‘The Andy Griffith Show’: Here’s the Real Reason Don Knotts Left the Show After 5 Seasons

With such a solid run on The Andy Griffith Show, one of the great classic TV shows, it seems improbable that Don Knotts would leave. After five seasons, Mayberry’s favorite deputy turned in his one bullet and gun. He left. Yet the circumstances around Knotts leaving have been worth fodder for a long time.

‘The Andy Griffith Show’ Star Don Knotts Leaves For The World Of Movies

Knotts played Barney Fife, the always uptight and borderline neurotic deputy against Griffith’s Sheriff Andy Taylor. Both of these actors worked well together. The interactions between Andy and Barney are still getting laughs all these decades later. Five seasons into the CBS sitcom, Knotts figured he needed to find some more work.

“I left because Andy said he would never do the show more than five years,” Knotts said one time. “I had a five-year contract and during the fifth season I thought ‘I better start looking around for more work.’” Movies did come calling for Knotts. Before the series, he appeared with Griffith in the movie No Time for Sergeants, and their screen time together would be repeated on CBS.

“I wound up getting an offer from Universal to do movies and do my own pictures,” Knotts said. “And then Andy suddenly said he was going to stay on another two or three years. I hadn’t signed but I had said I would and I had focused all my attention in that direction and I don’t know, I just went ahead.” We get more from Distractify.

Knotts Did Love Playing Barney Fife But Didn’t Expect Show To Go On

For Knotts, he loved being on The Andy Griffith Show and working with Griffith. Leaving was not fun for him at all. “It was a tough time for me because I enjoyed the show so much that I hated to leave,” Knotts said. “I never expected it to go on.” Why did Barney leave Mayberry on the show? Well, he got a better gig in the big city of Raleigh, N.C. Knotts would return as a guest star playing Fife in a few of the color episodes.

Knotts’ work on The Andy Griffith Show led to Emmy Awards. He won for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor or Actress in a Series in 1961, and Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor in 1962 and 1963. He also picked up Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy in 1966 and 1967. That’s a pretty good haul for the actor. If you are looking to watch The Andy Griffith Show, then check your cable TV channels or watch it on PlutoTV.