Classic TV Rewind · Episode 2
One Bullet
Season 2, The Andy Griffith Show. Don Knotts and Barney Fife: the one bullet in his shirt pocket, nip it in the bud, the porch scenes, five Emmys, and why he left Mayberry in 1965.
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Shannon The Mayberry courthouse. A deputy in a uniform that's just a little too big for him. He pats his shirt pocket, to make sure it's still there.
Carol His one bullet.
Shannon The sheriff lets him carry a gun. But he has to keep the bullet in his pocket. Because the last time it was in the gun, well, things didn't go so well.
Carol Welcome to Classic TV Rewind, where we go back to the shows we grew up with, and find out what made them work.
Shannon This season, it's The Andy Griffith Show. And this time, we're spending the whole episode with Barney Fife.
Carol Episode two. One Bullet.
Carol So, who was Don Knotts?
Shannon He was born in 1924, in Morgantown, West Virginia. He had a hard childhood. His father was very ill, and his mother ran a boarding house to keep the family going. And young Don found that he could make people laugh.
Carol And he started with a dummy, didn't he?
Shannon He did. He started out as a ventriloquist. In the Second World War, he served in the Army, and he toured with a show that entertained the troops.
Carol And after the war?
Shannon Radio, and then television. He became famous on The Steve Allen Show, as the nervous man in the street. Steve Allen would ask him a simple question, and he'd jump out of his skin. Then came No Time for Sergeants, with Andy Griffith. And the two of them became friends.
Carol And then he called Andy.
Shannon That's right. After he saw the pilot, he called and said a sheriff ought to have a deputy. And Barney Fife was born.
Carol And Barney is such a wonderful character.
Shannon He really is. Barney thinks he's the toughest lawman in North Carolina. He reads up on police procedure, he gives speeches about law and order, and he's always ready for action.
Carol And he's a nervous wreck.
Shannon Completely. His voice goes up, his eyes bug out, his whole body trembles. And then somehow, by the end, he usually does the right thing, or Andy quietly helps him do it, and lets Barney take the credit.
Carol Nip it in the bud!
Shannon His favorite saying. Whenever there's the slightest sign of trouble in Mayberry, Barney wants to nip it in the bud. Before it grows.
Carol So tell us about the bullet.
Shannon Barney had a habit of accidentally firing his gun. Into the floor, into the ceiling, into just about anything. So Andy came up with a solution. Barney could carry his pistol. But only one bullet, and he had to keep it in his shirt pocket.
Carol For emergencies.
Shannon For emergencies. And it became one of the best running jokes on the show. Barney would load it in a moment of excitement, and of course it would go off at exactly the wrong time.
Carol And Andy himself didn't carry a gun at all, did he?
Shannon Usually not. Andy Taylor solved most problems by talking, and listening, and a little common sense. Which tells you a lot about the kind of show it was.
Carol And Barney had a girlfriend.
Shannon Thelma Lou, played by Betty Lynn. Sweet, patient, and absolutely devoted to him, even when he took her for granted.
Carol And Andy and Barney would double date.
Shannon Often. And some of the best scenes in the whole show are the quiet ones. Andy and Barney on the front porch after supper, Andy playing the guitar, Barney trying to decide whether to go uptown for a bottle of pop.
Carol Nothing happens.
Shannon Not a thing, and it's wonderful. Those porch scenes are where you really see the friendship.
Carol And the awards came pouring in.
Shannon They did. Don Knotts won five Emmys for playing Barney Fife. Three of them while he was a regular on the show, and two more for coming back as a guest.
Carol Five Emmys for a deputy with one bullet.
Shannon And every one of them deserved. He made Barney ridiculous and lovable at the same time. You laugh at him, and you never stop rooting for him.
Carol So why did he leave?
Shannon It goes back to Andy. Early on, Andy had said he'd do the show for five seasons, and then stop. So Don Knotts believed the show would end after the fifth season. And he signed a contract to make movies.
Carol And then Andy decided to keep going.
Shannon He did. But by then, Don had already made up his mind to try the movies. So at the end of the fifth season, in 1965, Barney Fife left Mayberry for a job in the big city. Raleigh.
Carol And the movies?
Shannon He made a string of comedies. The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is the one most people remember. He plays a nervous typesetter who spends a night in a haunted house. It's pure Barney, just in a different town.
Carol And he came back to visit.
Shannon He came back as a guest several times, and he won two more Emmys for those visits. And he and Andy stayed close friends for the rest of their lives.
Carol So, what's your pick?
Shannon Mine is Barney's First Car. Barney saves up and buys his very first car, from a sweet little old lady. And it turns out she's not quite as sweet as she looks. It's Don Knotts at his best.
Carol And mine is Barney and the Choir. Barney joins the town choir, and he's convinced he has a beautiful voice. He doesn't. So Andy gives him a solo, into a microphone that's switched off, while the real tenor sings from backstage.
Shannon And our ratings, out of five fishing poles.
Carol For Barney Fife? Five fishing poles. Maybe six.
Shannon Five from me too. And I'll keep the sixth one in my shirt pocket.
Carol That's Barney Fife. One deputy, one bullet, five Emmys, and the best friend a sheriff ever had.
Shannon Next time, the heart of the show. A father, his boy, and the aunt who came to stay. Opie and Aunt Bee.
Carol That's next time, on Classic TV Rewind.