DON KNOTTS
Don Knotts first appeared on television as a stand-up comic on The Garry Moore Show, where he developed his signature nervous demeanor. His first dramatic TV role was in 1953 on the soap opera, Search for Tomorrow, but his stint as a regular on The Steve Allen Show sent Knotts on his way to fame. Soon after, Knotts and Andy Griffith appeared together in both the screen and stage versions of No Time for Sergeants. This meeting would be the start of a lifelong working friendship, as well as Knotts's springboard into television immortality on The Andy Griffith Show.

Knotts won five Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Deputy Barney Fife. He left the series after five years to pursue a film career, though he did return for occasional guest appearances. The Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and How to Frame a Figg are among his comic film masterpieces. A brief return to TV as the host of The Don Knotts Show proved less than successful, though his 1979 debut on Three's Company as the excitable Mr. Furley brought Knotts's comic genius to a whole new generation of TV viewers.

In 1998, he played a key role in the acclaimed movie Pleasantville as a mysterious TV repairman who ushers two 1990s youngsters into the black-and-white world of 1950s television. In 1999, the notoriously shy and private Knotts published his autobiography, Barney Fife and Other Characters I Have Known.

Don Knotts passed away on Friday, February 24, 2006. He was 81. At the time of his passing Knotts was surrounded by his wife, Francey, his children, Karen and Thomas, and his longtime friend Andy Griffith, as well as Andy's wife, Cindi.