Don Knotts passes away

Feb 26, 2006 by Ian Evans

Don Knotts, beloved by audiences as Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, has died at the age of 81. Knotts passed away Friday night from pulmonary and respiratory complications.

Andy Giffith told the Associated Press that his former co-star had a brilliant comedic mind. “Don was a small man…but everything else about him was large: his mind, his expressions. Don was special. There’s nobody like him. I loved him very much. We had a long and wonderful life together.”

Knotts’ long career saw him appear in seven TV series and over 25 films. His role on The Andy Griffith Show earned the actor five Emmys. That show ran from 1960 to 1968. He gained a new audience in the late Seventies when he played Mr. Furley on Three’s Company.