![]() ![]() His college education was interrupted when he was drafted in 1943 to serve in the Army's Special Services Branch as a member of a military comedy troupe where he focused on ventriloquism. Following his graduation from high school, he spent a brief time in New York City pursuing jobs as an entertainer and then returned to home to attend college at West Virginia University. He had an early interest in comedy and performing and would often put on ventriloquist shows around town. After his oldest brother died of pneumonia, Don and his two remaining brothers were raised by their mother at the boarding house she operated. His father was an alcoholic farmer who suffered from abusive bouts of schizophrenia and was bedridden at the time of Don's birth. His parents were of English descent and their lineage traces its roots to 1700s America. And from the schedule, it looks like there will be plenty of things for people to do.Don Knotts was born Jesse John Knotts on July 21, 1924, in Morgantown, West Virignia. People can stroll around, enjoy the ambience, and with the Mayberry spirit that weekend, it will be a wonderful place for people to come. ![]() And knowing Danville somewhat, I think it is a perfect location to have a Mayberry celebration. Patty and I spent an afternoon there one time greeting the customers. I know the owners, Brad and Christine Born, very well. Q: Have you ever been to Danville, Indiana?Ī: I've been there to the Mayberry Café numerous times. I love every minute of it.Ī: I do a one-man "Christmas Carol" show during the holidays, and on occasion, a show called "A Visit with Abraham Lincoln." When you've done your job, then you have that catharsis of a job well-done. It's not unlike a schoolteacher or a newspaper reporter. If somebody has scheduled you to be there, you've got to deliver the goods. It doesn't really matter how you feel personally. ![]() And there's a real psychology to performing - a psychology for the audience and a psychology for the performer. Q: Do you ever get tired of playing the same role?Ī: No, I think God creates us to be one thing or another. It's just really become popular through word-of-mouth referrals. My wife, Patty, and I have traveled to 35 or 36 states doing this act. But I do 125 to 130 engagements a year in which I portray the Mayberry Deputy. Q: How many times a year now do you appear as Barney Fife?Ī: Well, first, I call my character the Mayberry Deputy just out of respect for Don - even though he told me to go ahead and sign my pictures as Barney Fife. He did other characters and skits and comedy bits. In his own one-man show, he typically did not perform as Barney Fife at all. I never saw an audience that was disappointed. You expected him to be wonderful, and he was always wonderful. I've never seen anybody in my life who when he walked onstage there was no seam between what you expected and what he delivered. If you observe and listen and watch, there is so much good stuff that you can glean just from being around somebody like him. It was kind of like being in a master's class at college. We did about 20 shows together, and I kept doing other appearances on my own.Ī: Oh, definitely. It was July of 1994 before I finally got to open for him. On the second day of that event, Don Knotts (the actor who portrayed Deputy Barney Fife in the TV show) called me into his dressing room and asked me to perform as his opening act at engagements that he did. It went over so well that I started doing the same act at churches and civic clubs.Ī: Well, in 1991, I was asked to go to Nashville to be part of a Mayberry cast reunion just to add to the atmosphere. That was the first time I wore this deputy costume. And that was with the Dillards (a family band with roles in several episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show"). Question: When did you start performing as the "Mayberry deputy" and why?Īnswer: Back in 1989, I was running a community theater and playing roles in its productions when a friend of mine asked me to do this character for a bluegrass concert. ![]()
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