Simple biography doesn't do Don Knotts justice. The facts are straight, but the Rosebud is missing. On the surface, Knotts comes across as simply one more human cartoon, heir to the throne of The Keystone Kops, Laurel and Hardy, and The Three Stooges. Barney Fife had a confident swagger, but we knew there was nothing to back it up. He was bluffing.
Television is rife with comic sidekicks, but few have any real pathos.
It's at once hilarious and painful, because we've been there. Knotts is an everygeek, a hero for the rest of us. If Hollis Figg can stand up to the man, anyone can. We laugh at Don Knotts, but we can't help pulling for him. In a just world, it wouldn't be necessary to plug the cause of Don Knotts.