‘Don Knotts: Tied Up with Laughter’ DVD unearths vintage ‘Hollywood Palace’ skits
Don Knotts remains a beloved comic genius who sculpted two characters still heavily seen in reruns — the child-like, emotion-on-his-sleeve “Barney Fife” on The Andy Griffith Show and the loudly dressed, perpetually confused Ralph Furley on Three’s Company.
And lest we forget — Knotts’ movie roles in funny films like The Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Shakiest Gun in the West, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, and Pleasantville.
Knotts did his fair share of musical variety programs like The Flip Wilson Show and The Sonny and Cher Show. A DVD compilation sampling rare comedy and musical skits and stand-up routines from The Hollywood Palace has finally hit the market. Entitled Don Knotts: Tied Up with Laughter, the one-hour DVD comes mostly from Knotts’ January 31, 1970, guest hosted episode.
Many folks may not remember The Hollywood Palace, but it was a Saturday night one-hour variety show that ran on ABC. No season by season DVDs have been released, which is a shame, as virtually all of the big Hollywood stars of the era turned up there at some point, including the Rolling Stones, Dean Martin, Bette Davis, John Wayne, and the Three Stooges.
