FAREWELL TO MR. FURLEY

I won't claim he was some sort of comic genius, and I'm not even all that fond of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, but for Barney Fife alone, Don Knotts had no precedent, and no true successor in the goofy, gawky, comic-relief-second-banana department (though Michael "Kramer" Richards came close on SEINFELD). Instead of the outlandishly awful outfits they made him wear on THREE'S COMPANY, remember his comic timing and refreshing total lack of irony, the latter summed up in this memorable exchange from GHOST WORLD, where Enid turns in a portrait assignment for her remedial art class:

Roberta: Who is this, Enid?

Enid: It's supposed to be Don Knotts.

Roberta: And what was your reason for choosing him as your subject?

Enid: I dunno... I just like Don Knotts.