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Don Knotts, an American actor known best for playing the bumbling Deputy Barney Fife in the 1960s series The Andy Griffith Show, has died.Knotts was also widely recognized for his role in the 1970s sitcom Three\'s Company. He played Ralph Furley, a middle-aged landlord with a predilection for leisure suits and ascots who mistakenly thought of himself as a swinger. Knotts, who lived in West Los Angeles, died Friday night of lung cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, Calif., media reports said on Saturday, quoting his business manager and cable TV executives.He was 81.In a career that stretched for a half-century, Knotts acted in seven TV series and more than 25 films, including a number of family-oriented productions from Disney.He was most lauded for his portrayal of the bug-eyed, nervous deputy on The Andy Griffith Show, winning five Emmy awards for the role.The program, which ran from 1960-68, consistently ranked in the Top 10 in the Nielsen ratings of popularity.He entered show business as a ventriloquist in his hometown of Morgantown, W. Va.,Knotts first worked as a comedian doing stand-up routines for soldiers after he enlisted in the U.S. Army in the Second World War. One of his earliest TV appearances was as an original cast member on The Steve Allen Show, a comedy and variety show that ran from 1956-61.He appeared in more than 25 films, including It\'s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964), The Reluctant Astronaut (1967), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), The Apple Dumpling Gang (1974), Gus (1976) and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977).Among recent appearances, he played a pivotal role as a television repairman in the film Pleasantville (1998).Knotts continued to work until recently. His was the high-pitched and wavering voice of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in the Disney film Chicken Little, released in November 2005.
