Monday, February 27, 2006
Rest In Peace, Don Knotts
The Welcome Matt will observe a moment of silence for the passing of Don Knotts this weekend.
Thank you.
Don Knotts was probably one of the first actors I knew by name. As a kid, I loved to watch his movies. To most people, he's Barney Fife from "The Andy Griffith Show," but to me, he's the guy from "The Apple Dumpling Gang." I remember going to Sounds Easy, the local video store, soon after VCRs were invented, and looking for movies to rent. There was a corner of the store dedicated to Disney and family movies, and because I was a kid, I went straight there every time. I can still picture in my mind the spots on the shelf where "Old Yeller" and "The Apple Dumpling Gang" were. I don't know how many times I watched it, but it was enough that it was engrained into the fabric of my psyche--so much that I can't remember anything about the movie now except its title, stars, and the fact that I couldn't get enough of it.
Some may say Knotts did his best work with Andy Griffith or John Ritter, but to me, he'll always be paired with Tim Conway.
Thank you.
Don Knotts was probably one of the first actors I knew by name. As a kid, I loved to watch his movies. To most people, he's Barney Fife from "The Andy Griffith Show," but to me, he's the guy from "The Apple Dumpling Gang." I remember going to Sounds Easy, the local video store, soon after VCRs were invented, and looking for movies to rent. There was a corner of the store dedicated to Disney and family movies, and because I was a kid, I went straight there every time. I can still picture in my mind the spots on the shelf where "Old Yeller" and "The Apple Dumpling Gang" were. I don't know how many times I watched it, but it was enough that it was engrained into the fabric of my psyche--so much that I can't remember anything about the movie now except its title, stars, and the fact that I couldn't get enough of it.Some may say Knotts did his best work with Andy Griffith or John Ritter, but to me, he'll always be paired with Tim Conway.
Comments:
My favorites were a bit earlier -- "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" and "The Incredible Mr. Limpet." Maybe I need to add them to my Netflix list for a Knotts retrospective. Like the one we did for Katherine Hepburn (though that one morphed into a Cary Grant retrospective, perhaps due to my teenage daughter).
The other Don Knotts-Tim Conway vehicle I loved was "Hot Lead and Cold Feet." Don't remember anything about that one, either.
I'm glad somebody noticed his death. The Andy Griffith Show used to be our favorite show. Me and my sisters used to belly laugh. To give people the gift of laughter, what a guy.
Yeah, rest in peace.
Yeah, rest in peace.
I recently showed Apple Dumpling Gang to my 9-year-old son who got so into it that he b-e-g-g-e-d me to get Apple Dumplng Rides Again. What a dog of a movie that was. At least my wife got to see Tim Matheson with his shirt off.
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