Don Knotts was a beloved comedic actor best known for his part of Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show and his role of Ralph Furley on the sitcom Three’s Company. The actor was cracking jokes up until his final breath. Here’s what he was sick with, how he died, and his net worth at the time of his death.
Don Knotts died on February 24, 2006
The Barney Fife actor died on Feb. 24, 2006 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He died from pulmonary and respiratory complications as a result of lung cancer. His family and his old friend and co-star Andy Griffith were with him when he died.
Knotts’ heart had stopped when he was in the ambulance that was taking him to the hospital. Paramedics revived him on the way, but by the time the family and Griffith got to the medical center, everyone knew there wasn’t much time left.
Shortly after Knotts’ death, Griffith spoke to Larry King on Larry King Live about the night his friend died.
“He died at eleven o’clock,” he said. “I believe that’s right. I was with him until 6:00 or 6:30 I guess and he couldn’t respond but I did — I was able to tell him I loved him and I asked him to ‘Breathe, breathe, keep breathing Jess.’ His name was Jesse and he never liked that name but he let me know it one time and I always called him Jess.”
Knotts’ daughter Karen told Closer Weekly that her father was cracking jokes even on his deathbed.
“When he was dying, he was making us laugh in hysterics,” she said. “He was literally dying, but he did something or said something that caused my stepmother and me to go into fits of laughter.”
What was Don Knotts sick with?
When Knotts was 80, he developed pulmonary fibrosis and quickly learned he had lung cancer. At the time, he was still working. He was the voice of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in Disney’s 2005 movie Chicken Little and he reprised his Three’s Company role of Ralph Furley for an episode of That ‘70s Show.
For a while, Knotts told no one of his diagnosis because he wanted to keep working.
“Don told almost no one of his illness, lest news should leak to the tabloids,” Daniel de Visé wrote in his 2015 biography of the two actors, Andy and Don. “Don still wanted to work, and a sick actor could not get work. He didn’t tell his children he was dying. He didn’t tell Andy.”
Of course, eventually, Knotts’ condition took a turn for the worse.
Don Knotts’ net worth at the time of his death
Knotts had an extensive career. In addition to his roles in The Andy Griffith Show and Three’s Company, he appeared in such films as The Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Ghost, Mr. Chicken, and Pleasantville. In 2000, the Barney Fife actor received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was also a five-time Emmy award winner for his work on The Andy Griffith Show.
At the time of his death, his net worth was $20 million.
