The legend of Don Knotts, the actor who was best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife of The Andy Griffith Show, will live on this Mayberry Days through the vision of his daughter, Karen Knotts.

Knotts will present “All Tied Up in Knotts” at the Downtown Cinema on Friday at 12:30 p.m. This will be Knotts’ first visit to Mount Airy for Mayberry Days.

“I’ve never been there before, but I’ve heard a lot of nice things about the town,” Knotts said.

Knotts has performed the show all over the United States and internationally in Edinburg, Scotland.

“It’s the story of growing up with my dad. It’s about the person, Don Knotts, not so much about Barney Fife. It should be illuminating to people to find out what he was like in real life and my relationship with him,” Knotts said.

“The show keeps growing and changing because their are so many memories of my dad that keep reoccurring. When I get a memory, then I write new stuff,” she said.

Knotts earned five Emmy Awards for his role on TAGS. He was also known for his role as landlord Ralph Furley on the TV sitcom Three’s Company.

Don Knotts died on February 24, 2006, at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles from pulmonary and respiratory complications related to lung cancer. Long-time friend Andy Griffith visited Knotts’ bedside a few hours before he died. His wife, Francey Yarborough, and his daughter stayed with him until his death.

Knotts said her father loved the time he spent working on TAGS.

“He really loved it. It was one of the best times of his life. He and Andy Griffith were very close. They cracked each other up on the set all the time. The creativity on the show came from them — the two of them and their relationship.

“Andy Griffith was a great person to run a show because he was creative. He was not officially a producer, but he was one of the producers. They always made sure that they never put something in the show that wasn’t believable. No matter how funny a joke was, if it wasn’t believable, they would throw that joke out. That is a very precious thing,” Knotts said.

In addition to her performance at the Downtown Theatre, Knotts will be appearing in the Colonel’s Tim Talent Time at the Andy Griffith Playhouse. There are two shows, one is at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and the other at 7:30 p.m., is already sold out.

She is also planning to ride in the parade that begins Saturday at 9 a.m. at BB&T on Main Street.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.