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~ The Social Diary ~ the on-line magazine covering High Society ..& more ____________________________________________________________ My Week With Don Knotts
by
The Social Diary Entertainment Columnist Fred Saxon Don Knotts passed away on February 24, 2006. While the uniquely talented actor and comedian may have died, the on-screen performances and enjoyment that he brought to audiences will live on forever. Most will remember Don Knotts as the loveable, laughable Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show", or Mr. Furley on "Three's Company." I have my own special memories of Don and the week we spent together in Atlanta Georgia. It was 1979. I was the entertainment reporter at WXIA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Atlanta. My agent sent me on an audition for the part of the ringside radio announcer in a new movie being made in Atlanta. It was called "The Prize Fighter," starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts. I got the part. (pictured here - Fred Saxon and Don Knotts on the set of "The Prize Fighter." Photo is courtesy, credit and copyright of Fred Saxon)
I was thrilled to be doing my very first movie role, and even more thrilled when I discovered all of my scenes would be with Don Knotts and Tim Conway.
Anyone who has seen the movie-making process knows it's a game of "hurry up and wait". There is at least one hour of waiting for every one minute of shooting. My scenes were at the end of the movie, where Bags was battling a tough boxer called "The Butcher" for the championship. As the ring-side radio announcer, I was next to the corner, calling the fight-on camera-but would add the actual audio track later at a recording session in Hollywood. For six days I went to the municipal auditorium
early in the morning to have my makeup applied and take my place
on the set. And for six days, Don Knotts was right there beside
me as we both waited for the camera to roll and the director to
yell "Action!" While we waited we talked. It was great fun to be part of a movie but it was a joy to be able to spend the time between takes talking and schmoozing with the great Don Knotts. He was a kind and quiet man, soft-spoken and friendly. Don told me stories and we shared laughs. I remember Don referring to the green pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes on the table where my microphone was. The microphone and cigarette pack were both props. Don said that up to the start of World War II, Lucky Strikes were in a green package but as the war broke out, they changed their packaging to white using the advertising phrase "Lucky Strike Green has gone to war." He wasn't sure exactly why the company used that phrase but seeing the cigarette pack brought the memory of the slogan back to him. That conversation with Don Knotts has stuck with me, and I recently discovered the history behind Don's story on the internet. (http://www.wclynx.com/burntofferings/adsluckystrikegreen.html) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Strike) Seems they were cleverly marketing cigarettes even then. As the week unfolded, Don Knotts and I became friends as we shot our scenes, talked between takes and shared jokes. Later, when I moved to Los Angeles and went to work for CNN, I would occasionally see Don at an event, but not often. He was a guy who shunned the spotlight and the glitz of Hollywood. I took an improv comedy class where I met Don's daughter, Karen. She was proof that the 'comedy gene' is indeed something you can inherit. I often wish I had a video recording-or even an audio recording of the week I spent with Don Knotts on the set of "The Prize Fighter." I can see us in the scenes from the movie, but that only represents a few minutes of our time together. The last time I saw Don Knotts was October 1999, some 20 years after we first met. My wife and I were having dinner in the Garden Cafe at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. Don was there, dining with a woman. I walked up to his table, introduced myself and reminded him that we had worked together on "The Prize Fighter". He remembered, and said, "that was fun." Yes it was Don. Thank you. And thanks for
all the smiles you brought us through the years with your loveable
characters. * Fred Saxon was selected as the first Hollywood-based entertainment reporter for CNN in 1980 and has been interviewing Hollywood stars ever since. Fred has appeared daily on CNN, The Nine Network Australia, KUSI MORNING NEWS, and FOX IN THE MORNING with his entertainment reports, movie reviews and celebrity interviews. Fred has also hosted the half-hour shows "Closeup," and "Fred Saxon's Inside Entertainment." He has been awarded two EMMYS for his work on television. For more on Saxon please visit www.fredsaxon.com back to New this Week......Fred Saxon Archives...... Home
Warning ** photos, video and writing on this site are the copyright of the author, The Social Diary, San Diego Social Diary, margomargo.com and Margo Schwab. no reproduction of any part or parts is allowed without written permission by Margo Schwab
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