Bernard "Barney" Fife is a fictional character in the American television program The Andy Griffith Show, portrayed by comic actor Don Knotts. Barney Fife is a deputy sheriff in the slow-paced, sleepy southern community of Mayberry, North Carolina. He appeared in the first five seasons (1960–65) as a main character, and, after leaving the show towards the end of season five, made a few guest appearances in the following three color seasons (1965–68). He also appeared in the first episode of the spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D. (1968–1971), and in the 1986 reunion television film Return to Mayberry. Additionally, Barney appeared in the Joey Bishop Show episode "Joey's Hideaway Cabin", and, unnamed, in the first episode of The New Andy Griffith Show.
Don Knotts as Barney Fife
Andy returns from business in Raleigh to find Barney has locked all of Mayberry's citizens in the town jail.
Barney panics when he and Andy need to deal with a goat who has eaten dynamite.
Andy comes to the rescue when Barney gets his gun stuck on his finger.
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
Knotts and Griffith as their characters in a still taken from the October 7, 1965 one-hour variety special The Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, and Jim Nabors Show
In the 1961 episode "Andy Saves Barney's Morale," Andy leaves Barney in charge while he is away and returns to find Barney has jailed many of Mayberry's citizens for petty reasons.
Sam Jones (Ken Berry) and his son Mike (Buddy Foster) were recurring characters in the final season of The Andy Griffith Show, setting up the sequel series Mayberry R.F.D.