Jesse Donald “Don” Knotts, an actor and comedian best known for his role as Barney Fife in “The Andy Griffith Show”, was born on 21 July 1924, in Morgantown, West Virginia USA, and passed away on 24 February 2006 in Los Angeles. Recognized as one of the greatest comic actors, Don initially he served in the army and later went to Hollywood to become an actor.
A famous actor and comedian, how rich is Don Knotts? Sources estimate that the net worth of Don Knotts was over 20 million dollars, mostly accumulated through his various roles in movies and television shows, both as a lead actor and in guest appearances.
Don Knotts Net Worth $20 Million
Don Knotts was the son of Elsie L. Knotts and William Jesse Knotts. His father was a farmer and an alcoholic who sometimes used to terrorize him with a knife. Don had three siblings, all brothers who were raised by their mother – his father died of pneumonia when he was 13 years old – who also ran a boarding house; she passed away in 1969 at the age of 84.
He was educated at Morgantown High School, then joined the United States Army, serving in World War 2, actually the beginning of his net worth. He used to entertain his fellow soldiers as a ventriloquist with the help of a dummy, which he later threw into the sea as he got tired of it. After demobilization, he finally graduated from West Virginia University in 1948 with a degree in theater, then went to Hollywood to pursue his career as an actor.
Don’s first television show was “Search For Tomorrow” in which he worked for one year, and which boosted his net worth considerably. Later he worked on “No Time for Sergeants” in both the television and film versions. Later in 1960, he was invited to play the role of Barney Fife by Andy Griffith for his sitcom show named “The Andy Griffith Show”.
He won three Emmy awards for his role in this show. Initially, Don was supposed to be the straight character while Andy was the comic character but after just the first show they realized that the roles should be reversed. He left the show in 1965 after five successful seasons. Of course, all this work helped Don’s net worth to rise.
Knotts signed a five-year deal with Universal and worked on various films including some famous titles like “The Incredible Mr. Limpet”, “The Love God”, “How to Frame a Figg” and many more. After his contract with Universal ended, Don went back to television with his second most popular show, “Three’s Company” in the role of Ralph Furley. Again, these roles saw a significant rise in his net worth.
Don Knotts also gave his voice for various animated films, video games, and cartoons like “Scooby Doo” and “Hermie and Friends”
Ultimately, Don was inducted with a star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame.
In his personal life, Don Knotts had three wives: Kathryn Metz(1947-66) with whom he had a son and daughter, Loralee Czuchna(1974-89), and Frances Yarborough(2002-d.). During his later years, he became almost blind due to macular degeneration. He died on 24 February 2006 basically from Lung Cancer. He has a statue on the Boulevard named after him in his hometown Morgantown.
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