Barney Fife

Bernard P. Fife, or Milton Fife
Barney (left) and Gomer Pyle (right).
Portrayed by	Don Knotts
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Deputy Sheriff
Family	Sheriff Andy Taylor (cousin), Virgil (cousin)

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 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.

Don Knotts had previously co-starred on The Steve Allen Show, along with Tom Poston, Pat Harrington Jr., and Louis Nye; there, a frantic, twitching "man on the street" character was introduced. He created Deputy Barney Fife in the same fashion, as 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 himself. At the same time that The Steve Allen Show was ending, Knotts was looking for work. When he saw the episode of The Danny Thomas Show featuring Andy Taylor, he called Griffith suggesting that his sheriff character might reasonably need a deputy. Griffith liked the idea and suggested for him to call Executive Producer Sheldon Leonard. Griffith later recalled that Don Knotts' contribution was the show's saving grace because he was uncomfortable with the original concept to have Andy Taylor being the comic lead. In an interview with The Archive of American Television, Griffith admitted: "The second episode was called 'Manhunt' and I knew by that episode that Don should be the comic and I should play straight for him. That made all the difference."