Don Knotts

In his three-hour interview, Don Knotts (1924-2006) discusses 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/television), The Garry Moore Show (television), and Steve Allen's Tonight Show (television). Knotts describes how the latter show's appearances segued into his work as a regular on The Steve Allen Show, appearing memorably in the "Man on the Street" sketches with Tom Poston and Louis Nye. He also discusses 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. He goes into great detail in his discussion of The Andy Griffith Show, on which he played "Deputy Barney Fife," a role that won him five Emmy awards. He talks about his personal and professional relationship with 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 discusses 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. Gary Rutkowski conducted the interview on July 22, 1999 in Los Angeles, CA.