Don Knotts died in early 2006 at the respectable age of 81, at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. His cause of death was cited as pulmonary and respiratory complications of pneumonia related to lung cancer. His health began to deteriorate in the last few months of his life, after a few years of him visibly aging in a fairly fast manner. The actor went to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for therapy during the last months of his life but had gone home after reporting to his family that his health had improved somewhat.
Knotts was buried at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles. He had many guests attending the funeral and received glowing and loving obituaries, with many of the attendees citing him as one of their greatest influences. In early 2011, his family replaced that granite headstone that marked his grave with a bronze plaque containing an engraved image of many of his most popular characters, such as Roy Fleming from The Reluctant Astronaut and Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show, with the engraving: “He saw the poignancy in people’s pride and pain and turned it into something hilarious and endearing”.
The Herbie Franchise
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo was Disney's attempt to revive the Herbie franchise, featuring the beloved anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen Beetle that has a mind of its own. The franchise started out in the 1968 film The Love Bug but began to lose steam after it's a sequel, Herbie Rides Again came out in 1974. Don Knotts appeared in the film as Wheely Applegate,
The film received excellent reviews and managed to revive the franchise, which led to younger audiences getting a chance to put on a seatbelt and enjoy the magic of Herbie. If you’re missing that little love bug, check out the later 2005 rendition called Herbie Fully Loaded starring Lindsay Lohan and Justin Long.
Don Knotts Made People Laugh Even During His Last Day
Don Knotts spent most of his life of over seven decades, making people laugh. The actor has been an entertainer since his early twenties and every professional activity he had ever engaged in was for the sole purpose of putting a huge smile on peoples’ faces. His sense of humor was part of his everyday life and came completely naturally to him, to the point of cracking jokes and trying to make people laugh even during his last living days. While on his deathbed, his daughter Karen couldn’t stop laughing when he told her a great joke, despite the tragic nature of the situation. She said he would often make people laugh hysterically without even trying, as it came so naturally to him.
Karen said that in retrospect, she thinks it would have been better to stay in the room and laugh, rather than leave it just to be polite. Her father spent all his life as a comedian, so looking back, it seems that he would have appreciated knowing that he retained his sense of humor until his last moments. Don Knotts was born into a challenging life, and spent most of his young years dealing with various hardships. He used his sense of humor as a tool to make life a bit better for everyone, so it’s not a surprise that he would crack one last joke to make everyone laugh and feel good even on the sad day of his passing.
Chicken Little
One popular film that many people don’t know that Don Knotts played in is the 2005’s popular animated children’s film Chicken Little. This role ended up being the actor's final role, which was a fitting ending for a long and successful entertainment career. Knotts voiced the character of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in the iconic Disney film, which ended up being a critically acclaimed film.
The film starred a young and cute rooster who has to deal with social problems after having a panic attack and proclaiming famously that “the sky is falling!”. Don Knotts' role in the film as Mayor Turkey Lurkey, was a return to his usual style of roles, with him playing a friendly and kind turkey who like the rest of his type-casted characters, is not the brightest tool is the shed.
Don’s Friendship With Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith and Don Knotts were great friends not just on the screen, but also behind the cameras. The two had fantastic chemistry together and have both fondly reflected on their friendship when questioned about it. All you have to do if you want to see their great connection is to watch how Knott makes Griffith laugh during their shows together, it's immediately clear that they get along really well. When Andy Griffith’s daughter was asked about the duo's relationship, she said: "He loved Don very, very much. They had a deep and abiding respect for each other, and they remained friends till the end."
In fact, the two have recently had a book written about them called "Andy & Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show". The book was written by Daniel de Visé and is based on numerous interviews with people who knew these two from childhood, during their professional lives and right up to their passing. Don and Andy were best friends from the 1950s and their friendship continued all the way until their passing, more than five decades later.