The Andy Griffith Show was a television series that traded on good, old-fashioned values,
and a large part of the appeal of the show was how loving the interactions
between the characters were. Though there were oftentimes conflicts in the show’s
setting of Mayberry, things never got too dark. Sadly, the same can’t be said for the atmosphere
behind the scenes of the series. There was some tension between performers on the show,
particularly between titular star Andy Griffith and Don Knotts. Join
Facts Verse as Don Knotts’ true feelings about Andy Griffith are finally confirmed.
Were Don Knotts and Andy Griffith Really Friends? On The Andy Griffith Show, Andy Griffith played
neighbors and coworkers living in the small town of Mayberry. Many decades after the show
ended its run, the two found themselves neighbors in real life. In 2004, Andy purchased a rather
expensive new home. The home cost $2.4 million dollars, and it just so happened to put him in the
vicinity of his old costar. Andy and Don had some spats during the time that they worked together
on the series, but they were on decidedly good terms when Andy showed up in Don’s neighborhood.
The two took advantage of being neighbors by going on double dates alongside their respective wives.
During the time that Andy Griffith and Don Knotts were working together on The Andy Griffith Show,
the prior performer was often finding himself exceedingly jealous of the latter. Typically,
it’s the supporting star that’s jealous of the titular performer. However,
in the case of this beloved series, it was Don Knotts who received the most
affection from audience members. This was true then and it’s still true now,
years after both performers passed away. Decades later, while going on double
dates alongside Andy and their respective wives, it was Don who was getting jealous.
The story goes that the woman Don Knotts was married to at the time of these double dates found
Andy Griffith’s jokes a little bit funnier than her husband. Either that, or she was smitten with
the aging television star. The woman in question is Frances Yarborough, whom Don was married to
from 2002 until his death in 2006. After so many years of living, one might think that Don
had grown immune to bouts of romantic jealousy. However, it seems that this wasn’t the case. Don
apparently got pretty peeved about his wife’s constant humoring of Andy’s tired jokes,
to the point where he had to make a fuss about it. As we’ve already established, little spats between
the two old friends were nothing new. The incident did nothing to break down Don’s third and final
marriage, and he and Andy certainly considered each other close as he was passing away.
Andy Had Immense Respect for His Old Friend Don If Don Knotts was obsessed with the way that his
third wife was laughing at Andy Griffith’s jokes, Andy himself was oblivious. It seems that all
Andy care about was the fact that he was getting the chance to spend his twilight
years with his old friend and costar. Perhaps it was these positive feelings that allowed
Andy to be funny enough to crack up Frances Yarborough! Don and Andy were both considered
pretty big womanizers during their lifetimes, though many believe that there were few people
that the performers had closer relationships to when all was said and done than each other.
The Andy Griffith Show was a series that appealed to audiences thanks to its Southern
charm and stars Andy Griffith and Don Knotts brought a good deal of authenticity in this
regard. Both of the performers were Southerners that grew up during the Great Depression,
and this taught them the value of hard work. The two had a close bond, and their passion for giving
their work their all allowed them to put pettiness aside while working on their beloved show.
Some might imagine that Andy Griffith and Don Knotts didn’t meet until starring together on The
Andy Griffith Show, but this isn’t the case. The two met for the first time several years prior,
while starring together in the 1955 film No Time for Sergeants. Not long after that, the
two appeared together on Broadway. It was during this time that they started to form a
personal relationship. In addition to both being talented performers, one thing that Don and Andy
bonded over was the fact that they both had a propensity for drinking a bit too heavily and
cheating on their respective spouses. At the time that they first became friends, both performers
were with their first wives, whom they cheated on quite a bit. By the time they were having
jealous spats about jokes over dinner on double dates, the two had calmed down their infidelity.
