The news hit me pretty hard when my son informed me that Don Knotts had died. In my humble opinion, Knotts’ Barney Fife character on the old Andy Griffith Show is the best character in the history of television.
I have probably watched everybody episode of that show 100 times, but only the episodes that included Knotts. When he left the show to make movies (some of them were really funny, too) I stopped watching. Not that I didn’t enjoy Andy, Opie, Aunt Bee, Floyd, Gomer, Goober and all the others, but Knotts made the show.
It’s been probably a year since I watched an episode. I used to TIVO them because when I got home at the end of the day I couldn’t think of anything more relaxing than watching Barney Fife plays this incredible, wonderful character. I’m going to do that again. And I’m going to lament the loss of one of the people who has given me great joy over the years.