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6 unusual facts about Barney Fife


Barney Fife

Like Andy, who was stationed in France, Barney served in World War II, although he was a file clerk who never left the United States (he stated that "me and this other fella ran the PX library" on Staten Island).

Lydia Crosswaithe was one of the young ladies whom he and Thelma Lou tried to match with Mayberry's sheriff.

Father was a Fullback

Actress Betty Lynn would achieve immortality almost ten years after making Father was a Fullback as Thelma Lou, Barney Fife's girlfriend in The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968).

Steve Bridges

Steve Bridges (May 22, 1963 – March 3, 2012) was an American comedian, impressionist, and actor who "developed a repertoire of over 200 impressions, including TV characters Barney Fife and Homer Simpson, broadcasters Tom Brokaw, Paul Harvey and Rush Limbaugh, and political leaders Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Arnold Schwarzenegger".

The Norman Rockwell Code

The police call in Professor Langford Fife (a pastiche of both Robert Langdon from the book and Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show), a professor of symbology at a local community college, to help them solve the mystery.

The Reluctant Astronaut

Comedian Knotts won several Emmy Awards as small-town comic sheriff's deputy Barney Fife in the 1960-1968 television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show but left the show as a regular at the end of its fifth season (1964–1965) to pursue a career in feature films with Universal Pictures.


Dennis Swanberg

Swanberg's act often consists of impersonations of entertainment celebrities such as James Stewart, Mr. Haney from Green Acres, Forrest Gump, Paul Lynde and Barney Fife (Don Knotts).

Enid Markey

During the 1950s and 1960s she appeared in several television guest-starring roles, including The Andy Griffith Show as Barney Fife's landlady, and an episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., as Grandma Pyle.

Gregg Binkley

Binkley once held a job making celebrity impersonation phone calls, posing as Don Knotts' character Barney Fife.


see also