Remembering Don Knotts for the Legend He Was (27 Facts)

Not a Typical Childhood

Jesse Donald Knotts was born on July 21, 1924, in Morgantown, West Virginia. He was the youngest of four sons born to William Jesse Knotts, a farmer, and his wife, Elsie Luzetta Knotts. Don’s mother was 40 when she gave birth to him, and his father, who suffered from mental illness, had a nervous breakdown when Don was born.

Don Knotts in 1963 making a funny face.

Photo by Globe Photos / mediapunch / Shutterstock

His father was sadly afflicted with schizophrenia and alcoholism, sometimes frighteningly going after young Don, threatening him with a knife. These experiences taught the young Don to turn inwards and keep himself protected. Don’s oldest brother, Earl, died of pneumonia when Don was 13 years old. Don and his brothers were raised by their mother, who ran a boarding house. She died much later, in 1969, at the age of 84.

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