Barney Fife

Bernard "Barney" P. Milton Oliver Fife is a fictional character in the American television program The Andy Griffith Show, portrayed by comic actor Don Knotts. Barney Fife is a deputy sheriff in the slow-paced, sleepy southern community of Mayberry, North Carolina. He appeared in the first five seasons (1960–65) as a main character, and, after leaving the show at the end of season five, made a few guest appearances in the following three color seasons (1965–68). He also appeared in the first episode of the spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D. (1968–1971), and in the 1986 reunion telemovie Return to Mayberry. Additionally, Barney appeared in the Joey Bishop Show episode, "Joey's Hideaway Cabin" and, unnamed, in the first episode of The New Andy Griffith Show. In 1999, TV Guide ranked him Ninth on its 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time list. 2Production history Before joining Griffith's show, Don Knotts was a regular on The Steve Allen Show, in which he played several parts. most notably "Mr. Morrison," a nervous man on the street character, upon which Knotts' based the personality of Barney Fife, who himself was a hyperkinetic but comically inept counterpart to Mayberry's practical and composed Sheriff Andy Taylor. According to Andy Griffith, the character of Barney Fife was suggested by Don Knotts himsel