Barney Fife was a deputy sheriff in the sleepy little town of Newber, NC. He appeared often in the first five years of the show, The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle was his cousin along with Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), who was the sheriff. The Andy Griffith Show ran from 1960-1968.
Barney was played by actor Jesse Donald “Don” Knotts. Don was born in Morgantown, West Virginia on July 21, 1924. He had three brothers. His dad was a farmer and he had a nervous breakdown when Don was born to his 40 year old wife. Due to his dad mental conditions of schizophrenia and alcoholism, Don’s early life was terrorized by his dad with a knife. His father died when Don was 13, of pneumonia. Don and his brothers were raised by their mother, who ran a boarding house in Morgantown. She died in 1969 at the age of 84.
After graduating from Morgantown High School, Don joined the Army and served during WWII. Most of his service was with a group of performers, used to entertain the troops. After a failed attempt in New York to get his comedy going he returned home to West Virginia. He graduated from West Virginia University in 1948 with a degree in education.
Even before graduating high school, Don began performing as a ventriloquist and comedian at various church and school functions. He used a dummy named Danny “Hooch” Matador.
Later in life, Don developed lung cancer and he died on February 24, 2006 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 81. He was buried in the family plot.
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