For some reason there's been a lot of clickbait recently about a falling out between Don Knotts and Andy Griffith that confirms a common theory that has been brought up on the boards multiple times as to why Don left. According to the clickbait which is sourced from autobiographic references (and I can provide the links if anyone asks) towards the end of season 5 Don Knotts went up to Andy Griffith and asked him for a raise to continue playing Barney Fife and when Griffith refused, Don went to Universal and limited his time on the show to two guest appearances each in Seasons 6 and 7, one guest appearance in Season 8 and technically twice on Mayberry RFD, the first being the episode where Andy and Helen get married and the second appearance on the episode that acted as a spin off for the disastrous The New Andy Griffith Show. I say technically twice for Mayberry RFD because on The NAGS pilot Knotts character is not called Barney Fife but has the same mannerisms and iconic salt-and-pepper tweed suit. Maybe he was the Howie Fike the editor at the Mayberry Paper was always confusing Barney for. Reportedly Griffith was not happy about this (particularly when Giffith's Jim Fritzell and Everette Greenbaum penned movie bombed at the box office unlike Don's The Ghost and Mr. Chicken which was a success and still a good kiddie Horror movie) and the relationship between them was cool until the late seventies when it started to heal.

So yeah it does look like Griffith's refusal to give Knotts a pay raise was the reason he left and his excuse of the five years was just a way of tactfully dismissing the issue as it was both technically true (his contract was indeed set to expire at the end of season 5) and not a way to bring back bad memories (like Griffith having a extremely graphic nightmare that he was killing Don with his bare hands and upon waking up frantically dialling his number and calling him just so he could hear his voice and make sure he was okay or the fact that the only reason Knotts won his fourth Emmy award for his appearance on The Return of Barney Fife was due to it being the Emmys giving Griffith the Middle Finger for not keeping Knotts on the show past Season 5. Pat Burtram Frank Caddy or Werner Klemperer would've been much more deserving of the nomination.

For some reason there's been a lot of clickbait recently about a falling out between Don Knotts and Andy Griffith that confirms a common theory that has been brought up on the boards multiple times as to why Don left. .

Specific to "click bait", it's important to keep in mind what their main goal is, and it is not to inform.

What I read somewhere was that even Griffith wanted out after five years, but due to the popularity of the show, the sponsors wanted more. So they made AG an offer that was too good to refuse. They gave him a bigger percentage of the ownership share.

When discussion of keeping Knotts came to the table, Knotts now wanted a percentage too.
Griffith didn't want to give his brand new raise away, and Sheldon Leonard didn't feel like giving anymore of his share away, either. So Knotts was offered a flat raise, with the explanation "that's as good as it's gonna get" and that wasn't good enough for Knotts.

I don't remember where I got all that, I didn't bookmark it...but if you google the subject long enough you'll likely find it the same as I did.

This discussion certainly came up before, I remember one from the beginning of the year.

To me it seems reasonable to assume the problem started with Jim Nabors being given his own series effectively leapfrogging over Don Knotts. That must have really bothered Don, Jim was a semi-regular on TAGS and now he has his own series. Don was an extremely important part of TAGS and the line was now drawn in the sand, if he was so important to the series he needed a practical demonstration of that importance. The star business is a big deal for people in the industry so this was no little thing. He almost had to demand some significant compensation inducement to continue. Again, Griffith already was getting his with or without Don so both decisions, the one by Andy not to give Don a percentage and Don walking made sense.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EKSJ1UK6k5Y

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EKSJ1UK6k5Y

I took a look at the clip, I think it's naïve to believe that Jim getting the Gomer show didn't effect everything that came after it with respect to the exit of Don from the Griffith show. Next to Andy, Don was the single most important reason the show became the hit that it had become. Now a semi-regular had leapfrogged over Don, was the star of his own series, Andy and Sheldon were getting a piece of that series and the individual left behind in all this was Don. I'm sure Don saw it that way and his people saw it that way. Maybe asking for a taste of the action was a negotiating position, maybe if Don had been offered his own spinoff at the end of season 6 he might have agreed, but one thing was for sure, he had to get something of real substance, a raise was not getting it done.

