Don Knotts

Jesse Donald Knotts was born on July 21, 1924, in Morgantown, West Virginia, the youngest of four sons of farmer William Jesse Knotts and his wife Elsie Luzetta Knotts. His brothers were named Willis, William, and Ralph. His father, who had schizophrenia and battled alcoholism, died of pneumonia when Knotts was thirteen, after which Knotts and his brothers were raised by their mother, who operated a boarding house in Morgantown. She died in 1969 at age 84. Knotts graduated from Morgantown High School, where he had already begun performing as a ventriloquist and comedian at church and school functions before entering high school.

After high school, Knotts traveled to New York City to pursue a career as a comedian, but when that effort did not succeed, he returned to West Virginia to attend West Virginia University. Following his freshman year, he enlisted in the United States Army, serving from June 21, 1943, to January 6, 1946, in the Army's 6817th Special Services Battalion. He was discharged at the rank of Technician Grade 5, equivalent at the time to corporal. During his service, he toured the western Pacific Islands as part of a G.I. variety show called Stars and Gripes, entertaining troops as a ventriloquist and comedian. His ventriloquist act featured a dummy named Danny. Among the military decorations he received were the World War II Victory Medal, the Philippine Liberation Medal, the Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars, the American Campaign Medal, and the Army Good Conduct Medal.

After his discharge, Knotts returned to West Virginia University and earned a bachelor's degree in education with a minor in speech, graduating in 1948. He was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. He then married Kay Metz and moved to New York, where he worked in stand-up comedy at clubs and appeared on radio, playing the character Windy Wales on the radio Western Bobby Benson and the B-Bar-B Riders. His first significant television work came on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, where he appeared from 1953 to 1955.

Knotts made his Broadway debut in 1955 in the comedy No Time for Sergeants, appearing alongside Andy Griffith. The production ran from October 20, 1955, through September 14, 1957, and Knotts played two roles listed in the Playbill as a Corporal Manual Dexterity and a Preacher. In 1958, he reprised his stage role in the film adaptation of No Time for Sergeants, marking his motion picture debut.

Beginning in 1956, Knotts gained broader public recognition as a member of the repertory company on Steve Allen's variety show, where he regularly appeared in Allen's mock Man in the Street interviews, always portraying an extremely nervous man. He remained with the Allen program through the 1959–1960 season. When Andy Griffith was offered his own sitcom in 1960, Knotts joined the cast of The Andy Griffith Show as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife, a role he held from 1960 to 1965. Although Griffith was originally intended to be the comedic lead with Knotts as his straight man, the dynamic was reversed by the second episode. Knotts's performance as the self-important, high-strung deputy earned him five Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Comedy. He later reprised the character on programs including The Joey Bishop Show and the television film Return to Mayberry.

Knotts left The Andy Griffith Show in 1965, having signed a five-film contract with Universal Studios. His film work during this period included a cameo in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), the lead role in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) for Warner Bros., and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), the first of his Universal pictures. From 1979 to 1984, he played Ralph Furley on the sitcom Three's Company. In 2004, TV Guide ranked Knotts number 27 on its list of the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. He died on February 24, 2006.