Nipped in the bud.
One of the first movies I ever saw was "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" at the kiddie matinee. What a blast it was. A great flick and the popcorn cost a dime.
The girl he wins in the end was played by a Playboy model (Joan Staley). Later on he got cocky and started making barking noises whenever Thelma Lou walked by, and it all ended as a big, ugly murder trial played out in screaming headlines in the newspapers.
Growing up, like at a lot of places, one of the local stations showed old movies every Sunday in a cycle that repeated every few months. I always really looked forward to when "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" swung around again.
Ha-waaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwnnnngggggggg in peace.
Posted by: marc at February 25, 2006 07:42 PMI was going to mention "Limpet." That was a fave on TV when I was little. I remember watching it with my cousin for the first time. He was the same person I went to see "Chicken" with. I bet he's having a lot of memories today too. Fun, fun movies.
Posted by: Donnah at February 25, 2006 08:00 PMThis little dude will be missed. Was an outstanding actor. Nobody else could've played his part in anything that he did. RIP, "Barney".
Oh, Donnah, when's the next Home (Fries) Fires?
Posted by: Trambo at February 25, 2006 08:54 PMI've been kicking around ideas for it the past few days. Let me percolate a bit.
Posted by: Donnah at February 25, 2006 09:05 PMOkie dokie. Fine by me. :) Hope you and yours have a great "rest of the weekend". It's kinda nice being kicked back and putting work aside. I could get in the habit of that very easily.
Posted by: Trambo at February 25, 2006 10:17 PMMy former partner -- now age 71-- invested 10k in "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken". To this day he still gets royalty checks. Says it's one of the best investments he ever made.
When the movie came out in Atlanta [Don Knotts was always a favorite here) my pard co-hosted a "premiere" reception, at which Don was present, and got to talk to him at length.
He was shocked at how serious a person Knotts was. He (Don Knotts) told Larry that his comedic persona was meticulously studied and rehearsed,was hard for him to do and did not "come naturally". I was going to say, "Hard to believe, isn't it?", but looking back on his work with this in mind, I can indeed imagine someone serious taking a squeaky voice, a homely, Buster-Keaton-esque face, a 90-pound-weakling physique and applying an extraordinary will and intelligence to become a Don Knotts: sheer genius. What an example to us all! RIP, Barney.
Lotsa fond memories of DK in the movie theater and TV reruns. He's part of those treasured memories that while they fade over time they'll never go away and will be funny forever.
Posted by: Gmac at February 26, 2006 09:38 PMi just remember getting scared when the keys with the blood on them started playing....
bye Barney..Mt. Pilot will miss you..
Posted by: Owen Crosby at February 26, 2006 10:40 PMAs a kid, I couldn't understand how Barney could leave "Anj" and Mayberry behind. As Mr. Furley, he was just Barney and "The Love God" rolled together. I will always think Barney Fife is the best sidekick character in television and I'd like to think somewhere that Thelma Lou and Juanita down at the diner are missing something from now on.
Posted by: Willard at February 27, 2006 02:16 PMWhat about DK in Pleasantville?
Posted by: Richard Cook at February 27, 2006 05:08 PMAnd they used Bon Ami!
Posted by: Willard at March 1, 2006 03:16 PM