I saw a guy at a a lunch giving a speech

and he was that nervous I mean he was

spilling water all over himself most of

us are unaware that even celebrities

sometimes have a terrifying childhood

and struggles growing up and the same

happened with Don knots who had an awful

upbringing that’s rarely talked about so

in this video Let’s delve deep into the

life of this beloved comedian and

discover the harsh reality he endured as

a child Here We Begin Don knots best

known as deputy sheriff Barney F from

The Andy Griffith Show was a true

National Treasure the show was a glimpse

into times when neighbors helped each

other and a one bullet policeman was

enough while Barney f is his most famous

role his career included Threes Company

and movies like The Ghost and Mr Chicken

despite his comedy not’s life held deep

sadness and tragedy born in 1924 in West

Virginia knots had a difficult childhood

he was born late into his family and

slept in the kitchen unlike his brothers

who shared a room with a border his

father Jesse senior was bedridden and

struggled with schizophrenia alcoholism

and hysterical blindness knots faced

abuse during childhood and he recalled

his father threatening him with a knife

to go anywhere in the house he had to

walk past his father who spent most of

his time on the living room sofa young

Dawn often got sick and his difficult

upbringing left him pale and thin

he once said I did not come into the

world with much promise not only that he

even had a tough relationship with his

brothers author Daniel deis not’s

brother-in-law described their

complicated relationship saying that his

brothers William Earl known as Shadow

and Sid had a difficult life and often

fought tragically Shadow passed away

from an asthma attack when knots was

just a teenager growing up in such an

environment was hard even his brothers

mistreat hated him they often fought and

had their struggles with fear at home

not sought happiness through imaginary

characters he created these characters

and acted out in happy stories to cope

with his difficult life however his life

started to improve in his teenage years

when his father passed away when he was

13 the burden lifted he became old

enough to control the other brother and

was no longer terrorized at home in high

school he blossomed as a class president

wrote a yearbook column became popular

and even had his first best friend but

he once admitted that he felt like a

loser and was unhappy for most of his

early life partly due to their family’s

poverty and his own insecurities during

his early teens Don knots found a unique

friend Dany who was a ventriloquist’s

dummy and with this dummy Don marked the

beginning of his performing career

moreover Don knots faced a cruel rumor

about being a strict Marine Corps drill

instructor which was entirely false he

never served in that role and this rumor

is just one of the many about unlikely

celebrities having a hidden military

past what’s true is his actual military

service during World War II despite

being undernourished and considered

unlikely for military service he was

accepted entertaining the troops he

toured the Pacific front with the comedy

troop stars and gripes he even worked as

a nurse when needed what’s next well

before we continue with Don not’s story

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such contents moving on during his time

in the military Don knots who was still

performing with his ventriloquist dummy

Danny caught the attention of another

comedian red Ford Ford’s words stayed

with him when he said you know something

you’re a funny little son of a bee but

by the time he left the military he had

moved on from ventriloquism and even

threw Dany off a ship in the South

Pacific after his military service and

graduating from West Virginia University

in 1948 knots went to New York City with

only $100 in his pocket like many

aspiring actors he faced rejection he

was turned down for radio gigs but

eventually landed a role in a soap opera

getting his big break on Broadway took 7

years of hard work he starred in a

comedy called No Time for Sergeants

alongside Andy Griffith who would become

a lifelong friend later he became known

for playing a particular type of

character nervous anxious and

non-threatening he was remarkably good

at it and the New York Times even noted

that he borrowed some material for his

ACT interestingly The Comedians and

actors he borrowed from didn’t mind why

because his unique talent made everyone

he worked with look more manly despite

his small and thin stature knots had a

special knack for making his co-stars

appear closer to Leading Men even after

finding success in the world of

entertainment and becoming a beloved

television figure Don knots struggled

with deep-seated issues he had long

battled feelings of inferiority anxiety

hypochondria and chronic chronic

insomnia these issues were so severe

that before performances he would spend

days in bed and he had even become

addicted to anti- anxiety drugs

prescribed by his doctors a pivotal

moment came when he accidentally

overdosed on sleeping pills coupled with

an ultimatum from his third wife this

overdose prompted notot to change his

life significantly he quit his bad

habits but these struggles continue to

affect him as he tried to reconcile his

onscreen Persona with his real life

success

knots turned to therapy for help his

daughter Karen described him as

Mercurial fighting depression and

undergoing various mood swings however

she noted his resilience and how he

ultimately overcame his challenges

becoming a genuinely happy person who

loved people despite his remarkable

talents and success on The Andy Griffith

Show da knots left the series after five

seasons while some attribute his

departure to the demanding nature of

Television work he had always intended

to do only five seasons after leaving

the show he aimed to focus on making

movies still he didn’t receive the

critical Acclaim he had expected for

films like the Incredible Mr Limpet The

Reluctant astronaut and The Ghost and Mr

Chicken later in life knots faed the

devastating diagnosis of macular

degeneration which interferes with one’s

central vision and can lead to blindness

this diagnosis hit him hard causing

depression still he maintained his

resilience continuing to work and enjoy

his favorite hobby swimming laps until

his eyesight deteriorated to the point

that he could no longer drive or read

after leaving The Andy Griffith Show Don

knots had his own variety show the da

knot show which premiered in

1970 on the surface it appeared to have

all the elements of a hit but didn’t

live up to

expectations the show aired on NBC and

faced stiff competition during a season

filled with variet iety shows Don knots

explained we did all kinds of things

there was a tremendous competition That

season for variety because everybody and

his brother had a variety show after

leaving CBS the show’s debut on NBC

didn’t sit well with everyone despite

High Hopes it failed to gain traction

more efforts were made to salvage the

show with the Andy Griffith Show

director Bob Sweeney brought in to

assist Gary berhoff was added as a

recurring sketch comedy character

and they introduced acts like the

Carpenters despite these attempts the

show was canceled prematurely and da

knots continued appearing on other

variety shows and in the early 2000s Don

knots was diagnosed with lung cancer

despite growing apart his old friend

Andy Griffith rushed to support him

during his battle Matlock co-star Nancy

Stafford described their rekindled

friendship as filled with laughter

singing and jokes as if they had never

been a part sadly knots lost his fight

with cancer and passed away in 2006 his

daughter Karen later shared her regret

about a moment during his last days she

recalled her father’s natural humor even

as he was approaching the end of his

life he made her laugh hysterically and

she left his side to share the funny

story looking back she wished she had

stayed by his side laughing out loud and

allowing him to hear her Joy da knots

had quit smoking many years before his

diagnosis and he remained optimistic and

positive even when he received the Grim

news he didn’t inform his children about

his chemotherapy treatments as he was

determined to beat cancer and carry on

with life as if it were just a minor

setback ultimately His official cause of

death was pulmonary and respiratory

complications with previous years marked

by unspecified health problems that had

caused him to cancel appearances Don

knots was remembered by his closest

friends as a modest humble and

intelligent individual who left a

lasting impact on those who knew him

Andy Griffith and Ron Howard fondly

recalled his kindness and positive

nature so even though Don Knot’s

upbringing was not that great he made a

name for himself in the world share your

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