In 1942, the famous director Ernst Lubitsch sought out Jack Benny to star in
the movie he was going to make, "To Be Or Not To Be". In his autobiography,
Sunday Nights At 7, Jack Benny relates how he asked Mr. Lubitsch if he was sure
he wanted a comedian to play a dramatic part like this. Mr. Lubitsch told
Jack Benny, "You are not a comedian, you are a dramatic actor playing the role
of a comedian".I always felt that way about Don Knotts. It seemed to me Don
could take on whatever the role called for without over doing the part. I
never saw Don give a bad performance, evidenced by 5 Emmys he won. If you
have never read Don's autobiography, "Barney Fife and Other Characters I Have
Known", you would be doing yourself a great service to pick up a copy. In it
Don relates how tragic his early life was. Father having a nervous breakdown,
brother dying young of asthma, Don having to sleep on a cot in the kitchen so
his mother could rent out the bedrooms. So, you see, Don was actually a
dramatic actor who was only portraying a comedian. As Andy told Opie "That's
the actor in the man". Orville Hendricks - Selling Butter and Eggs in Mt. Pilot
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