In 1955, on the stage of Broadway’s Alvin Theater, Andy Griffith and Don Knotts first bonded as they co-starred in the stage production of “No Times for Sergeants,” cementing a friendship that continued when they were both asked to reprise their stage roles in the 1958 Mervyn LeRoy film. Years later, when Knotts happened to learn about a TV project starring Griffith as a small town sheriff, he called up his old friend and asked “Don’t you think Sheriff Andy Taylor ought to have a deputy?” Griffith loved the idea, and television history was made.
Thanks to Knotts’ impeccable comic skills, Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife became one of television’s most beloved characters, an peacekeeper with loads of insecurities which he tries to cover up with a show of bravado that is both hilarious and endearing. His brilliant comic performance earned Knotts five consecutive Emmy Awards, which was unmatched at the time.
When his five-year contract was up, Knotts left the show for the movies, starring in a series of hit theatrical comedies. Along the way, he was paired up with fellow comic great Tim Conway, and together they appeared in six films and cemented their place as one of the great comic teams of the 1970s. Knotts later returned to television, joining the cast of the Top 10 sitcom “Three’s Company,” and eventually he reunited with his old pal Andy Griffith for 16 episodes of Griffith’s hit legal drama “Matlock.”
So on the occasion of what would have been his 100th birthday, let’s raise a glass and celebrate by counting down and ranking his 12 best performances in film and TV!
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