TVXOHOF - CELEBRATING DON KNOTTS AT 100

From Wikipedia:

Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom 'The Andy Griffith Show', for which he earned five Emmy Awards.  

He also played Ralph Furley on the highly rated sitcom 'Three's Company' from 1979 to 1984. He starred in multiple comedic films, including leading roles in "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" (1964) and "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966). In 2004, TV Guide ranked him number 27 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.

Had he still been alive, Don Knotts would have turned 100 years old today.  Because of all the attention given him by all of my “sitcompatriots” on Facebook, I thought I should just check to see if he qualified for membership in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame as a member of the League of Themselves.  (You KNOW I inducted him years ago as Barney Fife!)

I found that not only did he have a fictional televersion worthy of membership, but that Don Knotts was a multidimensional, exisiting in the Toobworlds of other dimensions, including The Tooniverse and Claymatia.

As a tip of the hat to such a pivotal character in the Toobworld pantheon, here is my salute to TV’s Don Knotts….

DON KNOTTS

THE TONIGHT SHOW with JOHNNY CARSON
5 EPISODES (1964-1974)

O’Bservation:
Both Johnny Carson and ‘The Tonight Show’ (and Jay Leno as well) are also members of the Hall of Fame, so Don Knotts appearing on the couch is a plus, especially since the talk show has a strong fictional televersion, as seen in episodes of ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’, ‘Seinfeld’, ‘Cheers’, and ‘The Lucy Show’.

Plus, there's the work he did on the show before Carson stepped in.  Working with Steve Allen, Knotts often played the Nervous Man in the Street.

THE DON KNOTTS SHOW

22 EPISODES (1970–1971)

O’Bservation:
Variety shows and talk shows are not normally given much weight toward a candidate’s induction into the Hall.  They’re good for flavoring and adding heft to the tally.  But when a member of the League of Themselves is the headliner of their own variety show or talk show, then it should be acknowledged.  Just the other day we did so for Bob Newhart with his memorial membership when it comes to variety shows, and Johnny Carson stands as the Colossus whose command of the ‘Tonight’ show had an impact on the pop culture of Toobworld.  So that’s why ‘The Don Knotts Show’ should be cited.

THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW
2 EPISODES (1972, 1974)

O’Bservations:
I mentioned this in the Newhart tribute – ‘The Merv Griffin Show’ has a fictional televersion with its discarded studio set being reassembled in Kramer’s apartment in ‘Seinfeld’.

THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES

(1974–1977)

O’Bservation:
‘Hollywood Squares’ is a member of the TVXOHOF.

THE MUPPET SHOW

DON KNOTTS (1977)

O’Bservation:

In Toobworld, the Muppets and most onscreen puppets are alive, so any human guest in their music hall could count on that appearance in their TVXOHOF tally.

NASHVILLE NOW

MAYBERRY REUNION (1991)

O’Bservation:

Knotts was reunited with George Lindsay (Goober), Hal March (Otis), Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou), and Jack Prince who played Rafe Hollister.  Music was provided by The Dillards (AKA The Darlings.)

THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW REUNION (1993)

O’Bservation:
The show we saw on our TVs was real life in Toobworld.  But it was mentioned quite often in other TV shows as a TV show.  That show starred the televersions of not only Don Knotts, but Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, etc.  (It wasn’t the first Hollywood came calling to make a TV show about Mayberry within the TV Universe.  We saw an attempt made in the TAGS episode “TV Or Not TV”.)  So we saw those televersions get together and reminisce about that show within a show.

The same holds true for the previous entry from 'Nashville Now'.

8 SIMPLE RULES
COME AND KNOCK ON OUR DOOR (2003)

O’Bservation:

Every so often we get a case like this – Don Knotts showed up as a dream version of his televersion.  It still counts because in order for a character to dream about a real person, that real person has to exist in Toobworld.  So while we didn’t get to see the “real” Don Knotts, his appearance in that dream verifies he existed in that corner of Toobworld.

Based on that dream, a television series was developed which used the living situation of Chrissy Snow, Janet Wood, and Jack Tripper as the basis for the plotlines.  Whether the series reflected their "reel-life" situation, it is unknown if Ralph Furley was represented nor if he was played by the televersion of Don Knotts.

Because of how he showed up in the dream, it's O'Bvious Paul knows of TV's Don Knotts and that he starred in the Toobworld televersion of 'The Andy Griffith Show'.  That's because Dream Don Knotts quoted Barney Fife.

(The dream also had subtext in that Paul had deep homosexual fears....)

LAS VEGAS

HIT ME! (2005)

O'Bservation:
Vanessa was desperate to replace a lime green leisure suit which one of her “whales” wore while gambling because it was lucky.  Unfortunately it got ruined by spilled wine.

Don Knotts' home
Livin' Las Vegas

Luckily the King of Bad Fashion Sense, Don Knotts, was living in Vegas and he had an exact match to the "72" suit.

Inside that house, Knotts had his five Emmy Awards on display.

Meanwhile, over in The Tooniverse….

THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES

THE SPOOKY FOG OF JUNEBERRY (1972)

Mystery Incorporated meet up with Don Knotts and together they solve the mystery of the strange happenings plaguing the desert town of Juneberry.

O’Bservation:

Aside from being pen-and-ink instead of flesh-and-blood, the life of Don Knotts in The Tooniverse is O’Bviously radically different from his life in the main Toobworld

JOHNNY BRAVO

1] JOHNNY BRAVO GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (2004)

Johnny heads to Hollywood to play the lead in a big time Hollywood movie with Don Knotts, Alec Baldwin, Jessica Biel, a dinosaur and a Hobbit.

Johnny Bravo is offered a role in the upcoming film "Lunch Lady S'urprise" and will get to star with Don Knotts, Jessica Biel, a Hobbit and Alec Baldwin. When his part gets written out of the script, he tries desperately to squeeze a few more seconds out of his 15 minutes of fame.

O'Bservation:

There is no name listed for that Hobbit in the IMDb.  So as far as I'm concerned, he was playing Tobold Hornblower.  (Although he looks like Danny Partridge.)

2] JOHNNY MAKEOVER (2004)

Johnny Bravo becomes the target of Don Knotts, 'Weird Al' Yankovic and the Blue Falcon for their reality show "Cartoon Makeover". The trio attempts to completely revamp him to make him a huge hit for the new youth generation but their tactics only make things worse for Johnny.

And on the Stop Motion Toobworld…..

ROBOT CHICKEN
OPERATION RICH IN SPIRIT (2005)

O'Bservation:

In a spoof of the "Friday the 13th" franchise, the Crystal Lake camp counselors were action figure versions of Don Knotts and Phyllis Diller.

And finally, on a Toobworld where everybody dies before their original incarnation does….

JOYS! (1976)

Someone arranges a star-studded party at Bob Hope's home and then begins murdering the guests. Over fifty of the greatest living comedians are called to a party at Bob Hope's house, where each of them is systematically killed (and their bodies thrown in Hope's pool!). Hope and the rapidly shrinking cast try to discover who is the mysterious killer known only as "Joys."

Here’s to you on the 100th anniversary of your birth, Mr. Knotts!