Late in April 1993, I interviewed funny and famously fidgety (on screen that is) comedian Don Knotts, while he was co-starring with lovely Barbara Eden (soon to be 92!) in a national tour of the Neil Simon stage comedy “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.”
We were all three backstage at majestic Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee, and both stars were kind and gracious to the skinny 22-year-old cub newspaper reporter, who had just graduated from Valparaiso University.
Thirty years later, I’m still a newspaper and broadcast journalist, and now I’m interviewing Don Knotts’ kind and gracious daughter Karen, who works hard to keep the memory and show biz legacy of her father alive and known in the minds of generations old and new.
Karen, 69, will be a guest on my weekly WJOB radio show at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 18, and there will be plenty to talk about. In fact, she is the same age her dad was when I interviewed him three decades ago.
As comedian Karen explains about her father’s career start in the 1950s, her dad Don was making the rounds of casting directors’ offices in New York City “when destiny knocked on his door.”
Forever remembered as the nervous and high-strung small town deputy of television fame, it was his casting that came first, for a small part in a Broadway play starring pal Andy Griffith, which would later lead to his legacy and TV icons status.
Fast-forward to the 1960s, CBS cast Griffith to star in a sitcom about a small town sheriff, and Knotts decided to ring up his former co-star to ask: “Could you use a deputy?”
Karen still beams when telling her father’s story, as she describes it, capturing “how Barney Fife was born.”
Best of all, Karen is arriving to Northwest Indiana this week to headline one performance of her hit one-woman stage show “Tied Up In Knotts” at Theatre at the Center at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 21 in the stage space at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road in Munster.
She is promising audiences plenty of behind-the-scenes stories from her famous dad, and both his movie and TV career, the latter which not only includes “The Andy Griffith Show,” but also his fame resurgence in the 1980s as fussy landlord Mr. Furley on ABC hit sitcom “Three’s Company,” co-starring with the late John Ritter and Suzanne Somers.
Tickets to “Tied Up In Knotts” starring Karen Knotts are $40 and available by calling the theater box office at 219-836-3255 or online at www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com.
There is also a special pre-show dining option in the ballroom of the CVPA prior to the performance. For any additional $30, guests can enjoy a special “Mayberry-themed” dinner served by Chef Joe Trama and his team showcasing a fun menu starring Otis Campbell’s Homemade Vegetable Soup, Mrs. Larch’s Denver Biscuits with butter, Aunt Bee’s Fried Chicken, “Nip it in the Bud!” Spuds with Country Gravy, Emmett’s Mixed Carrots and Peas, and Opie’s “Carrot-Top” Cake for dessert. For booking the meal reservation and prepayment, guests can call Trama Catering Dining and Events Office at 219-836-1930 Ext. 2.
“I have fond memories of visiting the set of Mayberry and seeing cast members like Ron Howard who played Opie and Frances Bavier as Aunt Bea,” said Karen Knotts, who lives in Los Angeles.
“They were not like their TV characters. In 1970s, when I was a teenager attending Beverly Hills High, and later as student at USC, while Dad was doing variety shows with Bill Cosby and Tim Conway and making friends with movie star divas, I was introduced to so many great names. As an adult, my Dad encouraged me with both my acting and librarian careers. I love revisiting these memories of our special father-daughter bond. Baby boomers grew up with great shows on TV.”
Karen Knotts’ 90-minute show features her narration with a multimedia presentation as a heartfelt and humorous tribute to her late father, who died at age 81 in 2006.
Karen describes the stage show as the story of her dad’s career as told from his daughter’s memories and treasured stories of family stardom. During some moments of her performance, Karen also slips in and out of character in the guise of her dad’s favorite Aunt Emma and at times, even recreating the vocals and mannerisms in character as TV’s Aunt Bee. From fond memories of her special father-daughter bond to stories about visiting the set of Mayberry and which of the cast members were “not” like their TV characters providing an insider scoop for all the Mayberry and Don Knotts fans.
Following her performance, Karen will also be greeting fans and signing copies of her new hardcover book of the same name “Tied Up In Knotts” ($21 Chicago Review Press, Sept 2021).
“People have been asking me to write this book for years but I always said no, because I didn’t think I could,” she said.
“I finally accepted the challenge and I’m so glad I did because I learned even more about Dad and our family. I’ve played my stage show at theaters and festivals all over and have found Baby Boomers really love it, because like my book, it’s a witty show about growing up with a legendary comedian dad as told in a unique way with lots of visuals on screen, and through storytelling, jokes, characters and impersonations.”
Of course, I wanted a family recipe from Karen to add to my files and she had the perfect southern comfort food favorite to share.
“My dad loved Grandma Elsie’s fried chicken and collard greens,” Karen said, reminding that her father and his family hailed from Morgantown, West Virginia.
“Your readers will love this collard greens recipe too. It’s better than Aunt Bee’s recipe.”
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at [email protected] or mail your questions: From the Farm, P.O. Box 68, San Pierre, IN 46374.
Makes 8 servings
12 hickory-smoked bacon slices, finely chopped
2 medium-size sweet onions, finely chopped
3/4 pound smoked ham, chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 containers (32-ounce size) chicken broth
3 packages (1 pound size) fresh collard greens, washed and trimmed
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1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
1. Cook bacon over medium heat in a 10-quart stockpot for 10 to 12 minutes or until almost crisp.
2. Add onion to stockpot, and sauté 8 minutes. Add garlic and ham, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth, collard greens, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 2 hours or until desired degree of tenderness.