I know you place a great deal of stock in the Universal picture deal but please remember it was not uncommon for individuals to work in both film and TV at the same time, Dick Van Dyke did three movies while his series was on, Ray Walston did Kiss Me Stupid while his series was on, Fred MacMurray did movies, Lucy did movies, the list goes on.

I took a look at the clip, I think it's naïve to believe that Jim getting the Gomer show didn't effect everything that came after it with respect to the exit of Don from the Griffith show. Next to Andy, Don was the single most important reason the show became the hit that it had become. Now a semi-regular had leapfrogged over Don, was the star of his own series, Andy and Sheldon were getting a piece of that series and the individual left behind in all this was Don. I'm sure Don saw it that way and his people saw it that way. Maybe asking for a taste of the action was a negotiating position, maybe if Don had been offered his own spinoff at the end of season 6 he might have agreed, but one thing was for sure, he had to get something of real substance, a raise was not getting it done.

I know you place a great deal of stock in the Universal picture deal but please remember it was not uncommon for individuals to work in both film and TV at the same time, Dick Van Dyke did three movies while his series was on, Ray Walston did Kiss Me Stupid while his series was on, Fred MacMurray did movies, Lucy did movies, the list goes on.
But just piecing the facts together.
-Knotts was a truly unique individual
-His daughter said he was a hypochondriac. Constantly anxious and imagining health issues.
-Betty Lynn said on set he was a loner, writing poetry, not mixing.
-still did guest appearances 5 x after leaving on tags for people who supposedly stabbed him in the back?
- not one iota of evidence of bad blood between him and Griffith during the tags color episode period
-Knotts also did lesser role movies during his pre leaving tags years.
- a great depression child carryover to his later years wanting financial security
-said he and Griffith discussed his leaving and Griffith gave his blessing
-sure more money for Knotts had to debated. But was he totally low balled?
-after the first year of tags could of been called "The Don Knotts Show". Knotts was the show. Why didn't he hold out or demand more $ when his dominant role emerged?
-why didn't he ask for a lions share of $ after all his tags Emmys?
-rewatching the clip there's a full length interview link. Knotts clearly says he had no communication with CBS brass at that leaving time. He was offered his own show by other networks but refused. He plainly states he wanted to be totally focused on his movie deal.

Just my take on it. I truly enjoy and respect everyone's tags opinions.

If Griffith and Knotts were feuding, they had the dignity not to do it in the court of public opinion. Maybe Knotts left amicably; maybe he was pushed out after losing a power struggle. Who knows? I highly doubt anyone affiliated with TAGS at the time thought the series would remain popular decades after it ceased production.
In retrospect, Knotts’s departure seems shrewd in terms of timing. The quality of the series began to decline afterwards. I think Knotts took Barney Fife as far as he could go.

Here's the extended Knott's interview. He talks about never talking to CBS brass at the tags leaving time, refusing other networks tv show offers at the time, strictly wanting to be focused on his universal feature film deal. Starts at 25:00 near the end

https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/don-knotts

But just piecing the facts together.
-Knotts was a truly unique individual
-His daughter said he was a hypochondriac. Constantly anxious and imagining health issues.
-Betty Lynn said on set he was a loner, writing poetry, not mixing.
-still did guest appearances 5 x after leaving on tags for people who supposedly stabbed him in the back?
- not one iota of evidence of bad blood between him and Griffith during the tags color episode period
-Knotts also did lesser role movies during his pre leaving tags years.
- a great depression child carryover to his later years wanting financial security
-said he and Griffith discussed his leaving and Griffith gave his blessing
-sure more money for Knotts had to debated. But was he totally low balled?
"after the first year of tags could of been called "The Don Knotts Show". Knotts was the show. Why didn't he hold out or demand more $ when his dominant role emerged?
-why didn't he ask for a lions share of $ after all his tags Emmys?
-rewatching the clip there's a full length interview link. Knotts clearly says he had no communication with CBS brass at that leaving time. He was offered his own show by other networks but refused. He plainly states he wanted to be totally focused on his movie deal.

