Jesse Donald “Don” Knotts
July 21, 1924 – February 24, 2006
Burial:
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California
Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Don Knotts turned a childhood fascination with comedy, ventriloquism and performing into one of television's most beloved careers. A live-action Disney stalwart with classics like The Incredible Mr. Limpet and the Apple Dumpling Game under his belt, Knotts became a household name as the nervous, perpetually overmatched Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, winning five Emmy Awards for the role. He later found another iconic character in landlord Ralph Furley on Three’s Company reinventing his signature style for another generation..
Knotts died in Los Angeles on February 24, 2006, at age 81, from complications related to lung cancer. His grave bears a simple bronze plaque that perhaps says more about his career than any list of awards could: “He saw the poignancy in people’s pride and pain and turned it into something hilarious and endearing.”
Other Tributes and Remembrances:
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Knotts received his television star in 2000. You can find it at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard.
Don Knotts Statue, Morgantown, West Virginia
A life-size bronze statue by sculptor Jamie Lester sits outside the Metropolitan Theatre, where Knotts performed as a young man. It was unveiled in 2016. There's also a bronze Don Knotts star embedded in the sidewalk outside the Metropolitan Theatre, installed before his death in 2005.
Don Knotts Boulevard
A portion of University Boulevard in Morgantown was renamed Don Knotts Boulevard in his honor in 1998.
