Don Knotts

Don Knotts (1924-2006) was interviewed for three hours in Los Angeles, CA.  Mr. Knotts discussed his early comedy routines and ventriloquism acts which led to radio and television appearances on The Lanny Ross Show (radio), Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts (radio/TV), The Garry Moore Show (television) and Steve Allen’s Tonight show (television).  The latter show’s appearances segued into Knotts’s work as a regular on The Steve Allen Show , appearing memorably in the “Man on the Street” sketches with Tom Poston and Louis Nye, which Mr. Knotts described.  He also discussed his early work in radio as a regular on the juvenile western adventure show Bobby Benson and the B-Bar-B Riders as well as the television soap opera Search For Tomorrow .  Mr. Knotts went into great detail in his discussion of The Andy Griffith Show , in which he played “Deputy Barney Fife,” a role that won him five Emmy Awards.  He talked about his personal and professional relationship with actor Andy Griffith that began with their appearance together on Broadway in “No Time For Sergeants” and continued throughout both of their respective careers.  He also discussed his appearances on various television variety shows and specials; his feature film appearances; and his work on the series The Don Knotts Show, Three’s Company, and Matlock .  The interview was conducted by Gary Rutkowski on July 22, 1999.