Just my take on it. I truly enjoy and respect everyone's tags opinions.


Wow, a lot to comment on here, I'll do my best:

"still did guest appearances 5 x after leaving on tags for people who supposedly stabbed him in the back"?

I never said Don was stabbed in the back. Andy and the rest of the owners were making money, Don and whoever was managing his career at the time understood that, this is a business. It was up to Don and his business people to calculate Don's worth to what was now becoming a franchise (two shows, (TAGS and Gomer) plus what must have seen at the time the likelihood that the show was going to be very valuable in reruns (keep in mind the show was already doing well in morning reruns). This was the time to strike, while the iron was hot. From the business end of things, Don made the show much better and added immense value no question, but honestly based on what had already been negotiated with CBS he wasn't needed. That put him in a difficult negotiating position and he had to make a stand either he would get what he thought he was worth or he would leave the show. This is business, it's not personal. Andy and Don were still friends, still valuable to each other, and Andy was an important person in the business (so was Sheldon), Don was going to move on with class not burn his bridges.

"said he and Griffith discussed his leaving and Griffith gave his blessing
sure more money for Knotts had to debated. But was he totally low balled"

I'm sure this is true. Andy had to make a business decision, he consulted Sheldon and Sheldon advised Andy against offering a piece of ownership. Don had done 5 years he was more than entitled not to renew his contract. I don't think he was lowballed, he was probably offered a competitive contract but the producers just could not meet Don's price (this is not uncommon in business situations, it happens all the time).

"after the first year of tags could of been called "The Don Knotts Show". Knotts was the show. Why didn't he hold out or demand more $ when his dominant role emerged"?

I wouldn't go that far, but Don next to Andy was the primary reason why the show was such a hit. Don was not a star in the same sense Andy was and it would have been very foolish to walk off the show or make unreasonable demands that early in the shows history.

-Knotts also did lesser role movies during his pre leaving tags years.

True

- a great depression child carryover to his later years wanting financial security

I agree with that, he also had learned from some of the oldtimers in the business not to sell yourself short, public taste is very fickle and you can go from star one minute to cutting ribbons at car wash openings, and judging beauty contest at bowling alleys the next. In other words make sure you get paid what you think you are worth.

"rewatching the clip there's a full length interview link. Knotts clearly says he had no communication with CBS brass at that leaving time. He was offered his own show by other networks but refused. He plainly states he wanted to be totally focused on his movie deal".

Well we know he did go back into TV, in fact he had his own production company. Whatever came in the aftermath of leaving TAGS concerning future TV shows who knows. The offers may not have given him enough control or he may not have thought what he was being offered was promising enough (could have been some kind of sitcom dad or something ridiculous like the offers Jerry Van Dyke was getting).

I hope I covered everything. One statement you made I agree 100% with,

"Just my take on it. I truly enjoy and respect everyone's tags opinions".

(I too enjoy talking about the show).

But just piecing the facts together.
-Knotts was a truly unique individual
-His daughter said he was a hypochondriac. Constantly anxious and imagining health issues.
-Betty Lynn said on set he was a loner, writing poetry, not mixing.
-still did guest appearances 5 x after leaving on tags for people who supposedly stabbed him in the back?
- not one iota of evidence of bad blood between him and Griffith during the tags color episode period
-Knotts also did lesser role movies during his pre leaving tags years.
- a great depression child carryover to his later years wanting financial security
-said he and Griffith discussed his leaving and Griffith gave his blessing
-sure more money for Knotts had to debated. But was he totally low balled?
-after the first year of tags could of been called "The Don Knotts Show". Knotts was the show. Why didn't he hold out or demand more $ when his dominant role emerged?
-why didn't he ask for a lions share of $ after all his tags Emmys?
-rewatching the clip there's a full length interview link. Knotts clearly says he had no communication with CBS brass at that leaving time. He was offered his own show by other networks but refused. He plainly states he wanted to be totally focused on his movie deal.

Just my take on it. I truly enjoy and respect everyone's tags opinions.

So Don Knotts wrote poetry.. I'd love to read some of that.

:)