adventure!
No Time for Sergeants
Cpl. John C. Brown
Georgia farm boy Will Stockdale is about to bust with pride. He’s been drafted. Will’s ready. But is Uncle Sam ready for Will? In No Time for Sergeants, Andy Griffith is certifiably funny in the role that clinched his stardom. Wearing a friendly, wide grin, he ambles into the U.S. Air Force – and lots of folks’ll never be the same.