Barney Fife's Final Patrol

Don Knotts, who brought me many laughs as a child, has died. It's hard to believe he was 81! When I lived in South Carolina, you couldn't go a night without an episode of "Andy Griffith" somewhere on the TV, and my friend John was ever doing his Barney Fife imitation. R.I.P.

Knotts' only serious role ever was a brief stint on "Search for Tomorrow."

The actor's half-century career included seven TV series and more than 25 films, but it was the Griffith show that brought him TV immortality and five Emmys.

The show ran from 1960-68, and was in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings each season, including a No. 1 ranking its final year. It is one of only three series in TV history to bow out at the top: The others are "I Love Lucy" and "Seinfeld." The 249 episodes have appeared frequently in reruns and have spawned a large, active network of fan clubs.

As the bug-eyed deputy to Griffith, Knotts carried in his shirt pocket the one bullet he was allowed after shooting himself in the foot. The constant fumbling, a recurring sight gag, was typical of his self-deprecating humor.

Knotts, whose shy, soft-spoken manner was unlike his high-strung characters, once said he was most proud of the Fife character and doesn't mind being remembered that way.

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