Andy Griffith & Don Knotts Had 'No Time For Sergeants' Before Playing Sheriff Taylor & Barney Fife

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As Sheriff Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife on TV's hit country-com, The Andy Griffith Show (CBS, 1960-1968), Andy Griffith and Don Knotts were a dynamic duo of comedy. However, the two beloved actors had first worked together a few years before in the big-screen comedy, No Time For Sergeants.

A Closer Look

The film version of No Time For Sergeants was released in 1958 and became Don Knotts' big-screen debut. He played Corporal Brown to Andy Griffith's leading role of Private Will Stockdale.

Subsequently, when Griffith was gearing up production for The Andy Griffith Show, Knotts contacted his pal and colleague and suggested that Sheriff Andy Taylor would need a deputy. Griffith agreed and Knotts was cast as Deputy Barney Fife.

When Knotts left The Andy Griffith Show after its fifth season, the willowy actor would replace Norman Fell as the landlord on ABC's '70s-'80s sitcom, Three's Company.

Following the demise of that jiggle-com, Knotts would then reteam with Griffith for periodic guest appearances on the latter's second hit TV show, Matlock (which this year is being rebooted with Kathy Bates as the new female lead).

More Time For Sargents

The original stage production of No Time for Sergeants starring Andy Griffith (and written by Ira Levin) opened at the Alvin Theater in New York on October 20, 1955, and ran for 796 performances.

In 1956, Griffith received a Tony Award nomination for Distinguished Supporting or Featured Dramatic Actor for his portrayal of Private Will Stockdale.

Griffith had also played the role on March 15, 1955, for a special live TV presentation of Sargents for The United States Steel Hour.

More Crossover Appeal

Along with Andy Griffith and Don Knotts, several other actors appeared in both the 1958 film adaptation of No Time For Sergeants and The Andy Griffith Show.

Some of those crossover roles were played by Dub Taylor, Bartlett Robinson, James Millhollin, Jamie Farr, and more.