Barney Fife was a character of some dimension. He ranged from absurd, strutting bravura to spastic fear to a kind of sad, totally sincere humility. No average actor could pull that off. But to me the thing most distinct about him -- and endearing -- was his optimism. Crazy optimism! One of the great characterizations of TV comedy, and of Americana.

rrpjr...just curious..his optimism, as expressed personally, not as an actor..or in his acting characterizations? agree...awesome self-effacing talent.
ryan

he lived here in WV somewhere. I'm not sure where though.

Ryan: Barney Fife. What I remember was this wiry little figure of energy and determination -- often ridiculously misplaced. There was nothing he and "Andge" couldn't handle. Usually he'd botch it, of course. My memory may be hazy -- I haven't seen the show in a long time, and I'm sure he had his low moments. He was kind of manic. But no matter how "out there" he was, his performance always stayed within that clear integrity of character he created. In reality, a guy like Fife should be unbearably obnoxious. But Don Knotts gave him real, sympathetic humanity. I stayed home from school more than once just to see the reruns at 11:00 am.

rr...i see. yes, it would be impossible to argue against his comedic timing and virtues. yes, he managed to always seem to be 'in the way', but you could never fault his efforts..completely sympathetic character that one couldn't help but love. :)
ryan