Why Don Knotts is Awesome

Should you ever be asked “Why is Don Knotts awesome?” you do not need to stumble around trying to come up with an answer. The aging comedian has a distinguished film and screen career. It is possible people have even seen his show, decades after it aired in black and white. Don Knotts played the bumbling Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith show. He also starred in a movie where he got turned into a fish.

Why Don Knotts is Awesome!

Family Guy and The Simpsons have portrayed Knots as playing whiny characters, but this is not necessarily true. The voice of Barney Fife, for example is somewhat grating. It fits the style of the character. Fife attempts to be commanding, but the more easy-going personality of the Sheriff dominates the character of the Mayberry law-enforcement agency. Even if he did nothing else, the actor would be remembered for his role in this long-running show. It has remained in reruns for almost fifty years.

The reader may wonder why the Andy Griffith Show has survived for as long as it has. The answer is simple. Everyone wants the small-town community presented in the town to be real, even though the truth is that no place like Mayberry RFD ever existed.

Now, let us return to the question of Don Knott’s awesomeness. Like Betty White, he has maintained an acting career long after what people would consider to be the prime of his life. He even managed to star in a few Disney movies in the last decade. Of course, he never starred with Andy Griffith in anything after the show. He also did not star with Jim Neighbors, who played Gomer Pyle of the United States Marine Corps. Before he joined the USMC, Mister Pyle worked at a gas station outside of the sleepy little town.

So, Don Knotts may not be a big box office draw. He may not get the attention of Betty White, but he may if he holds on for a few more years. George Burns, another comedian who acted late into his life made movies into his nineties. He even made it to his one hundredth birthday. He may even get his own courtroom drama, but such a fate seems unlikely.

There is another reason that Don Knotts is awesome, although it is somewhat more obscure. One thing that contributes to his awesomeness is that he is not Ernest Borgnine. Ernest Borgnine starred in McHale’s Navy and in the original Poseidon adventure. Of course, it may be hard to tell them apart in the black and white offerings, but one sure way to tell them apart right now is that Borgnine is dead while Knotts is still alive. The currently vital state of Knotts means that new generations can discover his comedic style. They do not have to hear comments about how this particular actor is dead when they watch his old movies, either. This can save an older person from having to answer many awkward questions. They may even see him play a fish and watch a new movie.