The Andy Griffith Show/Gilligan’s Island crossover we never knew we needed.
It’s the sort of storyline that almost feels like it could be fresh out of an episode of The Andy Griffith Show. Barney Fife pursues a beautiful woman, unaware that she has no interest in him, for far longer than he should have. In fact, this isn’t a funny bit of fiction; it’s a real-life anecdote from the life of Don Knotts.
Despite Knotts’s performance as a bumbling comic foil to Griffith’s straight man, Knotts himself was actually known as quite the ladies’ man. In her book, Tied Up in Knotts: My Dad and Me, Don Knotts’s daughter, Karen Knotts, wrote, “Women loved Dad because of his vulnerability and, of course, he made them laugh.” Knotts had three wives throughout his life and even more romances. If you don’t understand the appeal of a funny man, we’re sorry for you, but Karen Knotts was kind enough to include a wonderful explanation from Nancy, the once-wife of John Ritter who had starred with Don Knotts on Three’s Company.
Nancy said, “I saw Don as the man who was quiet, kind, respectful, warm with the greetings, self-contained; it’s hard to achieve all that. He went from being a highly sophisticated gentleman to the biggest goofball with a rubbery face. There’s almost nothing sexier than someone who can be hilarious. He makes you laugh when he’s being a pro.”
Of course, not everyone was falling for Don Knotts. The book recounted another story, this time from Knotts’s friend, Joni Robbins. Robbins recalled Knotts telling her that he had previously tried to win the affections of one Tina Louise, one of the stars of Gilligan’s Island, and he was less than successful. The book recalled, “He had a thing for redheads, and she had given him her phone number. Every week, he’d call and ask if she’d like to go out on Saturday night. She’d say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I have other plans, but could you call me next week?’ This went on for about a year until he finally realized how naive he’d been.”
So while Tina Louise was immune to Knotts’s charms, we need not feel too sorry for him. Because of his humor and big heart, Knotts was never short of love, both from partners and friends alike.
