Don Knotts Was a Chicken Plucker Called Jesse-Truth! & Unproven!
Summary of eRumor:
An inspirational email claims actor Don Knotts’ name is Jesse, and Knotts achieved his dream to become a famous performer despite starting out as a chicken plucker as a poor child.
The Truth:
This inspiration email about how actor Don Knotts achieved his dreams and became known for playing Barney Fife on “The Andy Griffith Show” is mostly true. The claim that he worked as a chicken plucker as boy, however, is unproven.
Don Knotts’ real name is Jesse Donald Knotts, and he was raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, by poor parents, according to his autobiography “Barney Fife and Other Characters I have Known.”
The actor talks about how he learned ventriloquism to make a little extra money as a child and worked odd jobs to help support his family. There is no reference to him working as a chicken plucker in his autobiography, so that claim is unproven.
All the other facts reported about Knotts’ life before he became famous for his role as Barney Fife are true.
Posted 04/11/14