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BIOGRAPHY Early life He was born in since the 17th century, originally settling in Queen Anne's County , Maryland . {Link without Title} Knotts' father suffered from Schizophrenia and alcoholism and died when Knotts was thirteen years old. {Link without Title} At 19 Knotts joined the Army and served in World War II as part of a traveling GI variety show called "Stars and Gripes." He received the World War II Victory Medal . After the war Knotts graduated from his hometown West Virginia University in 1948 with a degree in theater. Career After being a regular performer in the Soap Opera '' Search For Tomorrow '' from 1953 to 1955, he gained additional exposure in 1956 on Steve Allen 's variety show, appearing in Allen's mock "Man in the Street" interviews, always as a man obviously very nervous about being on camera. The humor in the interviews would be increased by having Knotts state his occupation as being one that wouldn't be an obvious choice for such a nervous, shaking person, such as a surgeon or an explosives expert. on '' The Andy Griffith Show '']] Knotts's portrayal of a bumbling deputy sheriff on the very popular television Sitcom '' The Andy Griffith Show '' was the role which earned him his greatest recognition. A summary of the show from the website of the Museum Of Broadcast Communications describes Deputy Fife: :Most of Andy's time, however, was spent controlling his earnest but over-zealous deputy, Barney Fife. Self-important, romantic, and nearly always wrong, Barney dreamed of the day he could use the one bullet (which he kept in his shirt pocket) Andy had issued to him. While Barney was forever frustrated that Mayberry was too small for the delusional ideas he had of himself, viewers got the sense that he couldn't have survived anywhere else. Don Knotts played the comic and pathetic sides of the character with equal aplomb. After leaving the series in '' ( 1964 ), '' The Ghost And Mr. Chicken '' ( 1966 ), '' The Reluctant Astronaut '' ( 1967 ), '' The Shakiest Gun In The West '' ( 1968 ) and '' The Love God? '' ( 1969 ). In the late 1960s and early '70s, he served as the spokesman for Dodge trucks and was featured prominently in a series of print ads and dealer brochures. He also had a short-lived Tuesday night variety series on NBC during the fall of 1970 . In the 1970s , Knotts and Tim Conway starred together in a series of slapstick movies aimed at children, including the 1975 Disney film '' The Apple Dumpling Gang '', and its 1979 sequel, '' The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again ''. Knotts returned to series television in the late 1970s, appearing as landlord Ralph Furley on '' Three's Company '', after Audra Lindley and Norman Fell left the show to star in a short-lived spin-off series ('' The Ropers ''). Knotts remained on the show from 1979 until it ended in 1984 . In 1986 , he reunited with Andy Griffith in the 1986 made-for-television movie '' Return To Mayberry '', where he reprised his role as "Barney Fife". From 1989 to 1992 , Knotts again co-starred with Griffith, playing a recurring role as pesky neighbor Les Calhoun on '' Matlock ''. More recently, he guest starred on '' Robot Chicken '' with Phyllis Diller . In 1998 Knotts had a small but pivotal role as the mysterious TV repairman in '' Pleasantville ''. Seven years later he performed as the voice of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in '' Chicken Little '' ( 2005 ), his first Disney movie since 1979. In 2000 he was recognized for his television work with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame . Death Knotts died at the UCLA Medical Center in visited Knotts' bedside up until a few hours before he died {Link without Title} . Knotts' obituaries began surfacing the Saturday afternoon following his death, mostly noting his Barney Fife character. Some cited him as a huge influence on other famous television stars. Musician and fan or Chris Farley ."'' Knotts is buried at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles. {Link without Title} TRIVIA
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