There are people without whom the world just doesn't seem right. Don Knotts is or was one of them. He passed away Friday night of, well let's face it, old age. The official line is that he died of pulmonary and respiratory complications at Cedars-Sini Medical Center in Beverly Hills. He was 81, though I'd have guessed 90. Not just for how he looked, but because of how long it seems that he's been a part of all of our lives.
Don became really famous as the lovable, bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on the still beloved, and still popular "Andy Griffith Show" back in 1960. For all the great talent on the show with him, it was Knotts who really made it special. He would be identified as Barney Fife for the rest of his life, though he spent only five years playing the character.
That's not to say being Barney held him back. Unlike some actors who might have been forever unemployed and typecast, Don Knotts worked like mad. He followed up Andy Griffith with a hugely successful film career and became a Disney staple in movies like The Apple Dumpling Gang, and the Herbie movies. He even found a second life on television, where he took on another iconic sitcom as Mr. Furley in "Three's A Company".
In the end though, it's just hard to believe he's not around anymore. Knotts is without a doubt one of the most endearing, and beloved figures in the history of Hollywood. He was unarguably a comedic genius, and a true original. The last few years he's been doing nothing but voice work really. His last job was as the voice of Turkey Lurkey in Disney's Chicken Little.
But Don Knotts is and was an American staple. A comedy titan. He won five Emmys for his work as Barney Fife, but there's no way that'll ever be enough for the great contributions he made to entertainment and pop culture. When I was a kid, no one made me laugh more than Don Knotts. When you saw in the credits that he was doing a voice in a cartoon, or heard there was a Don Knotts movie on, you made it a point not to miss it. As an adult, I found myself laughing at him all over again, as I dipped happily back into the "Andy Griffith Show" in reruns. The man was a genius, an original, a legend, an icon with one bullet. He's immortal.
