Don Knotts was perfect for his many roles

I've always loved the play Harvey". You know, the one about the guy who goes around with the big invisible rabbit. It's one of the greatest comedies written for the stage and no matter how many times I've seen it I always laugh.

Elwood P. Dodd is the guy who goes to Kelsey's, the neighboring bar, with his invisible rabbit Harvey. He even orders drinks for him. What makes me smile every time I see this play is the truth of the thing. Elwood is saner than most of the folks around him. And he has the warm heart of someone who truly cares about others.

I've seen James Stewart play Elwood on Broadway many moons ago. And more recently, in 2012, I saw TV star Jim Parsons from the TV series The Big Bang Theory" play the part.

These men were terrific of course, each finding different aspects of the Elwood character, always understanding he had a warm and loving heart.

Still, I have to say my favorite actor in this prize role wasn't ever on Broadway in the play. He was at Stage West Dinner Theatre in Mississauga and I knew him best as Barney Fyfe on The Andy Griffith Show."

In some ways Barney and Elwood had a lot in common. And the actor who made both these characters alive and believable was perky and lovable Don Knotts.

Knotts had a quirky way of playing oddball characters, so when I met him after his Stage West performance one afternoon in 1995, I wondered if this was part of his personal charm.

Of course, it was.

I wasn't setting out to be an actor," he said. I was planning to become a teacher. But after I spent time in the army touring the South Pacific in a service show I knew I was going down a different road from teaching. That was it, the bug had bit me and I knew my life's work ought to be in the theatre."

Knotts found himself on Broadway playing Corporal Manual Dexterity in the hit comedy No Time for Sergeants." Soon he was a guest on the great talk shows helmed by the likes of Steve Allen and performing on Garry Moore's variety hour.

I created this nervous little guy who was always tripping over his tongue and his feet. People loved it because they identified with what it's like to be placed in a position where you suddenly feel awkward."

Knotts loved doing television and he found his way to the Andy Griffith Show" in 1960. He and Griffith worked so well together audiences tuned in to see them every week. Knotts won five Emmys for his Barney Fife role and the show ran for eight seasons.

The show was set in a small town called Mayberry and I was the deputy sheriff. Folks loved the way I was always getting into trouble trying to apprehend some criminal. The show stayed on the air in re-runs long after it was over.

Television was exhausting though," Knotts said. You were reading and learning one script and performing another. The pace was furious and I finally decided I had to get out from the pressure."

Knotts made 20 movies and was just as popular on the big screen as the small one. His films were mostly silly comedies such as The Reluctant Astronaut" in 1966 and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken " in 1967.

I came back to TV to do Three's Company' in 1979 playing Ralph Furley, the annoying homophobic landlord. I also did some guest shots on Matlock' with Andy around the same time. It was all good.

Knotts missed the stage, however, and the immediacy of a live audience.

I got a feeling I wanted to go back to performing live where you can feel the laughs coming right back at you. So, when I could find a good play I grabbed it. That's why I'm doing Harvey,'" he said at the time.

Knotts just couldn't pass up the Mary Chase comedy with its lovable Elwood and that big invisible rabbit.

It's a classic. There are no dirty words in it and there are lots of laughs. The thing is they're always delivered with a sense of care about the characters being played, especially Elwood. I think people go out of the theatre feeling he's a great guy. They don't ever laugh at him. They laugh at the crazy goings-on around him. And I think by the end of the show people believe they can see Harvey up there with Elwood. And, you know, they're sad when Elwood lets Harvey go. It's like he's losing a great friend."

Don Knotts died in 2006 from lung cancer. He was 81.

Gary Smith has written about theater and dance for The Hamilton Spectator for 40 years. gsmith1@cogeco.ca