We Lost A Great One Today

Barney Fife who played Don Knotts in real life.

I was just watching the episode where the man gets mad at Barney and says he can’t wait to catch him out of uniform. Barney starts wearing his uniform all the time, and claims he’s afraid to hurt the man with his new judo skills. Andy finds out Barney is actually lousy at judo so he gets Barney’s instructor to dress up in Barney’s suit and put some judo moves on the guy in a dark alley. Then Andy gets Barney to confront the newly respectful guy. After Barney realizes the threat is gone and without knowing why, he suddenly transforms from fear back to foolish pride. Andy lets him brag, and as they leave he says, “Let’s go, Tiger.” I don’t care how many times I see some of these Mayberry episodes. Don Knotts' greatness as a character actor and obvious sweetness as a person, make his work timeless and impossible to wear out.