Okay, so I’ve been digging into this question about Don Knotts’ net worth, and let me tell you, it’s been a bit of a wild goose chase. This guy, Don Knotts, was a real hoot on TV, especially as Barney Fife in “The Andy Griffith Show.” I really wanted to find out how much he made and was left with.
First off, I started by looking up what was published on the internet to see the general idea. There are some conflicting reports, but most of them say he had a net worth of around $3 million when he passed away in 2006. But then, you see some other figures floating around, like $20 million or even $25 million. It’s like, come on, which one is it?
- I tried to figure out what his salary was like back in the day. Apparently, he didn’t own a piece of “The Andy Griffith Show,” which is a bummer. He just got paid a regular salary, like any other actor on any other show.
- Then, I checked out “The Andy Griffith Show Book” by Richard Kelly. Don’s manager, a guy named Sherwin Bash, spilled the beans in there. He basically confirmed that Don was just on a salary. No big-time ownership deals for him.
- I also looked into why he left the show. Turns out, he thought Andy Griffith was going to pull the plug after five seasons, so he started looking for other gigs. He did come back for guest appearances, though, which was cool.
- Don played Barney Fife in the first episode of “Mayberry R.F.D.” too. So he kept that character alive a bit longer.
- For comparison, I looked up Andy Griffith’s net worth. That guy had a cool $60 million when he died in 2012. Talk about a difference!
Here’s what I did:
Some other stuff I found:
So, after all this digging, it looks like Don Knotts probably did have around $3 million to his name when he died. It’s not a bad chunk of change, but it’s definitely not as much as some of those other figures I saw. The guy had a long career, so it makes you wonder why it wasn’t more. Maybe he just wasn’t as savvy with the business side of things, or maybe those other numbers are just way off.
Anyway, that’s my little investigation into Don Knotts’ finances. It was interesting to find out, even if it was a bit all over the place.
