He may not have too much to do with Andy Kaufman, but some may recall a few years ago that Jim Carrey was heavily figured to reprise Don's role in "The Incredible Mr. Limpet," which is sorta too bad that it didn't happen, although the original film stands so well on its own.
And Don did work with another famous Andy, Mr. Griffith. I remember that Barney Fife would call Andy what sounded like "Ange" as a nickname... or "Andge"? Wondered if people named Andy had other people call them that.
I met Mr. Knotts several years ago when our charity gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award at our annual benefit. Steve Allen, whose TV show Don more or less started out on many moons ago, was still alive, and was there to present that award to Don. It was a great moment, and the audience gave him a standing ovation when he accepted.
He was a friend to our charity over the years, as he was suffering from macular degeneration and was nearly blind himself. Before the show, I met him and helped him get to the photographer who was taking portraits. He seemed very genuine and friendly, and he was just happy to be there... it was very touching.
Every year he made his donation by "buying" a page in our event's commemorative journal, which usually just bore the inscription "Congratulations, Honorees!" and his name. I'll miss seeing that page this year.
