Don Knotts | Three's Company Wiki | Fandom As everyone knows, Barney Fife had very little control of himself. Karen explains how some of the things her father was saying were so hilarious that she would have to run out of the hospital room to burst out laughing since she didnt feel the environment and situation was suitable for laughing. Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, said Paul Ward, a spokesman for the cable network TV Land, which airs The Andy Griffith Show and another Knotts hit, Three's Company. Lynn died Saturday after a short illness in Mount Airy, North Carolina, where she lived in a retirement home. Actors Don Knotts who played the role of Barney Fife, right, along with George Lindsey, who played Goober and Betty Lynn who played Thelma Lou, left, arrive at a reception at the Governor's Mansion in Nashville, Tennessee Wednesday, June 27, 2001. Scroll down for everything we know! Two legendary actors, Don Knotts and Dennis Weaver, who brought joy and laughter to audiences during their long careers passed away on this same day. Knotts exceptional acting and comedic talents played a huge part in making The Andy Griffith Show such a beloved, family-friendly TV series. Then something changed, Most of Yosemite Valley is closed due to potentially perilous snowpack and flooding, What was behind the protest against an archaeologist at last weeks L.A. Times Book Festival, Column: If not cops or guns, what will it take to make us feel safe? Today, we salute Deputy Chester Goode and Deputy Barney Fife, and we honor the actors who flawlessly played their characters. In one case when Andy was briefly summoned away, as acting sheriff, Barney proceeded to book and lock up everyone in town for various minor infractions ("Andy Saves Barney's Morale"). It would turn out to be his only dramatic role. Knotts left Andy Griffith in 1965, later explaining that he believed the producers had always intended for the series to last just five seasons. Offers may be subject to change without notice. "I wound up getting an offer from Universal to do movies and do my own pictures," he further explained. The Andy Griffith Show was one of the most popular series on television from 1960 until 1968. Don Knotts was slowly becoming known for his trademark role of playing high-strung, socially inept men with low self-esteem.