‘Andy Was My Dad’s Biggest Fan’

Actors Don Knotts and Andy Griffith are one of the vital iconic duos in tv historical past. For 5 seasons starting in 1960, Knotts performed Deputy Barney Fife to Griffith’s Sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Present. The impacts of the present and their on-screen partnership have endured for many years after the final new episode aired in 1968.

And one thing else that has endured are rumors of a rivalrous feud between the 2 performing mates. Although they had been longtime companions, variations of opinions supposedly drove them aside across the time Knotts left The Andy Griffith Present. However Knotts’ daughter, Karen Knotts, has spoken about her “dad’s biggest fan” and she or he very plainly answered whether or not the 2 had been rivals or not.

Don Knotts and Andy Griffith | CBS Photograph Archive/Getty Photos

Andy Griffith and Don Knotts’ contract dispute

As tends to occur, rumors of hassle between Griffith and Knotts manifested when Knotts exited the present. Some studies prompt he moved on in his profession as a result of he wished extra money — a simple guess — however supposedly it prompted a rift between him and Griffith.

This stemmed from the truth that Griffith owned half the rights to the present and due to this fact profited handsomely. In the meantime, Knotts was salaried and supposedly denied a elevate. Whether or not the choice was monetary or not, Karen Knotts advised Fox her dad simply moved on to new alternatives, plain and easy.

Knotts mentioned, “Eventually, my dad got an offer to do something different,” so he moved on after his five-year contract ended. And he or she claimed there was no bitterness from Griffith in direction of Knotts. She defined, “Andy was very gracious about it.”

Whereas she didn’t say they by no means had a disagreement, she did say they weren’t aggressive adversaries. In response to her, they had been extra like finest mates – from begin to end.

“Some people still think they were rivals. They weren’t rivals at all. There was no rivalry,” she mentioned. “Andy was my dad’s biggest fan. He was a mentor to him his whole life and they loved each other dearly.”

Andy Griffith and the Don Knotts statue that wasn’t

There’s one other story that contributes to the thought of an issue between Griffith and Knotts, and this occurred after Knotts’ 2006.

There was a small marketing campaign to have a statue of Barney Fife erected subsequent to an already standing statue of Griffith as Andy Taylor holding arms with a younger Ron Howard as Opie. Because the story goes, Griffith heard concerning the proposed statue of Knotts and personally nipped it within the bud.

The statue of Griffith and Howard was raised in 2004 in Griffith’s hometown of Mt. Ethereal, North Carolina. Following Knotts’ loss of life, two followers of The Andy Griffith Present from Mt. Ethereal prompt the show obtain an replace. They had been apparently keen to fee the statue and reward it to the city.

In response to Andy and Don creator Daniel de Visé, Knotts’ widow’s sister’s husband, Griffith known as Knotts’ widow sounding “hysterical” concerning the statue. The thought was rejected for Mt. Ethereal, however finally a memorial went up in Knotts’ hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia.    

Don Knotts on ‘Matlock’

As Knotts’ daughter identified, Griffith invited her dad to affix him on tv once more when Griffith starred as a lovably cantankerous protection lawyer in Matlock. Knotts appeared as Benjamin Matlock’s neighbor who was launched after being implicated in a homicide.

In response to Karen Knotts, this was yet one more approach Griffith confirmed up for her dad. She shared, “[Matlock] was a time when my dad was starting to believe he wasn’t going to do television anymore.”

“My dad was diagnosed with macular degeneration, which was affecting his sight,” she mentioned. “So he just thought that was it for him. He was turning down plenty of offers.”

Ultimately, she felt like his previous good friend didn’t let him down. She defined, “But Andy was there for him. He supported him. He was a constant presence in my dad’s life. They just loved each other.”

The truth is, Griffith and Knotts had been so shut, Griffith satisfied Knotts to let him go to whereas he was dying. In response to Andy and Don, Knotts was insecure about his oxygen masks and didn’t need Griffith to see him in it. So, Griffith shared his personal insecurity — his motorized scooter.

“I’ll have my scooter, and you’ll have your oxygen,” he laughed together with his previous good friend. “We’re going to get through this.”

That chat with Griffith supposedly supplied Knotts with immense aid earlier than he died on Feb. 24, 2006 at 81. Griffith died on July 3, 2012 at 86.

Source link