Barney Fife

From Freepedia

Barney Fife was the fictional deputy sheriff in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.

Played by Don Knotts, Fife was a hyperkinetic but comically inept counterpart to Mayberry's cool-headed Sheriff Andy Taylor. He was allowed to carry only a single bullet, and that was kept in his shirt pocket. There was one incident where he loaded his gun which should have been set on safety but it wasn't and soon went off.

Calling someone "Barney Fife" is a slang American term for an incompetent or overzealous police officer or authority figure.

Early in the series, Andy and Barney comment that they are cousins, but the family connection is rarely mentioned again.

Barney's middle name remains a mystery. Sometimes he is called Bernard P. Fife, but Andy says at one point, "I thought your middle name was Oliver!"

When he's not patrolling the streets of Mayberry, Barney spent his free time dating a local girl named Thelma Lou [played by actress Betty Lynn]. However, he carried on an affair with a diner waitress named Juanita behind Thelma Lou's back. Juanita was never seen on camera.

Although Barney enjoys singing, he has no vocal talent. This fact features in several episodes, notably "Barney Joins the Choir."

Eventually, Barney moves away from Mayberry to work as a dective in Raleigh, N.C. Some of Andy's visits to see his old friend Barney on the job in the big city appear in later episodes; however, his skills as an officer remain quite limited.

In one episode, Barney finds a poem written about him in graffiti on the side of a wall. It said:
"There once was a deputy called Fife,
Who carried a gun and a knife.
The gun was all dusty,
And his knife was all rusty,
Because he never caught a crook in his life."

Barney often put on a show of bravado to mask his insecurity and lack of confidence. His behavior often made him appear arrogant and foolish, but he was at heart a kind, caring person.