Don Knotts may have been one of the busiest and most popular stars on TV in the 20th century, but all that fame does come with a price.
The actor, best known as a comedic legend thanks especially to his stint playing Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show for five seasons, parlayed his career on TV into becoming a household name, both from the big and small screen.
Off-screen though, while he did develop a reputation as a "ladies' man" of sorts, he was also a devoted father to his son Thomas and his daughter Karen Knotts.
© Getty ImagesWhy was Don Knotts' absent so much during his daughter's childhood years?
But the star, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 81, was often quite busy, sometimes struggling to juggle his work with his personal life. That was especially true of his time appearing on The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 to 1965, which his daughter Karen recently recalled for Woman's World.
"We didn't see him a lot, because he worked 10, 12 hours a day," she noted of how rigorous the CBS sitcom's schedule proved to be. "And when he was home, he was always holed up in his room working on his lines and stuff like that."
Why did Don Knotts leave The Andy Griffith Show?
Despite becoming a fan favorite, Don famously quit the sitcom after five seasons, the original deal he'd struck with Andy Griffith, who continued on with the show for three more years after it proved to be financially lucrative.
© Getty ImagesKaren, now 72 and an actress and stand-up comedian like her father before her, defended his decision. "Put yourself in his place," she reasoned. "That show was hard, hard work. Then think of the character, and also the energy that it took to play him."
"Imagine the intensity, plus the level of perfection that was being strived for. Then, all of a sudden, you get offered a five-picture deal to be a star in your own right and make all the decisions."
© Getty ImagesWhat was Don Knotts like to work with?
Despite his busy schedule during her childhood, Karen noted that he was a loving father and was very close with his two kids. In fact, they both often were recruited to be extras on his film sets, including one memorable instance on the set of 1968's The Shakiest Gun in the West.
"I was so excited to be on the set for this one that I couldn't stop smiling," she gushed. "I was just happy and kept smiling. So I'm standing there in the background during this shootout Dad has with the gunslinger, and I'm smiling."
© Getty ImagesHer joy, however, turned out to be badly timed. "The crowd is supposed to be terrified. I think I was 11 or 12. So in between takes, the costume lady comes over to me and wanted to change my outfit a little bit. So they gave me this Western hat. It was big and flat with a wide brim, and the hat covered my face. It put my face in shadow, so you couldn't see me smiling. Oops."