Don and Andy Both Loved Cheating on Their Wives Andy Griffith was married to his first wife
throughout the entire duration of his time on The Andy Griffith Show,
but that didn’t stop him from starting up an extramarital affair with the woman who
portrayed his love interest in the series. That woman was none other than Aneta Corsaut,
who played the character of Helen Crump. The two struck up a romantic relationship soon after Aneta
was brought onto the series, which was in 1963. Andy had been married to his first wife, Barbara,
since 1949. They would remain married until 1972, despite the fact that Andy was always cheating.
Besides Don Knotts, another person who is often brought up when determining who
Andy Griffith was closest to is Aneta Corsaut. Tellingly, three names that don’t get brought up
much are those of the late television star’s three wives. Though there was arguably no
woman that Andy was closer to during his lifetime than Aneta, she was far from being the only other
person that he cheated on one of his three wives. Another notable figure that Andy allegedly engaged
in extramarital relations with was Joanna Moore. Andy’s sinful behavior was allegedly fuelled by
alcohol abuse, which was something that he had a problem with just as much as cheating. Meanwhile,
his first wife turned to alcohol abuse herself when he husband continued covering up affairs.
Being married three times over the course of their lives was just another one of the many
things that Don Knotts and Andy Griffith had in common. Don’s first wife was named Kathryn Metz,
and they were married from 1947 to 1964. Another thing that Don and Andy
shared was the fact that they both had some dark secrets. One of Andy’s dark secrets was
that he was prone to fits of rage. Given that he left behind an impressive legacy as
someone who continues to bring smiles to the audience’s face via his work, this may come
as a shock to many of his fans. Andy’s rage apparently got so bad at times that he would
trash cars and hotel rooms. During the filming of The Andy Griffith Show, there were said to
be times where Andy’s coworkers were cowering in fear because of the performer’s rage bouts.
Don and Andy Bonded Over Bad Habits Andy’s rage issues caused him to seek out
a good psychiatrist, and he allegedly kept seeing this psychiatrist for more than a decade. This is
yet another thing that he and Don Knotts had in common. The rage that Andy was experiencing during
the time that The Andy Griffith Show was first airing got even worse when Don decided to exit
the series after five seasons. There were numerous reasons why Don made the decision to leave, with
the fact that he made so much less money than Andy being one of them. As we’ve already established,
Don was the more beloved of the two performers among audience members. Andy was the straight man,
and Don was the funny one. Don knew he could make more money working up on the big screen.
Though it’s certainly true that Don didn’t balk at the prospect of making more money via pictures
than he was on The Andy Griffith Show, the actor went to his deathbed claiming that money wasn’t
the only reason he quit the series after only five seasons of his eight-season run. According
to the late Don Knotts himself, he and Andy had agreed before even starting on the series that
it was only going to last five seasons. By the time filming of the fifth season started
wrapping up, Don started looking elsewhere without considering that Andy had perhaps
changed his mind about bringing the show to an end. By the time Don realized that
Andy was going forward with more seasons of the series, the actor had already received a
lucrative offer to start appearing in Hollywood pictures. Given that the working relationship
between him and Andy was already mired by issues such as jealousy and wage disparity,
Don decided to go forward with his Hollywood work and abandon the series prematurely.
The Andy Griffith Show lasted for eight seasons in total, though Andy Griffith himself decided to
jump ship just two seasons after Don Knotts. The final season focused on supporting characters,
and eventually yielded a number of spinoff series. Don and Andy continued to be in-demand
celebrities until their deaths, but most would agree nothing they did after matched
the highs of their work on the beloved show. Don Knotts passed away in February of 2006,
with his cause of death being related to lung cancer. At the time of his passing,
he was 86 years old. Andy passed away himself around six years later,
with his cause of death being a heart attack. Andy was 81, and he died in July of 2012.
Though Don Knotts and Andy Griffith were both jealous of one another at various points in
their lifetimes, that didn’t stop them from being friends until the end. Now it’s
time to hear from you: did you know that Andy Griffith was professionally jealous
of supporting star Don Knotts during his time on The Andy Griffith Show and
that Don later grew jealous of Andy in his personal life? Comment down below!