When the funny and affable, as well as equally talented, Karen Knotts performed her one-woman show “Tied Up in Knotts” at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts in May 2023, she brought a surprise with her along with her trunk of assorted props and costumes.
This was a family surprise and one that I didn’t learn on stage, but rather while driving her to O’Hare Airport (after a quick stop at Panda Express for some nosh during the ride north) for her to catch her flight back to Los Angeles.
It wasn’t a family tree surprise linked to her famous funny father Don Knotts aka Barney Fife of “The Andy Griffith Show” fame. Rather, this was an Indiana family tie directly tied to her late mom Kathryn Metz.
“My mom Kay was really from Lebanon, Indiana, even though online sources link her to Pennsylvania,” Karen told me.
“Her dad Carl was a minister. While mom was still alive, she was with me once when I traveled back to Indiana when I was a guest at an ‘Andy Griffith Show’ festival. It was too far from Lebanon so she had me drive us over for a quick visit and I got to see the home she grew up in as a young girl.”
Kathryn Elaine Metz Knotts Carly-Smith died at age 96 in September 2023, just a few months after her last performance on stage at Theatre at the Center in Munster.
It was late in April 1993, when I interviewed Karen’s dad, the funny and famously fidgety comedian Don Knotts, while he was co-starring with lovely Barbara Eden (soon to be 95!) in a national tour of the Neil Simon stage comedy “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.”
Karen, 72, is arriving back in Northwest Indiana next month to once again headline one performance of her hit one-woman stage show “Tied Up In Knotts” back at Theatre at the Center at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 8, in the stage space at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road in Munster.
As comedian Karen explains about her father’s career start, he began as a ventriloquist during his military service days and by the 1950s, he was making the rounds of casting directors’ offices in New York City, “when destiny knocked on his door.”
He was cast for a small part in a Broadway play starring pal Andy Griffith, which would later lead to his legacy and TV icon status.
Fast-forward to the 1960s, CBS cast Griffith to star in a sitcom about a small town sheriff, and Knotts decided to ring up his former co-star to ask: “Could you use a deputy?”
Karen still beams when telling her father’s story, as she describes it, capturing “how Barney Fife was born.”
Karen is once again promising audiences plenty of behind-the-scenes stories from her famous dad, and both his movie and TV career, the latter of which not only includes “The Andy Griffith Show,” but also his famed resurgence in the 1980s as fussy landlord Mr. Furley on ABC hit sitcom “Three’s Company,” co-starring with the late John Ritter and Suzanne Somers.
According to Karen, while the other cast members were giving the late Somers, who died at age 76 in 2023, “the silent treatment” on the TV studio set after her manager husband had asked for a large pay increase for his wife, her dad remained friendly with his blonde co-star.
Tickets to “Tied Up In Knotts” starring Karen Knotts are $40 and available by calling the theater box office at 219-836-3255 or online at www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com.
There is also a special pre-show dining option in the ballroom of the CVPA before the performance. For an additional $30, guests can enjoy a special “Mayberry-themed” dinner served by 10Forty Catering and Banquets, featuring Cream of Broccoli Cheese Soup followed by Fried Chicken with Buttermilk Biscuits served with Homestyle Mashed Potatoes and Peas and Carrots, and a dessert finale of old-fashioned Peach Cobbler à la Mode. For booking the meal reservation and prepayment, guests can call the Dining and Events Office at 219-836-1930 Ext. 2.
Karen Knotts’ 90-minute show features her narration with a multimedia presentation as a heartfelt and humorous tribute to her late father, who died at age 81 in 2006, which she describes as “the story of her dad’s career as told from his daughter’s memories and treasured stories of family stardom.”
Following her performance, Karen will also be greeting fans and signing copies of her new hardcover book of the same name, “Tied Up In Knotts” ($21, Chicago Review Press, Sept 2021).
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and radio show host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com.
