A true genius that will be missed ...

"Well, I guess to sum it up, you could say, there's three reasons why there's so little crime in Mayberry. There's Andy, and there's me, and [patting gun] baby makes three."
-- Barney Fife
"Well, today's eight-year-olds are tomorrow's teenagers. I say this calls for action and now. Nip it in the bud. First sign of youngsters going wrong, you've got to nip it in the bud."
-- Barney Fife

On February 24th, Don Knotts died. Growing up, I never fully appreciated The Andy Griffith Show, but as an adult, I absolutely adore it. When I was just a young princess, waiting to take the reigns of my great land, I did, and still do, love good classic T.V. I watched the usual suspects... Leave It To Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, Twilight Zone, etc., etc. I also watched (occasionally) The Andy Griffith Show. I thought it was amusing, but I loathed the character of Barney Fife.

It was only through maturity and gaining a modicum of intellect, that I gave the show another try as an adult. I finally got it... and I finally got the genius that was Don Knotts. The facial expressions, the mannerisms, the perfect timing. He was absolutely brilliant. He took the character of Barney Fife and completely owned it. I do have to express some admiration for Andy Griffith, who also recognized the talent of Don. He had no problem playing the straight man and was wonderful at letting Don have the run of the scene, so to speak.

The Prince and I were so saddened to learn of Don's passing. We took out season 3 of The Andy Griffith Show and watched one of our favorite episode "One Punch Opie". This is the episode where "Nip it the bud" entered Classic T.V. legend. Don also shined in another of our favorite episodes, "The Loaded Goat"... what a riot! Come to think of it, I can't remember a time when Barney didn't steal the scene that he appeared in.

Anyhoo... I recommend re-checking out the series and don't forget about the other hilarious movies he made, especially for Disney.

Stay cool and safe and thanks for the laughs Don!