Barney / Don Knotts

FAQ: Barney / Don Knotts

Why did Barney (Don Knotts) leave TAGS after the 5th Season?

Andy had originally signed to do the show for 5 years, and I had a five year contract. He said " I'm only going to do this for 5 years and then move on." Even in the beginning of the fifth year he was still saying that. So I started self-protecting immediately and began searching out what I was going to do next. I interviewed with all networks. I was very hot with that show, so I could have had almost anything I wanted. Finally, I wound up getting a very nice feature deal with the universal to make The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. Anyway, it came down to this: I hadn't actually signed with Universal yet but had made a lot deals and negotiated for a long time. Then all of a sudden Andy turned around and changed his mind. He came to me and said, "I've decided to stay on. What do you think? We've got a new deal to offer you. Do you want to stay. But by then I had already committed myself to universal, where I had an opportunity to make features. Although I didn't have a production company , they gave me an office, my own writers and a five year contract. It was a nice deal, and by then I thought it was time for me to move on - so I did. I came back and did a few shows with Andy. I used to kid them when I came back. I'd say "Are you still working with that little screen? Then they'd yell, "here comes the movie actor."