Don Knotts, born July 21, 1924, in Morgantown, West Virginia, earned his first TV role in Search for Tomorrow before becoming beloved as Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show.
His jittery comedic persona drew on a difficult childhood and his WWII service in the Army’s “Stars and Gripes” entertainment troupe.
Knotts’ portrayal of Barney Fife—earnest, anxious, and perpetually overwhelmed—earned him five Emmys and cemented him as an icon of American television.
