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Jesse Donald "Don" Knotts was an American actor, voice actor, and comedian, who for Disney, voiced Mayor Turkey Lurkey in Chicken Little, Deputy Sniffer in Air Buddies, the Dogcatcher in 101 Dalmatians: The Series, and the Baker in an episode of Dave the Barbarian. He also played Theodore Ogelvie in The Apple Dumpling Gang and its 1979 sequel, the Denver Kid in Hot Lead and Cold Feet, Coach Venner in Gus, the Governor in the Disney Channel Original Movie Quints, Wheely Applegate in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, and Bert Delaney in No Deposit, No Return. Additionally, he hosted The Mouse Factory episode "Physical Fitness" and guest-starred in Episode 201 of The Muppet Show.
Knotts was born in Morgantown, West Virginia and graduated from Morgantown High School, where he later began performing as a ventriloquist and comedian. After enlisting in the United States Army and serving in World War II, Don earned a bachelor's degree in education with a minor in speech from West Virginia University. He was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity and Alpha Psi Omega Honor Society while at WVU.
Knotts got his first major break on television in the CBS soap opera Search for Tomorrow, where he appeared from 1953 to 1955. However, he came into higher recognition for his TV roles as Deputy Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show and Ralph Furley in Three's Company. His other notable television appearances included The Steve Allen Show, The Red Skelton Show, The Garry Moore Show, McHale's Navy, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Here's Lucy, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Matlock, Newhart, Burke's Law, Step by Step, 8 Simple Rules, Johnny Bravo, Hermie and Friends, and That '70s Show.
He also gained prominence as both a supporting and leading actor in movies, such as No Time for Sergeants, The Last Time I Saw Archie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Reluctant Astronaut, The Shakiest Gun in the West, The Love God?, Big Bully, Cats Don't Dance (as the voice of T.W. Turtle), and Pleasantville.
Knotts died at on February 24, 2006, at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from pulmonary and respiratory complications of pneumonia related to lung cancer. In early 2011, his grave's plain granite headstone was replaced with a bronze plaque that lists several of his movie and television roles. A statue honoring Knotts was unveiled on July 23, 2016, in front of the Metropolitan Theatre on High Street in his hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia.
Roles[]
(The Mouse Factory)
(Gus)
(No Deposit, No Return)
(Hot Lead and Cold Feet)
(Quints)
Gallery[]
